Powering Creativity: How Art is Transforming Community Batteries

The Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF) battery launched in 2022 is very distinctive with artwork by Hayden Dewar (artist). The YEF battery set a trend that has been followed by most, if not all, community-scale batteries launched since. The artwork makes the battery standout and a visible presence in the community.

Like many issues that need consideration on the journey to a battery, the planning and securing of artwork is not straight-forward. For example, is the art based on physically painting the battery or wrapping it in a printed material? Do either of these approaches increase the risk of fire? How do you select the artist and the style of art? There are many questions to be answered.

To help us negotiate a way forward, Village Power has established an Art Working Group to plan our approach and recommend the artist and artwork. The working group has diverse representation and has already proved to be insightful as we have learnt about the graffiti community, another consideration for the work. We will introduce the Art Working Group members in future newsletter.