A-R-Epping-Public Art...

CREAT

PUBLICART STRATEGY

10/04/2012 brecknockconsulting

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EPPING CENTRAL PUBLIC ART STRATEGY

Prepared for Whittlesea City Council By Brecknock Consulting P/L April 2012 This Project was made possible through Victorian Government funding support through the Community Support Fund.

brecknockconsulting www.brecknockconsulting.com.au


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SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Background PAGE 7 Policy Context PAGE 9 SECTION 2: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Vision PAGE 12 Conceptual Framework PAGE 13 SECTION 3: ARTWORK OPPORTUNITIES Introduction PAGE 16 ‘engaging’ PAGE 17 ‘revealing’ PAGE 23 ‘defining’ PAGE 32 ‘evolving’ PAGE 35 SECTION 4: IMPLEMENTATION Introduction PAGE 42 Management Model PAGE 43 Asset Management PAGE 49 Budget Matrix PAGE 51 APPENDICES 1. Definitions PAGE 53 2. Terms of Reference – Public Art Working Group PAGE 55 3. Moral Rights PAGE 56 4. Evaluation PAGE 58 5. Budget Guide PAGE 59

CONTENTSPAGE


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CENTRAL EXECUTIVESUMMARY

The Epping Central Structure Plan includes an objective to: • Prepare a Public Art Strategy for Epping Central that:

• Assists in creating engaging and meaningful public

spaces

• Promotes community identity

• Details artistic and architectural collaborations for innovative, integrated and sustainable projects

• Identifies highly visible locations and opportunities for a

diverse range of permanent and temporary public artworks and integrated artistic features

• Encourages discussion and open mindedness

• Prepares designs of pieces in conjunction with the

community

The Public Art Strategy is a high level framework to inform the commissioning of artwork in Epping Central over the next twenty years. It has been developed as an adjunct to the Epping Central Structure Plan [ECSP] which identified the need for a Public Art Strategy that will:

... provide strategic direction for the successful design, funding and delivery of public art projects in Epping Central’s public and private realm. The Public Art Strategy will provide the basis for public art initiatives identified in the Epping Central Structure Plan.

The ECSP goes on to state that the Public Art Strategy will:

... support initiatives listed in the Development Contributions Plan, and provide guidance for private developers wanting to commission art that can be viewed by and/or is accessible to the public.

Purpose of the Public Art Strategy The strategy therefore provides both a conceptual basis for planning future art opportunities and a practical management structure with implementation guidelines. The Public Art Strategy has been developed to inform and respond to place-making in Epping Central and contribute to the overall amenity and identity of the place having regard to the Epping Central vision.

Epping Central in 2030 is an attractive, welcoming, and sustainable urban place, where well-designed buildings and engaging public spaces provide an interesting and exciting environment for more people to live, shop, work and play.

The ECSP has a strong emphasis on the quality and amenity of the public realm and has recognised the important role of public art in achieving this goal. Public art is referenced in the following sections: Walking and Cycling Public Transport Streetscapes Open Space The Design Objectives and Requirements for Landscape and Open Space in the ECSP identified the following requirements for planning and delivery of public art:

Design public art that can be viewed from the public domain in accordance with the Epping Central Public Art Strategy and that: Assists in creating engaging and meaningful public spaces; Promotes community identity; Is considered from the early stages of developments with the

engagement of an artist on the design team; Is located where it will be highly visible; and Is located in pedestrian activated areas (e.g. active retail

areas, transit stops, public gathering routes, public or semi public open spaces and along major pedestrian routes).


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CENTRAL EXECUTIVESUMMARY The strategy is structured with a high level ‘Conceptual Framework’ that informs the overall approach to thinking about future artworks. This framework is then supported by a series of ‘curatorial rationales’ which relate to specific themes at the more detailed level and will be relevant in preparing artwork briefs for the individual art opportunities in the future. Conceptual Framework The overall Conceptual Framework ‘Held in Common’ has been developed as a response to the nature of the Epping Central community and the goals of the ECSP. It recognises that however diverse a community might be, as a society there are many aspects of a place and values about which people share experiences and knowledge. Therefore, as a community these understandings relate to things which they have in common and form the ‘glue’ that ties and binds people together as a community. In order to deliver a range of artworks in line with the Structure Plan and further develop the ‘Held in Common’ framework, this strategy has adopted a layered approach to the identification of artwork opportunities across a diversity of locations and public spaces. Firstly, it is proposed that there will be a series of ‘engaging’ projects that will have a community cultural development focus. These projects will have a high level of engagement between artists and local people in order to explore local stories and community values. Growing out from the ‘engaging’ project, ‘revealing’ projects will have a focus on the integration of artworks into local streetscape and open space projects and will be heavily influenced by the outcomes and stories gathered from activities associated with the ‘engaging’ projects. Moving out further from the ‘engaging’ projects, the ‘defining’ projects shift the focus away from the local artwork projects to district landmarks, which explore the nature of Epping Central as a whole. Finally, ‘evolving’ has been conceived to promote an expression of creativity and innovation in Epping Central by supporting projects associated with art and technology. Management Model The final section provides a management model that will inform the processes involved in the long term delivery of the strategy proposals. The Public Art Strategy will inform the conceptual approach and management of artworks funded by Council, State and Federal Government and the private sector. This will include those artworks that are funded through the Epping Central Developer Contribution Plan [DCP]. The DCP will be comprised of funds contributed by private development within Epping Central. The private developer funding will constitute 30% of any artwork

budget, with the remaining 70% being provided by Council and/or through other sources of funding such as state or federal grants. It is also anticipated that the Epping Central Public Art Strategy will be used to inform other artwork projects that might be initiated by government agencies or by a private sector developer outside of the DCP obligation but within publicly accessible places in Epping Central. The strategy requires the establishment of a Public Art Working Group [PAWG] that will provide overall co-ordination and decision making about the quality of proposed artworks commissioned in Epping Central. The PAWG will have a membership representing planning, design and public art expertise within Council and will also include external members with expertise to augment the knowledge of the Council representatives. In addition, there will be a Public Art Technical Group [PATG] which will be made up of representatives of the relevant Council departments responsible for issues of public safety and asset management.


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SECTIONONE INTRODUCTION


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Development of the Public Art Strategy The Epping Central Public Art Strategy has been developed through careful analysis of the extensive documentation and thorough consultation and planning work undertaken by Council in the development of the ECSP. The consultants undertook site visits and assessments of the proposed planning and urban design approach included in the ECSP and related documents. The analysis and drafting process was iterative and rigorously reviewed by the Project Steering Group throughout the strategy development period. The analysis process revealed that Epping Central has two defining factors. The first is the challenging nature of the current public realm and urban design which involves a number of serious issues including a lack of pedestrian access and amenity, poor connectivity, the need for safety and lighting improvements, information provision, and the need to generally increase the quality of the public realm, both green and built. These issues have been identified and addressed through the ECSP and the Wayfinding Study. The second factor is the Epping Central community which, in spite of the urban environment or perhaps because of it, is ‘open, friendly and diverse’. The community has successfully created a sense of inclusion and connection which transcends physical barriers. It is important that the major urban improvements planned for Epping over the coming decades are not experienced as an imposed and alienating gentrification, but rather as investments to meet the real needs of a rapidly growing community and delivering real social benefits. It is important that the community continues to be open, friendly and diverse. Often when working with communities that have a high degree of cultural and ethnic diversity, it is logical for a cultural planning approach to seek to foster and reflect that diversity. However, in the case of Epping Central, there is an opportunity for the Public Art Strategy to not simply explore and celebrate cultural differences, but to go a further step and explore and celebrate this already understood sense of cultural inclusion. Therefore, the Public Art Strategy for Epping Central can be based on an intercultural approach that builds on the existing multiculturalism. In this way the strategy can seek to preserve, foster and highlight that which already characterises Epping Central today. In addition the new public realm enhancements and urban design improvements can incorporate the evolving journey of local cultural expression. In this sense, the new public realm spaces of Epping Central can be truly common ground, inclusive and welcoming to a culturally diverse and rapidly growing community.

A further assessment of Epping Central reveals two more salient factors. The first is the challenging nature of public art practice which requires a level of skill and experience regarding public realm requirements. Many artists, creative practitioners and cultural groups within Epping lack public art commission experience and may be concerned with more traditional arts and craft practices for the purposes of cultural heritage maintenance rather than experimentation or translation in contemporary art terms. The second factor is the emphasis within the City of Whittlesea’s cultural policy and practices which include the broad ranging community cultural development [CCD] practices undertaken by Council departments and specifically by the Community Cultural Development Department. This CCD emphasis takes a long term approach to creative cultural expression and the grass roots development of local skill and capacity building. Where community members may be challenged by public art practice, the CCD Department within Council is in an ideal position to strategically assist the community in the development of skills and knowledge. Finally, there is an external factor of key significance in the development of this strategy and that is the changing nature of contemporary public art practice itself. Public art is often seen to polarise around two types of outcomes – one which involves community such as painted murals or mosaics of hand-made tiles where the aesthetic quality of the artwork outcome is often a secondary concern, or one which does not involve community and are works by individual artists located in the public realm in the manner of an outdoor gallery and which are primarily focused on aesthetic quality. Increasingly however, good public art is neither of these things but something far more interesting, engaging and valuable. Leading contemporary artists are exploring creative ways of engaging with communities, generating input and involvement through a variety of media and means. The artwork outcomes, either permanent or temporary, are often site-specific and reflective of local cultural understandings and concerns. While the community may not be involved in hands-on production, they can still be part of a creative journey which may have several types of artwork outcomes. It seems that, for contemporary art practice, community cultural development has new significance and offers real opportunities for innovative and meaningful artwork outcomes.

BACKGROUND


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This Public Art Strategy therefore seeks to build on the work undertaken by the CCD Department and those other areas of Council involved in community cultural development activities, while seeking to take this practice to new levels of creative endeavour and translate its outcomes into works for the public realm. This is likely to involve the input and involvement of artists who may not be local. Through using a CCD framework, the involvement of regional, interstate or international artists, provides opportunities for mentoring, skill-building and education. Just as the physical improvement and provisions for Epping Central over coming decades involve strategic investment from State Government, so too a public art strategy may well involve the cultural investment of wider authorities. Finally, the Public Art Strategy for Epping Central is founded in dialogue – in creative conversations and cultural exchanges at many levels for a unique and evolving community.


