Emma Coulter’s colourful creation a symbol of city’s resilience

Next time you’re in the CBD, keep an eye out for the latest colourful artwork adorning the Metro Tunnel Project’s City Square work site. Emma Coulter’s kaleidoscopic creation, spatial deconstruction #23 (resilience), has transformed the top half of the 90-metre-long acoustic shed on Swanston St. Fitzroy-based street-art studio Juddy Roller worked with Emma to engage artists to paint the work on the shed during the past five weeks. The project is helping the creative industry to recover from the challenges of coronavirus (COVID-19) by using art to brighten hoardings at its worksites, plus creative wayfinding to support nearby businesses. Emma’s previous installations include commissions in the US, Germany and Sydney, but this is her first large-scale public artwork in Melbourne, where she is based. These artworks help to maintain Melbourne’s vibrancy while work continues on this transformational project, which will bring more trains to and from suburbs across Melbourne. Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said, “This artwork shows it’s possible to continue work on a huge, city-shaping project such as the Metro Tunnel in the middle of the CBD while also helping to support our creative industries and businesses in the city centre.” Spotlight on trailblazing women of the Metro Tunnel Project With International Women’s Day being celebrated this month, the Metro Tunnel Project is using the whole of March to highlight the female staff whose skills and experience are so valuable. These include Nadia Punselie, who is part of the safety team. She inspects sites daily to ensure the project is adhering to strict safety standards, and making the welfare of workers of paramount importance, because – as she puts it – “prevention is better than cure”. Nadia is truly a citizen of the world, having grown up in the Netherlands, Brunei, Oman, Venezuela and Perth. She holds Dutch and Australian citizenship and can speak English and Dutch fluently, and – as she modestly puts – can understand Japanese and Spanish. To discover more about Nadia and other women of Rail Projects Victoria – which is delivering the Metro Tunnel Project for the Victorian Government – follow the Rail Projects Victoria page on LinkedIn or like the Metro Tunnel Project on Facebook • For more information:  metrotunnel.vic.gov.au