MARYLAND STREET

MEMORIES: A LIFE IN PICTURES

By Franco Arcidiacono

This work, installed in January 2021, is located above three stores in Maryland Street - Slaps Coffee House Cafe, Stanthorpe Jewellers and Pure Heaven.

‘Memories: A Life in Pictures’ is an amazing work by a very skilled local artist, Franco Arcidiacono commissioned by Helen and Keith Cobon, a local businessman and retired farmer.

When asked Keith about how this concept developed, Keith said that a few years ago, every building owner was sent a letter from SDRC asking if they had any ideas about how to beautify the main street. This idea sort of sat there for a while and when the murals started to pop up, the idea of a mural above the shop front emerged.

Franco Arcidiacono did a presentation of his work to PROBUS and Keith and Franco had a chat. A book that Keith and Helen’s son had created helped Franco come up with the concept and the project had legs. Franco explained how the structure of the shop frontage lent itself to a picture book concept as the work is a sequence of memories. One of the images is Keith as a young man selling at the very first cattle sales in Stanthorpe. This work represents the history and culture of our region.

We asked Keith what the family thought in the beginning and he said – not a lot – probably thought that he was a bit mad. But now they are on the case and have contributed with suggestions. Keith thinks the work is important because this region is a great place to live, work, and bring up a family. The whole concept was developed because of that.

Keith thinks that public art is important because it is accessible to everyone and it tells the story of a place. It makes our main street interesting and unique. People get to know about local history and what the town was built on. Keith thinks it gives credence to our past and present and is part of our future.

This project received funding through the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery grants program, an Australian Government bushfire recovery initiative.