Tourists love our art

The largest number of international downloads of the Harbourside Docklands Art Trail app are from China.

Chinese tourists are leading the way in wanting to learn more about our public art, with almost 3000 downloads of the app via Apple in its first year.

The statistics have prompted Development Victoria (DV) to translate the accompanying Art Trail brochure into simplified Chinese and place it at the Melbourne Visitor Hub.

DV created the Harbourside Docklands Art Trail app to showcase public art.

Featuring 25 pieces of art, the trail covers a range of themes including land and sea, past and present, humanity and technology and what it means to be Australian.

DV’s group head precincts, Geoff Ward, said the Docklands public art program featured renowned Australian artists, as well as a mix of international artists.

“We are proud to oversee the extensive public art program in Docklands and it is great that it is attracting the attention of tourists,” he said.

“The majority of the featured artists in the art app and brochure are Melbourne-based, such as RONE, Callum Morton, Sally Smart, Alexander Knox, Kate Daw and Stewart Russell and we are now showcasing their work to an international audience.”

Minister for Priority Precincts, Gavin Jennings, said “Melbourne’s CBD has its laneways and graffiti art which are huge drawcards; Docklands features a selection of amazing sculptures and public art which are growing in stature.”

The walking trail has been divided into three sections: “Real and unreal”; “The dynamic earth” and “You, us and them” and takes art lovers on a journey throughout Docklands. 

Each section is around 2.5 km and takes approximately one hour to complete.

The app has been developed for both Apple and Android and can be downloaded from the Apple Store and Google Play.  The translated Harbourside Art Trail brochure is available at The Melbourne Visitor Centre.