The Western Sydney Parklands Arts and Cultural Accelerator was an innovative 10-day development lab involving artists and professionals from other fields that generated a set of concepts for arts and culture projects for the parklands.
In 2018 City People was commissioned by Transport for NSW to develop an arts and cultural framework for Circular Quay as part of the Circular Quay Renewal Strategic Framework. Our role involved strategy, project planning, place visioning, research and identification of the projects’ core themes and values. Through targeted consultation and analysis of the unique policies, interests and values embodied in the site, we developed a set of arts and cultural principles.
In 2018–2019, City People collaborated with Aspect Studios on the Sydney Olympic Park Red Zone Public Domain Plan and produced a place activation strategy for the area. Sydney Olympic Park is a major event destination but also a burgeoning dense city environment with the development of the Carter Street and proposed Town Centre precincts. Our collaboration with Aspect Studios included providing strategic direction on activation for the changing precinct around ANZ Stadium in the heart of Sydney’s iconic Olympic Park.
Campbelltown City Council is planning for significant change in the Glenfield area, aligned with the NSW State Government’s Fit for the Future program, in anticipation of the area’s projected population growth. City People was sub-contracted by Environmental Partnership to contribute to the Glenfield Public Domain Plan at various phases, through a process of workshop design, interviews, presentation and place activation strategy.
City People supplied arts and cultural strategy and advice to Western Sydney Parklands Trust and the multidisciplinary design team who are delivering the strategic land-use framework for the Southern Parklands and a 5-year implementation plan for capital works and detailed design.
Enter the Urban Innovation Accelerator. An economical and powerful way to generate real creative placemaking projects and cultural programmes that you can implement in your town or city. Because they are generated and tested by people of diverse professional backgrounds with the specifics of your place front of mind.
While working as Creative Producer at UrbanGrowth NSW, City People’s Michael Cohen became aware of a massive gap in the knowledge base surrounding creative or ‘culture-led’ placemaking. While we know that adding to place identity with culture-led offerings (events, festivals, installations, cultural destinations) is a good thing, can we point to research that tangibly demonstrates the social and economic returns of this work?
Nomanslanding was an art installation and performance created from an international partnership with curators and artists from five different countries which performed to over 27,000 people in Germany, Scotland and Australia.
During 2014-2016, Kim Spinks and Michael Cohen, now directors of City People, collaborated to bring their respective organisations Arts NSW and Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority into partnership on a significant community and cultural development project.
In 2009 and 2010 Michael Cohen, now director of City People, directed and produced two water spectacles for Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) as part of Vivid Sydney.