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CENTRAL POLICYCONTEXT Relevant Policies The City of Whittlesea has recognised that its point of difference and its strength is the diversity of its people. ShapingOurFuture, Whittlesea 2025 – Strategic Community Plan describes a broad and deep commitment towards community engagement. It marries community access, participation and engagement with community health, wellbeing, harmony and sustainability with the provision of quality public realm, infrastructure and social services. In other words, to sustain community diversity and achieve health and harmony, it is essential to ensure equitable access to resources and services. Diversity lies at the heart of the ‘common good’. Strategies of inclusion and engagement will reveal a plurality of voices and perspectives. From the many comes the one, from a multiplicity comes a singularity, from a diverse community which is healthy and harmonious comes provision for a common good. The ShapingOurFuture vision has inspired the intent of the Public Art Strategy as it forms the basis for not only a healthy and harmonious community but also a creative community. Indeed creativity will play a central role in promoting health and harmony. Public art can become a real layer of connective tissue within the communities of Epping Central, expressing their evolving relationship to place. The ShapingOurFuture plan was developed by the community, for the community. Importantly, the aspiration for an inclusive community is also an applied methodology. Similarly the YouthPlan 2030 also “sets out a comprehensive framework to engage with young people in meaningful dialogue and ensure that not only are their views heard, but they are implemented and genuinely involved in the building of their local communities.” It should therefore follow that a public art strategy for Epping Central would recognise its community as not only creative consumers but as creative producers and active participants – and possibly none more so than young people who are in the very early phase of developing a public voice and a public identity – creativity can provide a safe and attractive framework for this expression. Other relevant Council programs and documents include: The Arts and Cultural Development Program 2006-2010 focuses on community cultural development, using the arts as a tool to bring members of the community together. The CCD approach is primarily concerned with process. The Arts program has enabled diverse activities for celebrating a range of different cultures. It has also enabled new cultural groups to join the program. A public art strategy for Epping Central should acknowledge this approach and investment. Again, such an approach provides a rich platform

for the development of public art programs and extension of the community engagement process into the production of creative public outcomes. The City of Whittlesea’s commitment to community engagement, including the established mechanisms of the Whittlesea Multicultural Communities Council, the Whittlesea Reconciliation Group and the Interfaith Network, provides platforms for creative community dialogue. These ongoing creative conversations can inform an equally diverse range of public art projects and outcomes. The Cultural Collection Strategy provides a vision for the three areas of Council’s Cultural Collection: Public Art, Visual art and Civic History. The Strategy ensures that ‘items from the Cultural Collection will build on the visual profile of the City already established by the landmark architectural buildings and outstanding condition of our parks and gardens.’. Epping Central Structure Plan and Associated Strategies This Public Art Strategy has been developed to support the strategies in the Epping Central Structure Plan [ECSP]. The ECSP has been prepared by the City of Whittlesea with input from the Victorian State Government, the community and landowners of Epping Central and has a strong commitment to the integration of public art. This commitment includes the establishment of a Developers Contribution Plan [DCP] that will collect contributions towards the funding of public art throughout Epping Central. The ECSP includes strategies and actions of relevance to this Public Art Strategy. Most significantly the ECSP identifies the need for a Public Art Strategy that:

• Assists in creating engaging and meaningful public spaces • Promotes community identity • Details artistic and architectural collaborations for

innovative, integrated and sustainable projects • Identifies highly visible locations and opportunities for a

diverse range of permanent and temporary public artworks and integrated artistic features

• Encourages discussion and open mindedness • Prepares designs of pieces in conjunction with the

community


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The ECSP also identifies opportunities for public art within a range of the policy areas, for example:

Public Transport Incorporation of artist designed elements and public art works

into the corridor and interchange to humanise the space, add unique character and inspire the community

Streetscapes • Readily incorporate signage, public art and artistic elements into

the streetscapes and design it to integrate with street furniture and incorporate the Epping Central Brand identity.

• Conveniently located, high quality pedestrian infrastructure such

as seating, bins, signage, landscaping, public art, security lighting and shade that is co-located with bus stops and generally spaced at 400m intervals with bench seating and security lighting at 100m intervals along major shared paths

• Consist of innovative, integrated and creative groupings of

landscaping, signage, public art, built form and landscape qualities at key entrance points to Epping Central

Open Space • Ensure that the design, development and redevelopment of

publicly accessible open space incorporates public art and integrated artistic elements that inspire, delight and reflect the aspirations and values of the Epping Central community.

The Public Art Strategy has therefore responded by including opportunities for artworks to be commissioned in relation to infrastructure, buildings and built and natural environments.


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SECTIONTWO CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK


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VISIONSTATEMENT

“The liveability, sense of place and identity of Epping Central’s public realm will be enhanced by the layering of creative, innovative and accessible cultural expression, informed by ongoing dialogue and social exchange within the community.”


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CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK

The concept of ‘Held in Common’, as a framework for the commissioning of public art in Epping Central, is an opportunity to make manifest shared understandings, the ties that bind, the things that bring us together.

The conceptual framework seeks to express a creative vision as a whole-of-area understanding. It is intended as a flexible rather than prescriptive framework which has been designed to sponsor a wide variety of creative interpretation while also achieving a common thread between artworks, as a subtle but cohesive layer within and between places and precincts. ‘Held in Common’ To hold things in common is to recognise shared conditions or circumstances. It may be the place we live or work, a family or ethnic heritage, a religion or belief system, a nationality, a significant event or socio-political context. It may be likes and dislikes, wants and needs, goals and aspirations. The things we hold in common are the things that bind us, that make us part of society, and one might argue, make us properly human. The concept of ‘the commons’ is one which underpins our understanding, expression and provision of democracy, human rights, community and a public sphere. From the English Middle Ages to the digital globalised present, the commons continue to be a primary mechanism for articulating and delivering public benefit and a public good. Common law is founded on the notion of precedent and the understanding that society is an evolving continuum, reliant on past knowledge handed down and equally reliant on the ongoing process of re-interpretation of that knowledge for the present and for the future. Common law is founded in social practice and not simply in the enacted legislature. Within the diverse community that is Epping, this framework is intended to foster conversation, dialogue and social exchange. It provides opportunities for people from different cultural backgrounds, language groups, ages, religions and ways of life to discover what they hold in common. It is a framework which is intended to foster a sense of welcome and social inclusion, to promote gathering and social interaction, and to express civic pride and care. It is also intended to appeal to a youth audience who are increasingly engaged within social media networks. Their distributed digital media and peer-to-peer social structures herald a new era and possibly new world order for the notion of the commons.

Holding things in common may also be understood as holding them in trust. Rather than simply recognising a shared circumstance, we may actively decide to hold something in common as a means for providing for future generations and preserving or creating a public asset. Sustainable development requires taking active responsibility for future needs and means of support, understanding the life-cycle and renewability of resources, materials, and communities themselves. Epping Central is set to become an outer urban centre of critical significance to a wide region. This journey of transition will create rich connections between the micro-experiences of local, social interactions in everyday life and the macro-patterns of wider socio-economic provisions. These connections will be reflected in a high quality public realm and through unique artworks which generate a special sense of place, ‘Held in Common’ for past, present and future. In Section 3 the Strategy provides Curatorial Rationales as thematic layers which explore the Conceptual Framework in more detail and outline relevant the conceptual thinking. The Curatorial Rationales will provide the basis of future artwork briefs and inform commissioned artists of how their individual works fit into the overall Conceptual Framework for Epping Central.


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Interpretation and Expression: a layered approach The conceptual framework, ‘Held in Common’ is intended to bring people, their core values and perspectives together through a range of creative processes and practices. The framework is founded on creative dialogue, community conversations, artistic collaborations and social exchange. As there are many ways in which these engagements can occur and be expressed, the framework has been developed as flexible and open-ended rather than prescriptive. The framework outlines a layered approach which is intended to ensure that the projects, related to each other, are developed out of the knowledge, values and processes gathered through the ‘engaging’ projects, while at the same time allowing for greater personal artistic expression and experimentation to occur. ‘engaging’ – conversations with people ‘engaging’ projects will have a community cultural development focus. These projects will have a high level of engagement between artists and local people in order to explore local stories and community values. This will provide a source of local knowledge that will both result in small scale local artworks and inform the artwork projects in other layers. ‘revealing’ – conversations with place ‘revealing’ projects will have a focus on the integration of artworks into local streetscape and open space projects and will be heavily influenced by the outcomes and stories gathered from activities associated with the ‘engaging’ projects. ‘defining’ – conversations with identity ‘defining’ projects will shift the focus away from the local artwork projects to district landmarks and while still drawing on knowledge from the ‘engaging’ projects, the artists will be expected to propose concepts that have a higher order and more abstracted content that explores the nature of Epping Central as a whole. ‘evolving’ – conversations with time ‘evolving’ projects have been conceived as an opportunity to promote an expression of creativity and innovation in Epping Central by supporting projects associated with art and technology. These projects will be less about the nature of place, instead focusing on communication technologies and digital media as a mechanism for shared conversations about Epping’s people and their lives. This might involve artworks focused on environmental and sustainability issues effecting life in Epping Central.

CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK


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SECTIONTHREE ARTWORK OPPORTUNITIES


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This section deals with the practical application of the overall Conceptual Framework to the layered structure of ‘engaging’, ‘revealing’, ‘defining’ and ‘evolving’. The following section is structured as follows: 1. Curatorial Rationale

The Curatorial Rationale sets out the specific response to the overall Conceptual Framework that is appropriate for each layer. It provides the rationale that will inform future artwork briefs.

2. Example Artwork Opportunities For each layer the Strategy provides two examples of artwork opportunities that would be relevant to the ECSP and would deliver on the Curatorial Rationale. In addition they provided a basis for thinking about other projects in the future. While the ECSP lays out a vision for development and the DCP identifies projects that will be supported by funds from the DCP as the community and environment changes over time, so will the ideas and focus of future artworks. Therefore the art opportunities need to be flexible and responsive to such changes.

3. Potential Locations For each of the layers there is a notated Epping Central plan that identifies the potential locations for artworks.

4. Demonstration Projects

For each of the layers the document includes a range of benchmark images and project descriptions relating to artwork examples that will provide an insight into the potential outcomes of applying the Curatorial Rationale for each layer.

5. Case Study In addition to the Demonstration Projects for each layer there is a more detailed Case Study of particular relevance to each layer.

