Published on Wednesday, 9 June 2021 at 12:00:00 AM
The Shire of East Pilbara is proud to announce its Brand Evolution, launched during Reconciliation Week on May 27th to June 3rd.
The evolution celebrates the region’s vibrant community and incorporates Aboriginal artwork.
The Shire celebrated the project at the Reconciliation Ball on May 29th and at a Brand Launch event on June 3rd, where some of the artists, Corban Clause Williams, Pauline Williams and Cyril Whyoulter, spoke about the project and shared their stories behind the artworks.
The evolution includes licensed sections from six Aboriginal artworks paired with blocks of distinctive colours and the topography of the Shire of East Pilbara to represent our community across the region.
The paintings depict the land and history of the Martu people, reflecting stories of the artists' families and ancestors who walked and gathered food across their homelands in the Great Sandy, Little Sandy and Gibson Deserts and Karlamilyi (Rudall River) areas of Western Australia.
The brand encompasses an identity for each local government service facility across the region, with a specific artwork and colour to represent the Shire local government, Aquatic Centre, Youth Services, Recreation & Fitness, Library Services and Airport Services.
The project includes artwork by Martumili Artists Bugai Whyoulter, Corban Clause Williams, Cyril Whyoulter, Marianne Burton, Ngamaru Bidu and Pauline Williams.
"We are excited to celebrate this project together with our community,” Shire President Anthony Middleton said.
“We evolved our logos to include icons and modified our standard minimum font size as a part of the Shire’s Access and Inclusion Plan, striving to create accessible and inclusive communications.
“The Shire’s Services brand proudly includes Corban’s artwork Kaalpa (well 23) - the orange elements in the painting complement our distinctive Shire of East Pilbara orange logo and the landscapes in our region.”
“The Shire’s gonna use this painting on their signs- change the old way for this new way so the whole community can see these paintings and feel proud. I feel proud. Palya! (good!)” (sic) Corban Clause Williams said.
Cr Middleton said the approach was holistic and reflected the Strategic Community Plan 2018-2028, to achieve a contemporary identity.
“Our brand is one of many projects underway to develop an inclusive identity for the Shire,” he said.
“We recognise our community is at the heart of everything we do. For several decades, we have referred to our community as The Heart of the Pilbara, now our brand truly reflects this.”
The Shire of East Pilbara understands that they are the first Local Government in Australia to incorporate Aboriginal artwork extensively in their brand.
Martumili Artists is an Aboriginal art centre based in Newman and services six other remote communities, proudly hosted by the Shire. Martumili Artists is open to the public, curating exhibitions in the Martumili Gallery and selling ethically-created and culturally authentic artworks and products.
Picture caption: Shire President Anthony Middleton, Martumili Artists Corban Clause Williams, Cyril Whyoulter, Pauline Williams and Shire CEO Steven Harding at the Brand Launch event on June 3rd.
Fact File
- The Shire has updated its official tagline to "The Heart of the Pilbara".
- The Shire has remunerated each artist for the right to use only the selected section of their artwork within the agreed applications.
- Martumili Artists provided consultation and translations to artists in remote communities to ensure all artists understood the overarching project and artwork application.
- Kaalpa (Kalypa, Canning Stock Route 23) is the ngurra (home) of Corban’s grandfathers.
- Martumili Artists is a signatory of the Indigenous Art Code.
- The colour palette of the brand represents the region - red and orange reflect the earth, purple for the Mulla Mulla flowers, yellow for the stunning sunrises and sunsets, blue for the waterholes across the East Pilbara region, and green representing the spinifex.
- The project evolved existing logos and added new elements to refresh the brand and reflect our community while maintaining a sense of familiarity.
- Photography of the community enjoying the region will support Shire communications and achieve an inclusive element within the brand.
- Find out more about each artist and their artwork here.
- For more information on this project, please contact Media and Corporate Communications Officer Tari Jeffers on [email protected].
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