Public Art Commissions for Public Art is announced!

Local artists Trent Walker, Ewan Cameron (CAST Designs), Ben Crappsley and Jennifer Cochrane have been awarded public art commissions for the Margaret River Main Street Redevelopment Project. The exciting new street furniture by Cast Designs, and art work by Ben Crappsley will be situated in the new public space in Fearn Avenue as part of the Shires’ ongoing commitment to supporting local artists through public art. In addition has Jennifer Cochrane will create ephemeral street art during construction.

The street furniture and artwork were selected from seven shortlisted submissions from local artists. The Assessment Panel were very pleased with the quality of all submissions and found it difficult to make a final judgement for commission.

Project Manager Helen Whitbread said ‘All artists submitted a varied range of very high quality work. The talent we have in our region is amazing and we are very excited to be able to incorporate some of this into the project.’

In coming to a final decision, the Panel was looking for creative expression together with functionality in a public square. The Panel felt that the winning submissions had a freshness that complemented the new Main Street, street furniture. The art work and furniture designs provided a unique compelling representation of the region, whilst being robust and functional.

In addition to the commissioned works, shortlisted submissions were available for an on-line voting for People’s Choice Award with results seeing local artists Kashmir Rouw taking People’s Choice Award in the furniture category and Amy Wyld for the Art Panel Category for her ocean theme. Both winners receive a prize of $500.

Trent Walker (CAST Designs) and Ewan Cameron (Timber Grooves)

CAST Designs are experienced bespoke glass fibre reinforced concrete furniture and surfaces manufacturers based in the Cowaramup Industrial Area. Founded by Trent Walker in 2015, CAST specialise in furniture combining the use of concrete, steel and timber. Working in collaboration with emerging local timber and metal artist Ewan Cameron from Timber Grooves Design, they will produce unique, durable and functional public seating and planter boxes for the Main Street Redevelopment Project. Ewan specializes in wood engraving and produce timber creations with high quality finish, showcasing local hardwoods.

Both live and work within the community and with this comes a passion for minimizing the impact their work has on the environment. They both endeavor to use recycled and upcycled materials and industrial by-products where possible. They are committed to supporting our local community and other local small businesses when sourcing supplies.

Ben Crappsley

Ben Crappsley is a Fremantle based artist who grew up in the Margaret River area. After completing his senior high schooling in Busselton he pursued studies in Graphic design at Perth Central TAFE.

Ben returned to visual art studies in 2007 at Curtin University and completed a Masters degree in 2011. He has continued to develop his arts practice, contributing work to numerous group exhibitions and has held three solo exhibitions in the Fremantle area.

Ben also teaches a painting class at DADAA Fremantle and has worked for Awesome Arts in their Creative Challenge program in 2018.

Ben’s work has a strong graphic style using mixed media techniques including aerosol paints. The Margaret River public artwork commission has provided an opportunity for Ben to contribute works inspired by his frequent visits to the Margaret River region. He is currently developing new work for group exhibitions in Bunbury, early 2019.


Jennifer Cochrane completed a Bachelor of Arts at Curtin University in 1988. Her practice is predominantly object based; she has exhibited throughout Australia and internationally, including large-scale permanent works and intimate site-specific installations. Jennifer envisages using bold colours to create an abstraced response to the site that considers changing perspectives.

Work on the Main Street is expected to commence February 2019.


Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.projects.blog_posts.show.load_comment_text">Load Comment Text</span>