INTRODUCTION


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Curatorial Rationale: conversations with people The approach for the ‘engaging’ projects is based on the concept of projects developed through community cultural development practices. It is understood that the work undertaken by the CCD Department, other areas in Council and community groups will have its own unique aims, objectives and methodologies for working with and within the community. This Public Art Strategy does not seek, in any way, to substitute for or replace this work. Rather it seeks to build upon, and creatively extend and interpret this active field of practice. Not all community cultural development will directly evolve into a public art project, but all CCD can be used, selectively and sensitively, to inform aspects of public art projects and their commission processes. This strategy seeks to draw on the wealth of collective knowledge which the CCD Department has built over time about their local communities, people and places – past, present and future. The ‘engaging’ rationale, as conversations with people, explores art’s relationship with the everyday and the familiar. Artworks can trace the common threads of experience or the common touch of the familiar that is transformative – making a house into a home, a street into a neighbourhood, or a group of shops into a place. They can explore the relationship between art and everyday life and ideas of living artfully. As process-centred projects, temporary artworks may provide the most suitable outcomes. Projects may be part of larger festival events or commemorations. The ‘engaging’ projects could result in quite a direct and immediate way from CCD work and will be based on community values. The ‘engaging’ projects involve more intimate conversations and personal perspectives than projects in the following layers. They may provide artworks as clues and fragments of larger stories and promote experiences of reflection or discovery. The following pages provide two examples of potential artwork projects that would deliver on ‘engaging’ Curatorial Rationale. Intent The ‘engaging’ projects aim to foster a sense of social inclusion by bringing community voices into the shared public realm. Some projects may be open to general and broad community participation while others may focus on particular groups, including marginalised groups, such as refugees and recent arrivals, the elderly, unemployed or at-risk youth. As projects are artist-led, the nature of the community engagement process should be open-ended and wide-ranging rather than regulated or formulaic. Participants and practitioners may be taken on surprising and unexpected

creative journeys. Projects should also creatively explore active audience participation processes as a means of augmenting and furthering the ‘engaging’ values and informing future ‘revealing’, ‘defining’ and ‘evolving’ artwork projects. CORE

‘engaging’


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Example Artwork Opportunity 1 Project: The complete package Process/Outcome: an artist-led community sculpture Theme/Approach: An artist is engaged to facilitate a community event, involving recycled packaging materials, which results in a sculptural temporary public art outcome. The proposed concept ‘The complete package’ is intended to relate to mass consumerism, retail experiences and environments in a manner which is both serious and light-hearted. Issues of recycling, waste, and environmental impact can be engaged playfully, promoting social interaction. A temporary sculpture/installation can be informally constructed with packaging materials as a single or multi-day event. The packaging materials can be donated by local retailers and should primarily consist of cardboard boxes. Children should be encouraged to participate and the resulting sculpture may resemble a cardboard city. People can be encouraged to draw and write on the cardboard as a community canvas, expressing aspirations for the types of environments we construct and for a cleaner and greener future. Potential Location: Epping Plaza Epping Plaza is a significant gathering place for the community and therefore offers the opportunity for high levels of engagement and interaction with people going about their daily lives. It is also a major retail environment and an ideal location to ask questions about environmental sustainability.

‘engaging’


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Example Artwork Opportunity 2 Project: Inside Out Process/Outcome: an artist-led community conversation Theme/Approach: An artist is engaged to facilitate a community conversation through collaboration with the CCD Department. Community participants in the conversation should be diverse including a range of ages, economic and cultural backgrounds. The proposed concept ‘Inside Out’ is intended to reveal more intimate aspects of people’s everyday lives for collective sharing. The tone of the project can be quite light-hearted. The conversation may be built around encouraging people to share their experiences of traveling to and from Epping Central, from actual occurrences to imagined day-dreams. The facilitating artist can work with the submissions to create a temporary artwork outcome for the public realm. The resulting artwork may be a series of posters, digital projections, graphic signs, photographic light-boxes, installations, or displays within glass vitrines. The exhibition/project may grow and change over time, or be a short-lived event as part of a festival program. Consideration can be given to the creation of a permanent platform for ongoing commissions, potentially under the ‘Inside Out’ concept, enabling further community conversations. The submissions may be collaged together into a large-scale format such as a billboard, or they may form a series of smaller-scale works as part of a way-finding treatment, ideal for a laneway environment. Potential Location: The connection pathway in the Epping Station Precinct This location has been selected because of the high level of foot traffic to and from the station. This provides a high visibility location with opportunities for people to stop and contemplate the artwork as part of their daily commute.

‘engaging’


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CENTRAL ‘engaging’ Potential Locations

High Street Village

Epping Station Precinct/ Community Hub

Epping Plaza

Key locations for ‘engaging’ artworks are those gathering places such as the High Street retail precinct, Epping Plaza and the Epping Station environs.


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The following pages illustrate benchmarking examples and a case study project that demonstrate the potential outcomes that artworks based on the ‘engaging’ rationale might deliver.

Demonstration Projects

CORE VALUES

Title: WHAT IF our thoughts became art? Artist: Public Submissions Location: Sydney CBD, NSW Description: Art & About Sydney invited people across Australia to send responses, in ten words or less, to that one simple question – what if? The answers came in from children as young as four, through to people in their eighties.

Title: Public Private Cubic Artist: Andrew Owen Location: Vancouver, Canada Description: The Artist is a photographer who has been working in Vancouver to record the people of his local district and the changes that are taking place as the area is gradually evolving and gentrifying. He has developed his photography into a series of ongoing posters pasted on walls around the district’s streets and lanes.

Title: Untitled Artist: Natalie Billing Location: Burnett Lane, Brisbane CBD, QLD Description: The Artist felt that the weathered façade had the appearance of a newspaper page and so her temporary artwork overlays historical references in text and graphic in the manner of a chronology and a surveyor’s mapping.

‘engaging’


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Case Study Title: Acts of Kindness Artist: Michael Landy Location: Sydney CBD, NSW Description: Acts of Kindness investigates the meaning of kindness in today’s fast-paced world, focusing on the simple everyday gestures of compassion and generosity that occur throughout the city streets and often go unnoticed. Stories of kindness were collected from people across Sydney to form the basis for Landy’s artwork. A 13-metre installation at Martin Place mapped the Sydney CBD and indicated where the 200 stories of kindness were placed throughout the city streets. The project also featured a website where people could read the stories, submit their own stories and learn more about the artist.

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Curatorial Rationale: conversations with place Building on the values, processes and outcomes of the ‘engaging’ projects, the ‘revealing’ commission projects seek to enhance place-making by engaging in a story-telling approach. They may reflect upon a specific site context, such as a health and wellbeing theme for a medical precinct, or a specific audience group, such as children’s play for an open space park area. Often human-scaled, these artworks may be a linked series or family of forms which populate a precinct and reflect a local vernacular. The ‘revealing’ rationale, as conversations with place, explores the idea of ‘a common sense’ – the ways in which we relate to the world practically, physically and materially. Artworks may creatively inhabit their environments integrated within streetscapes, landscapes or playgrounds, to tell stories of place. As unique objects they may take the form of humanising touch-stones, quirky interactive devices or whimsical playthings. Artists may work in creative teams and/or undertake community consultation as part of the commission process. The projects may foster an intercultural dialogue, a dialogue between past, present and future, translating cultural traditions into contemporary forms. Such projects may run in parallel to the CCD Department process and/or draw on Core project material. Intent ‘revealing’ projects aim to create a distinctive sense of place within the various precinct areas of Epping Central. Artwork themes should be complementary to the site context and weave a sense of community and narrative of place through the area. Informed by the ‘engaging’ projects, community consultation and/or research, these commission projects are focussed on high quality, permanent artwork outcomes. As human-scaled works, they aim to achieve humanising qualities of warmth and intimacy, including a sense of whimsy and play, encouraging interaction and engagement. Commissioned artists could work closely with Design Teams to achieve integration with the public realm – streetscaping, landscaping, urban design objectives, lighting, materials and planting palettes. This section includes two examples of potential artwork projects that could be delivered through artwork briefs based on the ‘revealing’ Curatorial Rationale.

Benchmark examples of three demonstration projects and one case study have been provided to help visualise the type of artwork that might result from ‘revealing’ projects.

‘revealing’


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CENTRAL ‘revealing’ Example Artwork Opportunity 1 Project: Precious Vessels Process/Outcome: an artist-led streetscape project Theme/Approach: An artist could be commissioned to develop a series of artworks for integration into the High Street streetscape. The works could express themes of journey, travel and transition. They may be drawn from experiences of migration and literal journey experiences or from experiences of life change, spiritual or emotional journeys. The artist is encouraged to engage with a range of community groups and a variety of ages and cultural backgrounds, including High Street traders. Inspiration could also be drawn from ‘engaging’ project outcomes/consultation. The artworks may take a common serial form, such as a vessel, and then feature unique detail to reflect intimate, personal and fine-grain qualities, complementary to a boutique retail and dining precinct. The works will then express a common theme of journey while also revealing individual experiences and stories at closer reading. The artwork design may creatively re-interpret craft practices from a range of cultural traditions. Each work, as part of a larger family of forms, will express points of interconnection along High Street, expressing the journey as a whole and also individual ‘pause’ points for gathering, resting, and interaction. Thus the works may be incorporated into nodal areas of planting and seating or at bus stops and street crossings. The vessel forms may also feature internal lighting for evening activation. Potential Location: High Street The High Street is an ideal location for this artwork concept as it is a key community hub and meeting place and a focus of the Epping Central streetscape improvements under the ECSP.


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CENTRAL ‘revealing’ Example Artwork Opportunity 2 Project: Ripple Effect Process/Outcome: an artist-led environmental art project Theme/Approach: The commissioned artist could develop an artwork for the Darebin Creek and Parklands which would creatively express environmental awareness. The artwork may take the form of a landform work involving planting and landscape design. It should be complementary to path and cycle ways to enhance a journey experience. It may also incorporate recycled materials and renewable energies such as solar power. Ideally this commission should be part of a larger environmental rehabilitation project which involves community groups such as Landcare. The artist could incorporate community involvement into the artwork process, and build on any relevant Core projects. There is also opportunity for the artist to engage with local Indigenous communities as the re-establishment of endemic plants species can reflect traditional Indigenous foods, medicines and other resources. The artwork process can then explore and develop cultural exchange and educational aspects. Location: Darebin Creek and Parklands The rehabilitation of the Darebin Creek provides an ideal opportunity for artists to develop environmentally focused artworks that can be delivered over time as work on the creek environment if undertaken.


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CENTRAL ‘revealing’ Potential Locations

Cooper Street

Epping Plaza

Medical Precinct

High Street

Coulstock Street and Coulstock Park

Darebin Creek Parklands

Supply Park

‘revealing’ projects provide the widest range of potential locations as the artwork focus is on place-making and streetscape opportunities.


