WHY INVEST IN PUBLIC ART?
Our practice has been privileged to work with so many exceptional Western Australian artists. They have brought vibrancy and beauty to civic and commercial buildings and spaces by revealing local character, sharing unique ‘ways of seeing’ and celebrating and retelling stories particular to a place.
There’s good and great (as well as some terrible!) public art to be had in metropolitan Perth and right across regional W.A. Organisations like FORM, Artsource and DevelopmentWA have sponsored nationally significant public art programmes, much of which reflects the very best of our Western Australia artistic endeavour. Regional towns are realising the potential of public art to attract new visitors and tourists. Governments and institutions are realising new forms of cultural and historical narratives in public art to celebrate the stories of Western Australia, not least those of Australia’s First Nations' cultures.
The Koorden sculptures at Kings Square commemorate and celebrate Noongar leaders who gathered in 1900 to represent Aboriginal communities at Federation.
Vibrant sunshades on the Scarborough waterfront remind us of surf life-saving carnivals, beach sunsets and the symbolism of the Aboriginal flag.
An abstracted geometry inspired by the Geraldton Wax flower covers pavements and walls along a 300m path linking the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery to the foreshore.
The patterns and colours of the Swan Valley reimagined, transform a vast boundary wall into a vibrant celebration of natural and man-made landscapes.
The best public art outcomes are achieved when there is deep respect for artists from clients and collaborators, and proper structures and processes that enable the timely and considered integration of art and architecture. We would like to thank and acknowledge the following collaborating artists for sharing their unique insights, craft and intellects to deliver spectacular artistic outcomes:
Rod Garlett and Richie Kuhaupt
Sharyn Egan
Trevor Richards
Kyle Hughes-Odgers
Innovator and Director of Biotech and Medtech Ventures
3 年Fabulous article Fred. When you think about it, people have been creating mural art for over 10 thousand of years (eg. Gabarnmung, Gwion Gwion, Altamira and Lascaux cave paintings). Creating such beauty in our communities could therefore be viewed as an essential human activity as important as any other and not a superfluous and extravagant extra, as some have suggested...
Experienced across arts, culture & creative industries (projects, strategy, collections, sector advocacy & capacity building) based in Perth, Western Australia.
3 年Agreed! We at the City of Stirling are just embarking on the development of a citywide Public Art Strategy & are excited to see more public art in our places. We are super proud to have Sharyn Egan’s colourful shade structures at Scarborough alongside works by many other WA artists.
?? Architectural Lighting | LED | Control Solutions | Energy Efficiency | Integration | Managed Systems | Decorative??
3 年Great article Fred. We have worked on a couple of these named projects, and have been thrilled to assist turn the artists vision into reality. My belief is that the public really do appreciate and support interesting creative artwork in their public spaces. Naturally, I also believe utilising the appropriate lighting to extend the artworks reach to beyond the daylight hours, can bring an entirely different conversation to the fore...
Associate Director | Technical Manager @NDY CPEng NER RPEQ MIEAust MSc
3 年Public art with integrated lighting done properly can really look amazing.