Project: North Sydney Public Art Masterplan
Organisation: North Sydney Council
Place: Sydney
Year: 2020–2021
Project Type: Culture-led Placemaking, Strategy, Policy & Research
Header image: Damien Butler, A Rotunda for Reflective Encounters (image North Sydney Council)
Home to Sydney’s second largest CBD as well as iconic natural and built settings, North Sydney is a fast-expanding hub for both employment and residents. While in the midst of planning major public domain upgrades to meet the needs of its communities and visitors, North Sydney Council contracted City People to develop a unified approach to public art planning. Public art can be a valuable addition to the civic fabric when done right. City People collaborated with public art specialist advisor Sarah Wang on this project to create a masterplan which ensures new artworks will be strategically placed and consider the location’s physical character, community use and local histories.
Objectives
North Sydney Council required a public art masterplan that would coordinate existing public art policies and integrate with public domain planning into a single, LGA-wide strategy that would ensure future art commissions serve quality place outcomes over the next ten years.
Jodee Knowles, TWT creative precinct St Leonards
Outcomes
City People developed a comprehensive Public Art Masterplan in response to: existing public art in the LGA, the current and future development context (including upgrades to public domain) and the different character profiles of the North Sydney CBD and village centres in the area. The masterplanning process included:
- a review of urban planning strategies and projects
- development of a new public art commissioning process integrated into planning
- extensive national and international research on best practice
- determining recommended sites for new artworks
- public art concept proposals that illustrated recommended form, timing and costs for these sites