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Demonstration Projects

Title: Huddle, Artist: Sebastian Di Mauro Location: Orion town centre, Springfield, QLD Description: Orion town centre at Springfield in South East Queensland is an award-winning development, achieving a 5 green star rating for ecological sustainability. Public art, like sustainability itself, has key relational value, connecting people and place. The whimsical artworks by artist Sebastian di Mauro are intended to function as an in-between layer, a type of connective tissue, inviting interaction, particularly for children.

Title: Glow Artists: Michelle Nikou and Jason Milanovic Location: Port Adelaide, SA Description: The work consists of five life-size glow-in-the-dark emu sculptures and an ibis perched on a nearby lamp. The work is located at the western end of Walter Morris Drive. The artwork is based on the Dreamtime story of Tjilbruke, whose tears formed freshwater springs and whose spirit was transformed into an ibis after his nephew killed an emu.

Title: Sites of Significance Artist: Glenn Romanis Location: Smith Street, Collingwood, VIC Description: “The public artwork, by artist Glenn Romanis, features petrified wood inlays and large boulders as seating. It highlights both Aboriginal and European sites and landmarks, pointing to reconciliation and mutual connections to the area, and has improved pedestrian and cycling safety, and accessibility at the intersection.” Source: City of Yarra Annual Report 2009-10

‘revealing’

The following pages illustrate benchmarking examples and a case study project that demonstrates the ‘revealing’ Curatorial Rationale.


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CENTRAL ‘revealing’ Case Study

Title: Watermark, Brisbane Artist: Richard Tipping Location: New Farm, QLD Description: Watermark is a steel sculpture 15 metres long, 1.8 metres high and 1.5 metres wide. It sits on the banks of the Brisbane River at New Farm. A simple visual word poem, the work resonates powerfully with its site evoking memories of Brisbane’s major flood events. Its robust, human-scaled sculptural form also invites interaction, particularly with children, belying its sombre message. While, when commissioned, it was not a true watermark of the 1974 flood, the sculpture has now become an accurate recording of the flood levels reached in January 2011, as evidenced in the image at right – an uncanny prediction! Part of the forecourt of the iconic Brisbane Powerhouse, adjacent outdoor dining, Watermark has exemplary place-making qualities.


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‘defining’ Curatorial Rationale: conversations with identity ‘defining’ commission projects seek to achieve iconic artwork outcomes for a high civic site context, entailing ‘high order’ conversations and a more abstract visual language. Such landmark works become place identifiers and therefore need to express an abstract sense of identity, aspirational symbols, or emblematic forms. These often large-scale stand-alone works by highly recognised artists are the results of artist-driven research, thinking and creative abstraction. Although often consisting of a single form, these works should generate a rich array of interpretation and be meaningful to a broad and diverse audience community. The ‘defining’ rationale, as conversations with identity, explores notions of common knowledge and common understanding. Our identity is something we have adopted, formed and made our own; something we can wear comfortably and is ‘becoming’ to us. Identity seems to reside just under the surface of the skin, as a symbolic second skin which is both resilient and adaptable, natural and fashionable. Iconic artworks can provide and express a sense of identity that is both a familiar landmark and a bold signature. While singular and unmistakable in form and scale, their significance can be open to wide interpretation. It is envisaged that artists engaged in these commissions need not be directly involved in community consultation. Rather, artists may be given knowledge and information acquired through ‘engaging’ project material, such as oral histories or photographic records, and asked to consider, distil and creatively interpret and to conduct further research within their concept development work. Intent ‘defining’ projects aim to achieve iconic significance and landmark presence within Epping Central. Artwork themes should be open-ended, encouraging artists to think broadly and deeply. While the resulting artwork forms may be simple and refined, they should achieve a multi-layered significance. It is envisaged that commissioned artists would undertake a research-based approach. Commissions may also involve a competitive process where several artwork concepts are considered for selection. Commissioned artists could work closely with Design Teams to achieve integration with the public realm, engaging a dialogue between site and

scale, between looking at and looking beyond and around. With landmark works siting considerations are critical to optimise address and presence for a range of viewing experiences. Artworks should engage multiple view-lines, including transition experiences from road and rail.

CORE


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CENTRAL ‘defining’ Example Artwork Opportunity 1 Project: Confluence Process/Outcome: highly regarded artist engaged to develop a sculptural landmark Theme/Approach: An artist could be commissioned to create a large-scale iconic artwork as part of an urban gateway for Epping Central. The intersection of Deveny Road and High Street marks a southern gateway for the precinct which also features the significant parkland of V R Michael Reserve to the west. The proposed future transport corridor will commence in this area and cross the parkland, separating the north-east corner at the road intersection. The site which is elevated will command key view-lines from both road and rail and is ideal for a landmark artwork experience. The artist would be required to thoughtfully consider the intensity of this site, balancing site and scale and the relationship between the urban environment and the natural parkland. The artwork may abstractly reflect upon the flows of energy through and around the site, and the past, present and future role of Epping as an outer urban centre. The artwork commission could be part of an urban gateway project, enabling the artist to work within a Design Team and achieve integration with landscaping, signage, lighting and built form. Potential Location: V R Michael Reserve / Deveny Road and High Street intersection The site is one of at least five potential landmark/gateway artwork locations across the Epping Central precincts. The opportunity 1 is proposed for the V R Michael Reserve site due to it high prominence and excellent setting for an artwork of significant scale.


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CENTRAL ‘defining’ Example Artwork Opportunity 2 Project: Rubicon Process/Outcome: highly regarded artist engaged to develop an artwork gateway Theme/Approach: An artist is commissioned to create a large-scale iconic artwork as an environmental gateway at the Darebin Creek Crossing, Rufus Street. The proposed concept ‘Rubicon’ refers to the shallow river in Northern Italy by that name and the common phrase ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ which means ‘to pass the point of no return’ and refers to Julius Caesar's army's crossing of the river in 49 BC, which was considered an act of insurrection. While the notion of a point of no return may seem inappropriate to a gateway passage, it is intended to evoke the character of a river – always the same yet every moment new. In a true sense we can never go back, and can only reflect on the past from the present. The artwork can take inspiration from the Darebin Creek and its ancient story of time and place, including layers of fossiliferous sandstone and volcanic basalt lava flows. There may be opportunity to consult with the local Indigenous community and explore references to creation stories involving Darebin Creek. The artwork may explore a balance between natural and manmade materials. It should incorporate an integrated lighting design in order to create a transitional experience from day to night. The creek crossing at Rufus Street links Epping Central with wider community along a residential neighbourhood corridor. The artwork can symbolically express the creek as lifeblood of both land and human settlement, creating a symbolic heart for a thriving community. Potential Location: Rufus Street, Darebin Creek crossing The site is proposed as the concept relates to the riverine environment and the Rufus Street crossing provides the space and setting required.


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CENTRAL ‘defining’ Potential Locations

Childs Road and Dalton Road

V R Michael Reserve / Deveny Road and High Street intersection

Memorial Avenue and High Street

McDonalds Road and Davisson Street

Rufus Street, Darebin Creek crossing

The potential locations that have been identified as ideal gateway nodes on the road network that criss-crosses Epping Central. There are other potential locations that have not been identified but could be included if additoinal funds were available or in the circumstances where a landmark artwork could be commissioned as part of an infrastructure project.


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CENTRAL ‘defining’

Title: FutureScope Artists: Donna Marcus & Simon Law Location: Ipswich, QLD Description: The artwork located in the Ipswich Mall, QLD, is an interactive video viewing screen and camera mounted within a 17 metre aluminium tower. Viewers are able to see beyond the immediate space of the mall to the surrounding landmarks, river and developing communities.

Title: Secret Station Artist: Ellis O’Connell Location: Cardiff Bay, Wales Description: A major sculpture in bronze, fibre optics and steam by artist Ellis O’Connell was commissioned as a Gateway to the Cardiff Bay area in Wales. The sculpture harks back to Cardiff’s industrial past as a major manufacturing and ship building centre.

Title: YAKKANNINNA Artist: Karen Genoff Location: Port Adelaide, SA Description: The artwork resulted from close collaboration with local Indigenous elders and references the grass tree baskets created by Indigenous women as the source of inspiration for the upright form. Indigenous weavers created three large mats, based on the Kaurna Dreaming story of the Seven Sisters Constellation. The mats were then cast in bronze.

Demonstration Projects The following pages illustrate benchmarking examples and a case study project that demonstrates the ‘defining’ Curatorial Rationale.


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CENTRAL ‘defining’ Case Study

Title: Eagle Artist: Bruce Armstrong Location: Melbourne Docklands, VIC Description: Eagle is an imposing 25 meter high sculpture, which gazes serenely over the intense urban environment between the Melbourne Docklands and the southern CBD. Armstrong, a non-Indigenous artist, was inspired by Bunjil, the eaglehawk regarded as a spirit creator by the Kulin nations, which include the Wurundjeri people. They believe Bunjil, a spirit who created people, their laws and culture, and all other living creatures, took the form of both man and eagle during his time on Earth. According to Wurundjeri cosmology, Bunjil offers guidance to those who choose to listen. The artwork is thus a powerful inter-cultural and environmental symbol of national significance, engaging in a dialogue of recognition and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples without didacticism and forging an accessible symbolic guardian for all. The work is also a dialogue of form and scale – hand-crafted originally from jarrah timber and then cast in aluminium at iconic scale, the Eagle’s glass eyes truly seem to follow you wherever you are.


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CENTRAL ‘evolving’ Curatorial Rationale: conversations with time The ‘evolving’ Conceptual Rationale is not a place-based concept, rather it is a framework that seeks to foster conversations between artforms and develop intermedia creative practice. Artworks may explore the intersections between art and design in the convergence zone of digital and new media and through integration with public realm and built form. Artwork platforms can showcase a changing program of exhibitions including works in video, sound, performance and dance, writing and poetry. Projects may involve mentorships and skill-building with students and young-people. While belonging to place, these creative conversations will be more topical and of the moment. The ‘evolving’ rationale as conversations with time explores the notion of a creative commons – a set of creative practices, tools and media which, in the digital age, are rapidly evolving as a shared platform environment but which have always been part of social life in various forms. Digital media can provide a convergent platform for a wide variety of creative practices, past and present. Artworks can explore and express the common links between past and present, between different times and different senses of time. They may open a seemingly vast dimension into another imagined space and time or create an accelerated comprehension of sound bites and image grabs for a fast-tracked future. These projects may intersect and overlap with the ‘engaging’ projects / CCD programs, presenting opportunities for the CCD Department to explore new methodologies, investigating the intersection between artist and audience and the fostering of creative communities. Intent ‘evolving’ projects aim to foster experimentation and innovation in public art practice. Like the ‘engaging’ projects, these projects are process-centred and suited to temporal outcomes. However, rather than engaging wide community involvement through an artist-led process, these projects focus on collaborations between artists and other creative practitioners, fostering a creative community. It is envisaged that projects will have a lead artist, mentor, or a creative co-ordinator /curator who will frame the project concept. Social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other online technologies and portable devices can provide avenues for creative participation, production and distribution. Artists may work in collaborative teams involving sound, graphics, and programmable media. Projects can take the form of game

challenges, online events, blogs, but should also aim to result in public space outcomes and urban interventions. This section includes two examples of potential artwork projects that would be delivered through artwork briefs based on the ‘evolving’ Curatorial Rationale. Benchmark examples of three demonstration projects and one case study have been provided to help visualise the type of artwork that might result from ‘evolving’ projects.


