COMMISSIONING NEW WORKS

The way in which the City of Sydney commissions new public art works varies from project to project, depending on the location, brief, budget and scale, and whether it is a commission for a permanent or temporary work. The process is always conforming with legislation and the City’s Procurement Policy, to ensure an equitable and transparent process.

 

In order to align Council processes with best public art practice, the strategy and brief for each new commission are carefully developed by the City and the Public Art Advisory Panel to reflect the specific requirements of the project. Sometimes the brief is developed in consultation with the local community or other relevant stakeholders.

 

Once a brief has been developed, there are a number of ways that public art is commissioned, which include:

 

Open Expressions of Interest
From time to time the City invites artists through an open expression of interest to register their interest and respond to a brief for temporary or permanent public art.

 

Initiation to artists nominated by the Public Art Advisory Panel

The Public Art Advisory Panel may propose of a number of artists for a particular project, who are then invited to submit proposals.

 

Invitation to artists nominated by a competitively appointed Curator Curators are appointed based on their particular curatorial strengths and the artists they nominate for projects are invited to submit proposals.

 

Artists nominated by a competitively appointed consultant for Capital works and major projects The City requests consultants to nominate artists for public art in selected capital works projects.

 

Partnership projects
The City works with an individual benefactor or an arts organisation following an appropriate process to deliver significant public art works.

 

While Council has the discretion to commission specific works of exceptional quality and importance to the fabric of the City without following the above process, this would only occur in exceptional circumstances.

 

If you have an idea for a public art project, it may fall outside the processes outlined above but we would still like to hear from you – your idea may qualify for a Cultural Grant, Community Services Grant or a Matching Grant or it may be something the Events Liaison Unit can assist with.

 

New projects will be advertised in the City Art News section of this website and in other relevant media (websites or newspapers) depending on the project.