Best known for creating some of the world's biggest live spectacles, internationally renowned events and experiences company, David Atkins Enterprises (DAE Global) has turned its attention to Victoria's High Country, transforming the stories of regional communities into an extraordinary outdoor art experience.
Creative director David Atkins and his team have helped bring to life a series of public art installations along the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, drawing on the stories, culture and identities of the communities that call the region home.
Rather than imposing a creative vision, DAE Global began by listening to local residents, using community insights to shape the artistic direction of the project, part of an $8.5 million regional tourism transformation.
Among the installations are Beci Orpin's colourful Harvest Trail between Oxley and Milawa, Emily Floyd's larger-than-life Magpie Family between Bowser and Tarrawingee, and Drez Studios' immersive Mindful Tunnel at Yackandandah.
At Eurobin Station, Barkindji artist Kent Morris's True Horizons creates a powerful space for reflection, drawing on the cultural significance of the Bogong moth and the enduring connection of First Peoples to Country.

"We didn't arrive with a preconceived creative vision, we sought input from the communities that know Victoria's High Country best. You can't tell the story of a place without listening to the people who call it home," Atkins said.
"People who live alongside the trail understand these places in a way no visitor or creative team can on their own. We wanted to listen first and let those conversations inform what the art along the trail could become."
The project centred around communities in the Rural City of Wangaratta, Indigo Shire and Alpine Shire coming together to share ideas about what was meaningful and unique to each region from the local bird life, to food and culture to celebrate the region's landscape, cultural heritage, and deep connections to Country.
Mr Atkins said the community symposiums are an essential component of the creative process to ensure public art reflects the places in which they are installed.
DAE Managing director Mike Reid, who led the project alongside Atkins, said they had "people from all walks of life sharing what made their communities special, from local wildlife and landscapes to food, culture and history."
"Those conversations helped shape the creative direction of the project," he said.
"When people can see their own stories and identity reflected in the experience, it creates a real sense of ownership."
The ideas helped inform a series of striking open-air gallery installations, designed to encourage visitors to stop, explore and discover the people and places behind the region's identity.
"Our role as storytellers is to bring those connections to life in a way that feels authentic to the people who live here and compelling to those discovering the region for the first time," Atkins added.
"What's exciting about this project is that we haven't just created individual artworks but have helped tell the story of a region, with each installation offering a different perspective on the places and communities along the trail."
Tourism North East chief executive officer Bess Nolan-Cook said the significance of the investment extended far beyond the physical trail.
"This project is about much more than enhancing a cycling trail. It is an investment in the communities, towns, villages and businesses that sit along it and make the Murray to Mountains experience so distinctive," Ms Nolan-Cook said.
"Every rider who stops for coffee, visits a cellar door, stays overnight, buys from a local producer or discovers a town they may otherwise have passed by creates an economic ripple that extends throughout the region."
"The Murray to Mountains Rail Trail is unique because the trail itself is only part of the experience. It connects people with our landscapes, our food and wine and, importantly, the people behind the businesses they encounter along the way."
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