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‘evolving’

Example Artwork Opportunity 1 Project: Signs of the Times Process/Outcome: a platform for a program of electronic artwork Theme/Approach: An artist could be commissioned to draw on ‘engaging’ project material and work with young people, potentially NMIT and RMIT University students, to develop a changing program of electronic works, using social media, for screening within the Community Hub / Epping Station precinct. The project could consider the ways in which social media informs a sense of identity, both public and private, and the advantages and pitfalls which young people experience through their many changing media profiles and platforms. The artworks may be simple photographic portraits captured on mobile phones or sophisticated digital animations of imagined avatars. The commission process should utilise social media in the development of the artwork and generate an on-line presence as part of the audience experience. The artwork platform may take the form of an electronic billboard, permanently installed in a single location. Alternatively the artwork may be designed as projection works which can be exhibited as a temporary installation event in a number of suitable locations within the precinct. Potential Location: Community Hub / Epping Station Precinct This artwork opportunity is open to interpretation by the artists once commissioned and therefore two locations have been identified as potential sites. Final sitting would be established once an artist has been engaged.


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CENTRAL ‘evolving’ Example Artwork Opportunity 2 Project: Time Out Process/Outcome: A digital photography & sport project Theme/Approach: An artist working in digital media is engaged to lead an interdisciplinary project involving sport and digital media with young people. Young people involved in various sporting activities are asked to capture the motion energy and physical action of their particular sport in digital media. Iconic actions such as a tennis serve, a skateboard jump, a football dive, or swimming tumble turn, are filmed or photographed as staged live actions. Camera effects such as shutter speeds, filters, lighting and so on can be explored experimentally within the live action shoot. The images / footage are then further worked upon in digital post-production to create iconic, large-scale abstractions portraying the essence of the sporting skill. Young people could participate in a variety of roles including sporting subjects, artwork directors, or technical producers. People may adopt multiple roles and the process should encourage a team-based approach. The final suite of images or films could be exhibited within the proposed active recreation hub. This may take the form of outdoor digital projections for an evening environment, as a digital billboard visible during both day and evening, or as a series of still images on light-boxes as part of a street gallery experience. Potential Location: Proposed Active Recreation Hub The Active Recreation Hub provides an important site opportunity to creatively engage with young people and with the field of sport and recreation. Two sites have been identified for consideration namely the Epping Station and NMIT precinct, or alternately the Council Depot Site within the High Street North precinct.


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CENTRAL ‘evolving’ Potential Locations

Epping Station Precinct / Community Hub

High Street North

‘evolving’ projects provides an opportuntiy for artists to be involved in the selection of locations where they would like to site their artwork commissions, therefore the location plan below only shows the locations nominated for the two nominated artwork opportunities.


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CENTRAL ‘evolving’ Demonstration Projects

Title: Neon Natives Artist: Reko Rennie Location: Melbourne, VIC Description: “Neon Natives features a selection of Australian animals against a diamond geometric patterned background, which is a cultural identifier of the Kamilaroi people. Historically, shields and other objects would have been carved with this diamond motif design. Neon lights trace the outline of each animal, transforming the work at night. The native animal imagery references decorative kitsch found in Australiana souvenirs. Using spray paint, stencils and neon lighting, Rennie reworks and blurs the cultural and kitsch into a contemporary visual language, as an expression of the tension of contemporary Aboriginal connection to land and history.” Source: http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/ArtsandEvents/Pages/Lanewaycommissions.aspx

Title: Metroscopes Artist: Clive Gillman Location: Liverpool, UK Description: The text that appears is generated dynamically by a web search engine, constantly searching the internet for a particular piece of information – the information in this case being the simple statement “Liverpool is”. When this statement is found on the web, the complete sentence is captured and sent to the queue to be displayed. Through this automated technology the display functions like a cultural barometer, capturing and representing opinions and statements of fact about Liverpool.

Title: Digital Empathy, Artist: Julianne Swartz Location: New York, USA Description: “Julianne Swartz's sound installation, Digital Empathy, will greet High Line visitors with a variety of messages. At some sites, computer-generated voices will speak messages of concern, support, and love, intermingled with pragmatic information. In other sites, those same digitized voices will recite poetry and sing love songs to park visitors. Installed in 11 different locations throughout the park, the sound will be transmitted through the park's bathroom sinks, water fountains, and elevators. These sites are not only unexpected places in which to encounter public art, they are places designed for individuals or small numbers of people, allowing for intimate encounters within an otherwise sprawling, communal space. The locations for Swartz's sound interventions will be indicated by graphic-based signage created by the artist that mimics standard public information signs. Digital Empathy plays on the notion that, in our culture, we turn to technologies like online social networking, blogs, and instant messages to meet our basic human need for friendship and personal connection.” Source: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation – Art in the Parks, www.nycgovparks.org/art

The following pages illustrate benchmarking examples and a case study project that demonstrates the ‘evolving’ Curatorial Rationale.


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CENTRAL ‘evolving’ Case Study

Title: Untitled Artist: Ian de Gruchy Location: William Jolly Bridge, Brisbane, QLD Description: Brisbane City Council engaged projection artist Ian de Gruchy to design a projection artwork platform for the William Jolly Bridge in the city’s CBD. The projections, designed to the bridge dimensions and preventing light spillage, replace a far less efficient flood lighting treatment. The projection artworks designed by de Gruchy consist of a range of works including his own artistic designs (such as the black and white pixels below), commemorative works (such as poppies for Remembrance Day), emblematic Brisbane works (such as the poinsettia flowers below), and artistic collaborations (such as the burnt painting designs by local Indigenous artist Lilla Watson below). The cream-coloured stone heritage bridge becomes an after-hours canvas for the re-interpretation of Brisbane in the river heart of the city centre.


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SECTIONFOUR IMPLEMENTATION


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CENTRAL INTRODUCTION Section Four provides guidelines and management structures to inform the roll out of public art projects identified through the Epping Central development process. There are guidelines for a management structure, decision-making responsibilities and reporting processes. In addition there are process charts relating to both public art commissions initiated by Council, and developer initiated projects that may occur on publicly accessible areas of private buildings within the Epping Central area. By its very nature, art is often challenging and innovative, so there are often variations associated with the commissioning of artwork that do not fit neatly into an established structure. Therefore, although this strategy provides clear processes, milestones and sign-off points, the process should be considered as indicative only and should be reviewed and tailored to meet specific project needs. Given that the strategy is providing an overarching framework for commissioning artwork over a twenty year timeline it is also inevitable that some variations to the current management and decision-making structure will evolve over the years. Key to this strategy is the identified public art funding associated with the Epping Central DCP that will contribute up to 30% towards the budget for public art projects initiated and managed by Council. The additional 70% will be funded by Council or through a range of grants or partnerships. In addition, there may be circumstances where a developer chooses to commission an artwork directly for their building or site. In this case, they will be expected to seek approvals as identified in the relevant process charts. The public artworks commissioned by Council will become a valuable community asset and will therefore require ongoing maintenance and conservation that will have to be funded by Council as part of its asset management planning. In addition to maintaining projects it initiates, Council may become the owner of artworks commissioned by the private sector or other levels of government on land that is transferred to the public realm. The Epping Central public realm will evolve and change over time as new developments occur. With this in mind the strategy provides guidelines and clarification regarding the difficult questions associated with alteration, relocation and removal of artworks and the relevant Moral Rights considerations. [See Moral Rights discussion Appendix 3]


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CENTRAL MANAGEMENTMODEL A development process of the scale of the Epping Central Public Art Strategy will require an overseeing control group to ensure that the overall conceptual framework is carried through over the twenty year time span. Two groups are to be established by Council to oversee the implementation of this Strategy, they are a Public Art Working Group [PAWG] and Public Art Technical Group [PATG]. A Public Art Officer [PAO] will be required to provide a support role to the PAWG and the PATG and to oversee the efficient role out of public artworks resulting from this strategy. Public Art Working Group A PAWG will be established to provide a review and management role over the course of the development of Epping Central. This will include identification of annual artworks to be commissioned in consultation with the Epping Central Working Group and in accordance with the funds available from the Epping Central DCP. The PAWG will have carriage of the Public Art Strategy and be responsible for approving artwork commissions up to a value of $100,000. For commissions exceeding this figure the PAWG will seek endorsement from Council. The PAWG will be formed with membership representing: Councillor [Chair] Representative of Epping Central Working Group Epping Central Place Manager Council representatives

Planning Department Community Cultural Development Department Parks and Open Space Major Projects

Representative of State Government Two community representatives with relevant art expertise Public Art Technical Group The PATG will be asked to review all artwork concepts and be responsible for providing advice to the PAWG via the PAO on issues relating to public safety and asset management. The group would include representatives of relevant Council departments such as: Asset Management Engineering and Transportation Parks and Open Space

Public Art Officer The PAO will provide advice to the PAWG and be responsible for the project management of approved commissioning projects. Where required, consultant Public Art Curators and Public Art Project Managers may be engaged to deliver the large scale projects. Public Art Strategy Monitoring and Review The PAWG should undertake a review of the Epping Central public art program every three years to ensure that the Public Art Strategy remains relevant. Issues to be considered include an evaluation of the artworks completed, their relevance to the evolving development of Epping Central and the changing demographics. The review should also consider national and international trends in public art to ensure that artwork commissions are best practice and meeting community expectations. The review should be recorded and a report provided to the ECWG with any recommendations for changes to the existing Public Art Strategy.

Epping Central Working Group

Public Art Officer

Public Art Working Group

Artist

Public Art Technical Group


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The following table is an indication of the relevant processes and approvals involved in the commissioning of projects across the various layers of art opportunities identified in the Epping Central Public Art Strategy.

