Final public workshop for Sharing Light set for Bondi
By the time workshops for Sharing Light conclude, more than 100 groups, including families, first responders, schools and community groups, will have taken part in the initiative.
Members of the public have one last chance to help make the 5000 clay vessels that will fill Archer Park this December, marking one year since the Bondi Beach terror attack on Chanukah by the Sea.
A final drop-in workshop for Sharing Light will be held this weekend.
Each handmade vessel will house a small solar-powered light. Together they will be set out in rows across the park, illuminating as the sun sets each evening. The aim is to transform Archer Park into an immersive field of light.
The workshop follows public sessions at Bondi Pavilion in October, with organisers saying more than 100 groups, including families, first responders, schools and community groups, will have taken part by the time workshops conclude.
Sharing Light artist Marisa Purcell said at an NCJWA event earlier this year that the project grew out of the community’s response to the attack.
“I was so moved by the spontaneous gatherings: people singing, people telling stories, just people coming together,” Purcell said. “As artists, we were like, ‘What can we do?'”
She said the artists hoped to reach people they might not otherwise know how to reach.
Waverley Council mayor Steven Lewis said the installation “offers everyone an opportunity to come together in shared grief, reflection and solidarity”.
“As we approach 12 months since the attack, people from every corner of Sydney and every faith and background, Jewish and non-Jewish, will begin thinking about how they can commemorate this terrible event and honour the memories of those killed, injured and impacted,” Lewis said. “This is a way to stand together, with their own hands in the clay, and be a small part of something significant.”
Sharing Light was created by a collective of Jewish and non-Jewish artists and volunteers in partnership with Waverley Council. It is funded by a mix of government, not-for-profit and philanthropic organisations, as well as members of the community who believe in the significance of the project. Organisers said it is a temporary public artwork rather than a memorial.
The workshop will run on Sunday November 8 from 10:30am – 4:00pm.
The installation will open on the first night of Chanukah, December 4, and run until December 14 at Archer Park. It is free and open to all, with lighting nightly from sunset. For more information, visit sharinglightbondi.com