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.
Michael Cohen, now director of City People, devised and implemented an arts lab ‘incubator’ model for Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) as a way of generating activation projects that speak directly to the identity (past, present and future) of Darling Harbour and The Rocks, two of Australia’s most visited destinations. Emerging from the first laboratory was The Rocks Windmill.
During 2011-2016 Michael Cohen, now director of City People, produced several projects that endeavoured to address the lack of Aboriginal stories visible in the public domain of The Rocks – the landing place of Europeans in Australia.