PROCESS

ART OPPORTUNITIES

‘engaging’

‘revealing’ ‘defining’ ‘revealing’

Project Initiation

Initiated by Council YES YES YES YES

Initiated by Private Sector / State or Federal Government

YES YES NO NO

Artist Engagement

Direct engagement YES YES NO YES

Limited competition NO YES YES YES

Sign off/Approvals

Public Art Officer YES NO NO YES

Public Art Working Group NO YES NO NO

Council Endorsement NO NO YES NO


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Artist Panel of Providers The Epping Central Public Art Strategy identifies a wide range of public art opportunities as a basis for a program of both Council and non-Council initiated projects that will be rolled out in association with the successive development stages. Due to the range of opportunities and the long term delivery process there will be a need to procure the service of a large number of artists with a diverse skill set and conceptual approaches. In order to maximise both staff resources and available funds it is proposed that the City of Whittlesea establish an Artist Panel of Providers as a basis for future commissioning as projects are identified. This approach will be both cost effective as it reduces the need to advertise and process registrations of interest for every individual project and provide a process that clearly conforms with Council’s procurement requirements. As artists on the Panel will be prequalified the process of selecting artists can be targeted for individual projects through an efficient process. For example, in the case of major artwork commissions, it is best practice to undertake a limited competition where three artists are engaged to develop concepts, from which one is selected to proceed to design development. Whereas, in the case of integrated opportunities that require a higher level of collaboration with project design teams, a direct engagement process is the preferred option. The Panel would be established following a state-wide advertised call for Registrations of Interest [ROI]. The ROI would seek artists interested in projects at each layer of opportunity and skill set. Following the receipt of ROIs the artists would be shortlisted and reviewed by Council’s Public Art Working Group and those considered to have the expertise and experience would be appointed to the Panel from which artists would be selected for future Council initiated commissions in Epping Central. The panel can also be provided to developers wishing to select an artist for a commission on their development. Membership of the Panel will mean the artist will be considered for inclusion in a project shortlist but does not automatically guarantee an artist a commission project. In addition, there may at times, be a requirement for an artist or artists with special skills that might not be represented in the Panel membership. For example if a specialist technology based artist is required it may be necessary to advertise nationally or even internationally to ensure the artist is of the highest aesthetic and technical calibre, alternatively if a professional Public Art Curator is involved a curatorial process may be employed to find the right artist.

The Panel should be reviewed annually with a new ROI every three years in order to keep it current and to identify new and emerging artists. The PAWG reserves the right to consider the periodic inclusion of additional artists to the Panel between the three year ROI process. Any artist considered for inclusion in the Panel will be assessed against fixed criteria.

ARTIST

PANEL OF PROVIDERS

RESPONSIBILITY

APPROVALS/SIGN-

OFF

PHASE 1:

Artist ROI Process

PAO

-

PHASE 2:

Review ROIs

PAO

-

PHASE 3:

Select Panel Of Providers

PAO

PAWG

PHASE 4

Advise Artists Of Outcomes

PAO

-


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Council initiated public art process Stage 1: Project Initiation The Epping Central Public Art Strategy provides an overall conceptual framework and a set of project ideas to inform future public art opportunities. However over time it will be necessary to undertake a review as each new opportunity presents itself over the course of the development process. Once each specific art opportunity has been reviewed and approvals given, it will be necessary to prepare a detailed Artwork Brief. The Artwork Brief should include: Relevant Conceptual Framework information Site context and project intent Detailed description of the Artwork Opportunity Scope of Work and technical requirements Timelines and budget requirements Assessment criteria Stage 2: Concept Development The selected artist/s would be engaged to undertake a Limited Competition process and briefed on the requirements of the project and the stage. The artist/s should be given sufficient time [in the order of 4 to 6 weeks depending on the project] to develop a concept proposal that meets the conceptual and technical requirements of the brief. Once concepts have been completed the artist/s would be required to attend a PAWG meeting and present the concept proposal for assessment. This is a critical stage of the process and determines the outcomes of the further stages. In the event that none of the Limited Competition concept proposals fully meet the needs of the brief, the PAWG has the option of asking one or more of the artists to undertake further advanced concept development or starting the process again with other artists from the Panel. The Concept Development contract: This contract covers the concept development period up to the concept

presentation The contract will detail the agreed concept development fee and the

timelines for delivery of a concept proposal The commissioner is not bound to accept any of the concepts if they do

not adequately fulfil the concept brief and assessment criteria In the case of a Limited Competition there will be a concept contract for

each of the artists involved in the competition In the case of Direct Engagement then only the selected artist will be

contracted

STAGE 1

PROJECT INITIATION

RESPONSIBILITY

APPROVALS/

SIGN-OFF PHASE 1:

Identify Potential Art Project

PAO/PAWG

-

PHASE 2:

Prepare Artwork Brief

PAO

PAWG

OPTION 1 STAGE 2

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT [Limited competition]

RESPONSIBILITY

APPROVALS/

SIGN-OFF

PHASE 1:

Select Artists from Panel

PAO

PAWG

PHASE 2:

Briefing of Selected Artists

PAO

-

PHASE 3:

Concept Presentation by Selected Artists

ARTISTS

-

PHASE 4:

Preferred Concept Review

PAWG/PATG

PAWG

OPTION 2 STAGE 2

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT [Direct Engagement]

RESPONSIBILITY

APPROVALS

PHASE 1:

Select Preferred Artist from Panel

PAO

PAWG

PHASE 2:

Briefing of Artist

PAO

-

PHASE 3:

Concept Presentation

ARTIST

-

PHASE 4:

Concept Review

PAWG/PATG

PAWG


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Stage 3: Design Development Once a preferred concept has been selected the artist will be contracted to progress to the Design Development stage where any further work required to finalise the conceptual and technical aspects can be resolved. During this stage all engineering will need to be completed and final quotations for the fabrication and installation will need to be obtained. Stage 4: Fabrication & Installation Once the Design Development contract has been completed the artist will proceed to the final contract covering the fabrication and installation of the approved artwork. The Commission Contract: A contract with the artist for the full fabrication and installation stage would be exchanged prior to commencing work. The contract should include: Description of Work Description of Site Commission fee, specifying:

Total agreed fabrication and installation price A schedule of progress payments:

Advance on materials Progress payment Practical completion Completion of installation

Nominated due date for practical completion and final installation Specify copyright, attribution and title ownership Approval process and dispute resolution Insurance obligations Artwork warranty period It must be a condition of the Commission Contract that the Artist provides a detailed Maintenance Manual that outlines at least the following information: Details of the fabricators, installers and suppliers Details of the construction and photos of work under construction Material and coating specifications and warrantees Cleaning and maintenance procedures and recommended

maintenance schedule Stage 5: Asset Management Once installation has been completed a defects inspection should be undertaken by the Public Art Officer to ensure that the work is of an acceptable standard, in the event that defects are identified then the final hand-over will be conditional on the defects being rectified. A plaque detailing attribution information should accompany each artwork.

STAGE 3

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

RESPONSIBILITY

APPROVALS/

SIGN-OFF PHASE 1:

Briefing of Preferred Artist

PAO

-

PHASE 2:

Design Development Presentation

ARTIST

-

PHASE 3:

Design Development Review

PATG/PAWG

PAWG

STAGE 4

FABRICATION & INSTALLATION

RESPONSIBILITY

APPROVALS/

SIGN-OFF

PHASE 1:

Commission Contract

PAO

PAO

PHASE 2:

Fabrication

ARTIST

PAO

PHASE 3:

Installation

ARTIST

PAO

STAGE 5

ASSET MANAGEMENT

RESPONSIBILITY

APPROVALS/

SIGN-OFF PHASE 1:

Defects Review

PAO/PATG

PAO

PHASE 2:

Defects Rectification

ARTIST

PAO

PHASE 3:

Handover

ARTIST/PAO

PAO

PHASE 4:

Launch, Publicity and Promotion

PAO

COUNCIL


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Developer initiated public art process The following section relates to those public art projects initiated by the private sector for developments in publicly accessible places in Epping Central, but outside the DCP funding. This strategy does not identify potential developer initiated artworks of this nature, however due to the public accessibility of artworks on buildings and in spaces around buildings, Council approvals will be required at key stages. There are a number of key sign-off points where the developer should be required to obtain Council approvals, these are at: the initial art opportunity stage where planning permission may be required; completion of concept development; and the final developed design. At the concept proposal stage, PAWG should assess the artwork’s conceptual value and appropriateness to place. As part of this assessment the developer or the developer’s artist should be required to complete the Project Evaluation Form included in the Appendix of this strategy. At the Design Development stage, a technical review may be required by the PATG, especially in the case where the artwork will eventually become the property of Council. A final defects review should also be undertaken to ensure there are no defects in the final work that will cause maintenance problems for Council in the future. As the developer is responsible for initiating and funding artwork in this category the onus is on the developer to follow best practice processes. In the case of artworks on land that will be transferred to Council ownership, the City of Whittlesea’s Art in Public Places Kit should be consulted for information on Council’s requirements for developers. The kit sets out the steps required in managing a public art commission and details the information to be supplied to Council. On large public art commissions, it is recommended that developers should engage a public art consultant or curator to oversee the commission.

STAGE 1

PROJECT INITIATION

RESPONSIBILITY

COUNCIL

APPROVALS/ PHASE 1:

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL ART PROJECT

DEVELOPER

PAWG

PHASE 2:

PREPARE ARTWORK BRIEF

DEVELOPER

PAO

PHASE 3:

SELECT ARTISTS

DEVELOPER

PAO

STAGE 2

CONCEPT & DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

RESPONSIBILITY

COUNCIL

APPROVALS

PHASE 1:

CONCEPT SELECTION

DEVELOPER

PAWG

PHASE 2:

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPER

PAWG/PATG

STAGE 3

COMMISSION

RESPONSIBILITY

COUNCIL

APPROVALS PHASE 1:

FABRICATION

DEVELOPER

-

PHASE 2:

INSTALLATION

DEVELOPER

-

PHASE 3:

HAND-OVER OWNERSHIP TO COUNCIL IF RELEVANT

DEVELOPER/PAO

PAO/PATG


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CENTRAL ASSETMANAGEMENT The implementation of the Epping Central Public Art Strategy will result in a large number of commissions initiated by Council and public and private sector developers. In most cases the artworks will become the property and therefore the responsibility of Council to maintain. It is important to consider the impact of commissioning a large number of artworks on Council’s resources. In the early years after installation the works will require regular cleaning as specified by the artists, however, as the works age there will be increased costs associated with annual condition reporting and subsequent conservation work. Ideally the artworks should be included in Council’s total asset management planning to ensure they are not overlooked or underfunded. In addition to requiring the artists to provide maintenance manuals it is recommended that conservation advice be sought at the Concept and/or Design Development stages to ensure the artists are properly considering the selection of and combinations of materials. Ideally an Asset Management Plan should be developed to ensure that the regular cleaning and general maintenance is undertaken according to the artist’s requirements. It is also worth undertaking regular condition reports to make sure that any problems are identified quickly before becoming major conservation tasks. Artwork in the public realm should be reviewed on an annual basis to determine their continued relevance and lifespan in public spaces. The Council asset managers or public art officer will be primarily responsible for assessing existing public artworks on behalf of Council. At times additional professional conservation advice may be required on issues related to the relocation, removal or the ultimate disposal of works. In all cases the artist should, wherever possible, be consulted on possible options for new sites or given first option on repair or removal.

HANDOVER Council initiated projects: Upon completion of the installation the artwork should be inspected to

identify any defects in the manufacture Identified defects should be rectified in a timely manner Ownership of artwork is then transferred from Artist to Council and

Council assumes legal responsibility Artist to provide Artwork Maintenance Manual outlining reasonable

maintenance requirements Council produces and installs artwork plaque based on text provided

by the artist Council may wish to hold a formal unveiling ceremony or launch Completed artworks should be listed in the Asset Register with details

of the artist, date of completion, artist’s statement, location, materials, and photographs

ONGOING MAINTENANCE Council initiated projects: Maintenance is an important issue to consider as artworks can

become liabilities rather than assets if they are poorly maintained. Public artworks should be entered on Council’s Asset Register with

details of each artwork and the Maintenance Manual Ensure that records are kept of condition reports and any

maintenance undertaken Qualified art conservators or the artist and not general tradespeople

should carry out all significant conservation work At hand-over there should be an agreement between the artist and Council as to what constitutes a reasonable and achievable level of annual maintenance work to keep the artwork in a stable condition that minimises future conservation work.


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Public art, due to its interrelationship with the built and natural environment, is subject to the same changing influences as buildings, urban spaces and landscapes. Over time places change and evolve due to the impacts of people, redevelopment projects, weather and other environmental factors. Therefore, at some point in the future all the commissioned artworks will need to be reviewed in relation to their physical condition, relevance to place and community attitudes, and issues/practices associated with public risk. Due to these changing circumstances artworks in the collection may in the future become redundant. Perhaps the building or public space has changed to such a degree that the integrity of the artwork has been compromised, the artwork is no longer safe, there has been significant changes in community attitudes and therefore conceptually the artwork is no longer acceptable to the public. Therefore there needs to be a strategy that sets out the conditions under which artworks can be removed, relocated or in extreme cases disposed of.

ALTERATION

Council owned artworks: The instance of altering an existing artwork by a Council is rare, although there may be situations where an artwork needs to be altered due to changing conditions such as public liability issues where the artwork has become a risk. Should alterations be required then the artist should be consulted prior to any changes being made. [Refer to Moral Rights discussion]

RELOCATION AND REMOVAL Relocation: Relocation can become an issue where the environment that a site-specific work has been designed for has changed significantly resulting in the original integrity of artwork being compromised. It may become a Moral Rights issue if a suitable site cannot be identified, in which case the artist may prefer to have the work removed and destroyed. Removal: Removal may be the result of damage or deterioration of the structure becoming unsightly and unsafe and therefore requiring removal. Removal may also be necessary due to the redevelopment of the building or public space where the artwork is located. In the event that the work is to be reinstated once redevelopment work is completed then specialist conservation advice should be sought to ensure the work is not damaged during removal, storage and reinstatement. Disposal: Disposal may result in the event that the work is deemed to be beyond repair or of less value than the cost of repair, or it may result in the event that a work is no longer considered relevant and appropriate in a cultural context. In all cases where a work is to be removed or disposed of, the artist or the artist’s estate should be consulted and given an opportunity to be involved in the decision-making process. [Refer Moral Rights discussion]


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CENTRAL BUDGETMATRIX 2012-2032 The following matrix has been provided as a basis for establishing the likely cost of commissioning works of relative scale and complexity to deliver on the objectives of each layer. It is envisaged that an ‘engaging’ project could be delivered each year, potentially incorporated into the CCD Department's annual program. This will enable a creative CCD focus to become both a base and a lead for the other layers of the Art Strategy. ‘revealing’ projects should occur in alignment with the roll-out of larger development, improvement, and placemaking projects. ‘defining’ projects will be fewer in number, requiring larger budget allocations, strategic planning and staging. ‘evolving’ projects may involve partnerships with other Council Departments or organisations such as educational institutions, requiring planning co-ordination. LAYER NUMBER OF PROJECTS INDICATIVE PROJECT VALUE TOTAL BUDGET ALLOCATION ‘engaging’

20

$40,000

$800,000

‘revealing’

15

$100,000

$1,500,000

‘defining’

5

$200,000

$1,000,000

‘evolving’

8

$75,000

$600,000

TOTAL ARTWORK PROGRAM BUDGET $3,900,000

Notes: It is understood that the Budget allocation will be distributed over a 20 year period. At this stage no staging has been applied to the matrix. No allowance has been made for cost escalation and CPI increases over the 20 year period. No allowance has been made in this matrix to cover implementation costs such as consulting advice or costs associated with approval processes and

advisory committees. Total budget includes 30% Developer Contribution. This is a base budget which may be increased through supplementary funding from grant monies,

partnerships and sponsorship/philanthropic arrangements.


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APPENDICES


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APPENDIX 1:

Definitions The following definitions relate to cultural and artistic terms used in this document specifically relating to the range of artwork approaches included in the scope of projects identified in the strategy and are provided to assist in clarifying the differences in approach and potential outcomes. Multiculturalism In Victoria multiculturalism is defined by the Multicultural Act 2004 which provides the legislative framework that enshrines the concept and rights of culturally diverse Victorians. The act states that Parliament recognises that:

... all Victorians come from diverse cultural, religious, racial and linguistic backgrounds and values the richness that such diversity brings to the Victorian community.

The Act also confirms that:

all individuals in Victoria are entitled to mutual respect and understanding regardless of their cultural, religious, racial and linguistic backgrounds

The City of Whittlesea’s Multicultural Policy Statement affirms Council’s commitment to the principles enshrined in the Multicultural Act 2004 and works with these principles for the betterment of the local community. Interculturalism Interculturalism has been used to define the inclusive coming together of people from all cultural backgrounds to facilitate dialogue, exchange and reciprocal understanding for the benefit of the whole community. Based on UNESCO discussion interculturalism could be defined as:

“Interculturalism aims to go beyond passive coexistence, to achieve a developing and sustainable way of living together in multicultural societies through the creation of understanding of, respect for and dialogue between different cultural groups.”

It therefore builds on rights of individuals to exercise their multicultural rights as defined under the Multicultural Act 2004 and seeks to achieve a diversity dividend by bring together people with culturally diverse ideas to explore and generate new hybrid ideas.

Public Art Public Art is art created and located outside of a typical gallery context, in locations such as streets, parks, forecourts of public buildings, integrated into the building fabric or any space accessible to people. Public art can adopt many forms and approaches from community cultural development, place-making projects, stand alone public artworks, to art “built-in” or integrated with buildings, landscape or urban developments. Art can reflect a diverse range of styles and practices from traditional to contemporary art. It includes memorials, monuments, sculptures, or murals and also functional objects such as fountains, street furniture, lighting and paving. It may be both permanent and/or temporary, including installations and performances, billboard art, sound installations, video or laser projections, text, advertising, aerosol art and street banners. The works may be commissioned by either the public or private sectors and may therefore be located on either public or privately owned land. Community Cultural Development Across Australia, Councils have recognised that Community Cultural Development [CCD] and Community Art has been both a powerful community engagement and development tool; and a wonderful way for community members to contribute to shaping their physical environment. While there are many different approaches to the community art process, perhaps the most recognised is where an artist, with community development skills, works with the community on developing the conceptual content and then either creates the final artwork or supervises the creation of the work. Either way the community benefits from skills development and increased sense of ownership of place. Professional artists can also engage in gathering stories and community values as a source of inspiration from which to draw upon in their public art practice. For example, an oral history project may form the initial stage of a public art commission from which a contemporary artist develops her/his final artwork. In this way the outcome, while being a significant work resulting from that artist’s practice, is grounded in the local context of community and place. Integrated Art There is considerable value in working with artists on integrated artworks as part of the landscape, buildings or civic spaces. Options might include building fabric such as facades, glazing, architectural detailing and public space paving, street furniture, paving, retaining walls or interpretive signage.


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The advantages of involving artists in integrated artworks can be the development of unique detailing or furniture that has a strong sense of place and uniqueness. The other advantage is that maximum benefit can be gained through using art budgets to add value to existing expenditure. In addition, there are great benefits in including an artist on the design team to work alongside the architects and landscape architects to bring a deeper conceptual approach to the project. Stand Alone Art In addition to artworks that are commissioned as part of major infrastructure work there are always key locations in a city or landscape that may benefit from the addition of a stand-alone sculpture, landmark or icon artwork. While there is a tendency to think of icons as being major ‘landmark’ works, traditionally the term “icon” was used to describe a sacred object; it has also become a description of something that is unique and special to a place. Therefore an “iconic” stand alone artwork should not be judged by its size but by its power, uniqueness and strong sense of place. Platforms for Temporary/Ephemeral Art Every city and town has a range of public spaces that can be utilised for art events and temporary installations; they may be parks, plazas, streets, or the entry to a civic building. Temporary projects especially provide opportunities for young and emerging artists and opportunities for artists whose practice is focused on ephemeral art forms. An effective mechanism for introducing an element of change into the built environment can be through providing art spaces or ‘platforms’ for temporary artworks. For example, there are a number of successful curated ‘billboards’ in Australia. In these situations the artists utilise traditional billboard technology to create their artwork. An alternate approach is to use digital technology for screen based artworks, including digital screens that can be used for new media art as well as for event programming and special broadcasts. The advantage of the digital space is that it introduces almost unlimited potential for changing visual stimulation. Environmental Sustainability In developing an Environmental Sustainability Strategy the City of Whittlesea defines the term 'environmental sustainability' as how we maintain the many important qualities, processes and products that the environment provides, many of which contribute to our own wellbeing and quality of life.


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CENTRAL APPENDIX 2: Terms of Reference – Public Art Working Group Introduction: The role of the Public Art Working Group [PAWG] is to carry out specific tasks on behalf of Whittlesea City Council through the Terms of Reference. Further, the Terms of Reference clarify what Council expects to be done, and how and when it expects this will be accomplished. Additional terms can be created or existing ones amended with discussion and agreement by the Epping Central Working Group. Purpose: The purpose of the PAWG is to assist the Epping Central Working Group with the oversight and implementation of the Public Art Strategy for Epping Central and to best ensure that the individual artwork opportunities fulfil the requirements of the Artwork Briefs and meet the stated objectives of the strategy. Scope: The PAWG will provide expert guidance and advice to the Epping Central Working Group and make recommendations to Council at key milestones of the public art program. The PAWG has the delegated responsibility to approve the commissioning of artworks up to the value of $100,000 with projects over that value being recommended to Council for endorsement. The PAWG’s role will involve reviewing and approving: the proposed artwork opportunities the proposed artist shortlist for each opportunity concept proposals from shortlisted artists for each opportunity developed designs from selected artists for each opportunity Membership: Members representing a nominated Council or Government Department are to be appointed by the Department they represent and may be changed at the discretion of the Department. Community members should be appointed by Council for a three year term and shall not be eligible for reappointment for at least three years from the completion of their previous term. Meetings: The PAWG will meet at times to be determined by the PAO in line with

the artwork opportunity stages The quorum for a meeting will be half the number of members plus one

Reporting Procedures: The PAWG is appointed by Council and will have regard to and comply with Council’s policies and decisions and report directly to the Epping Central Working Group. The PAWG with support of the PAO will provide a written report to the ECWG for the information of Council at the commencement and completion of each artwork commission resulting from the Epping Central Public Art Strategy. The PAWG supported by the PAO will provide an annual Public Art Activity Statement that outlines the artwork commissions completed and underway, plus a financial statement of public art funds expended or committed during the reporting period. Resourcing: The PAO, in collaboration with the Chair, will have responsibility for the preparation of agenda papers for meetings and for distributing them prior to the meeting. The business conducted at each meeting will be recorded on the minutes by the PAO and copies of the minutes will be distributed to PAWG members in a timely way. The PAO will also be required to provide administrative support to the Chair in relation to the PAWG’s reporting responsibilities. Member Responsibilities: Members will adhere to the following conduct requirements: Ethical behaviour at all times Champion the project to the community and its successful delivery Consider all aspects from a local context and project objectives, and

avoid making personal aesthetic judgements Acknowledge that each member’s contribution is part of a wider

process. All members have an equal contribution to make to discussion Acknowledge the roles and responsibilities of the Council, State

government and other parties under legislation Observe confidentiality and exercise tact and discretion when dealing

with sensitive issues. Members must not disclose any information obtained in the course of the PAWG process to any person without the prior written consent of the Whittlesea City Council.

Declare any potential conflicts of interest Prepare for, attend and participate in scheduled meetings Community PAWG members wishing to terminate their involvement

need to do so in writing.


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CENTRAL APPENDIX 3: Moral Rights Public art, like all the areas of the arts and creative endeavours, is covered by the Moral Rights Act 2000. Moral Rights are individual rights associated with the act of creating a work such as a work of art, and the creator’s reputation. [http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2004A00752] The Act covers those rights that remain with the creator even though he or she may have transferred copyright in the work concerned to another person. They are non-economic rights, as they do not directly confer a financial return to the creator nor can they be traded, sold or bequeathed in a will, although when the creator dies the rights may be exercised by his or her legal personal representatives. There are essentially three Moral Rights that are separate and distinct from the economic rights in an artistic work. They are:

1. the right of attribution of authorship — the right of an artist to be named in connection with his or her artwork

2. the right against false attribution of authorship – the right of an artist

to not have his or her artwork falsely attributed to another artist, and

3. the right of integrity of authorship— the right of an artist to object to treatment of an artwork that demeans his or her reputation.

Right of Attribution The Moral Rights Act 2000 states that:

If the work is an artistic work, the attributable acts are the following: (a) to reproduce the work in a material form; (b) to publish the work; (c) to exhibit the work to the public; (d) to transmit the work.

The implications for public art projects are that the contracts should acknowledge the Commissioners obligation to: provide a permanent attribution plaque that attributes the work to the

artist, and accurately attribute the artwork in any published feature in which the

artwork is prominently displayed

Right Against False Attribution The Moral Rights Act 2000 states that:

Author’s right not to have authorship falsely attributed (1) The author of a work has a right not to have authorship of the

work falsely attributed. (2) The author’s right is the right not to have a person (the

attributor) do, in respect of the work, any of the acts (the acts of false attribution) mentioned in the following provisions of this Division.

The likelihood of false attribution on a public art project undertaken by Council is remote as the author/artist will have been contracted by Council and will in most instances be fully involved in the creation of the project. It is however important to require that the artist guarantees the Commissioner that he or she is the author of the work and that the work does not infringe the moral rights of another party. Right of Integrity The Moral Rights Act 2000 states that:

Author’s right of integrity of authorship (1) The author of a work has a right of integrity of authorship in

respect of the work. (2) The author’s right is the right not to have the work subjected to

derogatory treatment. This Right is the most relevant to the issue of asset maintenance as it relates to the Right of Integrity which is primarily directed against mutilation or distortion of a work that may be in some way prejudicial to the creator’s reputation. In the case of public artworks, the right also covers the destruction of the artwork and/or the public exhibition of the artwork in a way that might be prejudicial to the artist’s reputation and devalue the work/asset. In the situation where a work of art has been changed in some form from the original which the artist considers to have altered the work and destroyed its integrity, the artist would be entitled to request that the work should no longer be attributed to them. In this case the attribution plaque would be removed and no further reference would be made to the artist as the author. Any creator may give consent to a specified act or omission which would otherwise be an infringement of moral rights. In the event that there are


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potential changes likely in the future then it is important to identify the specified act or acts in the commission contract. The Moral Rights Act recognises that moral rights present special difficulties for buildings and for artworks associated with them or sited in public places. It makes detailed provision for the architect or artist to be consulted before any change to, or demolition of, a building or removal of a public site-specific artwork, without impinging on the right of the owner to deal with their property. For example where an artwork is integral to the building fabric or situated in a public space and changes are made to the building or space this may result in the inevitable destruction of the work.

(1) The destruction of a moveable artistic work is not an infringement

of the author’s right of integrity of authorship in respect of the work if the person who destroyed the work gave the author, or a person representing the author, a reasonable opportunity to remove the work from the place where it was situated.

In this situation the Act does ask that an effort is made to notify the artist.

.. in accordance with the regulations and before the change, relocation, demolition or destruction is carried out, given the author or a person representing the author a written notice stating the owner’s intention to carry out the change, relocation, demolition or destruction; and (b) the notice stated that the person to whom the notice was given may, within 3 weeks from the date of the notice, seek to have access to the work for either or both of the following purposes: (i) making a record of the work; (ii) consulting in good faith with the owner about the change,

relocation, demolition or destruction; and

(c) the notice contained such other information and particulars as are

prescribed; and

(d) where the person to whom the notice was given notifies the owner within the period of 3 weeks referred to in paragraph (b) that the person wishes to have access to the work for either or both of the purposes mentioned in that paragraph—the owner

has given the person a reasonable opportunity within a further period of 3 weeks to have such access; and

(e) where, in the case of a change or relocation, the person to whom

the notice was given notifies the owner that the person requires the removal from the work of the author’s identification as the author of the work—the owner has complied with the requirement.

This last clause requiring a reasonable effort to be made to notify the artist of intended removal and/or destruction of an artwork is particularly relevant to artworks in public places and should be an essential step whenever Council considers the removal, relocation or destruction of a public artwork. COPYRIGHT Copyright, unlike Moral Rights, is a transferable commodity and as such there are situations in which a commissioner requires an artist or designer to transfer the copyright as a condition of the commission contract. It is however, national best practice that the artist should retain copyright in a public art concept proposal. Commission Contracts should detail: that the artist will retain the copyright or that the copyright will be

transferred to the commissioner that the artist should be acknowledged as the author of the work both

with regard to a permanent plaque on or near the artwork and in any feature of the work

a licence agreement that provides the commissioner with the right to reproduce images of the artwork for non commercial marketing and promotional purposes

that the commissioner will not produce any reproductions of the work for commercial purposes without entering into an agreement with the artist that ensures the artist’s copyright is not infringed, and

that the artist will not reproduce the same artwork for another commissioner


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CENTRAL APPENDIX 4: Evaluation The following forms; Project Details and Evaluation, have been provided as a mechanism to inform the process of evaluating proposed artwork opportunities and artists’ concept proposals proposed by private developers or government agencies outside of the public art program funded by Council and the DCP. It is a condition of Council approvals that all proposed artworks for Epping Central will align with and contribute to the Epping Central Public Art Strategy and the overarching Conceptual Framework ‘Held in Common’. The artist will be required to complete the Project Details Form and provide the relevant concept information and then form should be submitted by the developer [Commissioner] or by a representative of the developer’s project planning/design team.


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Project Evaluation Form Please provide the details of the Commissioner, the proposed project and location plus the name of the artist or artists and the title of the proposed artwork. In addition please provide a short description or artist’s statement describing the physical and conceptual nature of the proposed artwork.

PROJECT DETAILS FORM

LAYER: select layer

‘engaging’ ‘revealing’ ‘defining’ ‘evolving’

COMMISSIONER:

DATE:

PROJECT NAME:

PROJECT LOCATION:

ARTIST/S:

ARTWORK TITLE:

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION:

RESPONSE TO CURATORIAL RATIONALE:


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Project Evaluation Form:

PROJECT EVALUATION FORM

LAYER: select layer

‘engaging’ ‘revealing’ ‘defining’ ‘evolving’

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Rating Scale: 1 Unacceptable – 2 Acceptable – 3 Good – 4 Very Good – 5 Excellent

CRITERIA: SCOREContemporary Public Art practice Response to Curatorial Rationale & Brief Appropriateness of proposed community engagement process (relevant for ‘engaging’) Appropriateness to site Appropriateness of proposed fabrication and installation methodology (relevant for ‘revealing’, ‘defining’ and ‘evolving’) Appropriateness of maintenance requirements (relevant for ‘revealing’, ‘defining’ and ‘evolving’) Value for money

TOTAL

COMMISSIONER:

DATE:

PROJECT NAME:

PROJECT LOCATION:

ARTIST/S:

ARTWORK TITLE:


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APPENDIX 5:

Budget Guide

ORDER OF COST

$20,000

$50,000

$100,000

$200,000

The images of existing public art projects below are provided as a guide only of the order of cost for a range of artwork types. The cost of an artwork is not simply dependent on scale; rather the selection of materials and complexity of the form may have a greater impact on the cost than size. For example small details integrated into large granite boulders can be a cost effective way of achieving mass, while casting in bronze or aluminium is a time consuming and therefore expensive process.

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