Braybrook Public Art: February 2014

Maribyrnong City Council currently has an annual allocation to commission permanent public art as part of its Capital Works and Improvement Program Budget. The commissioning of public art is guided by "On the Edge” Maribyrnong Public Art Strategy. The site chosen for the 2013/14 public art commission is the suburb of Braybrook – specifically the redeveloped Braybrook Community Centre where two permanent public works will be commissioned. The newly developed Braybrook Community Hub is one of a number of projects that Maribyrnong City Council is undertaking as part of its “Revitalising Braybrook” initiative.

An artist selection panel reviewed the works of twenty artists, all of whom were submitted through an Expression Of Interest (EOI), and seven were shortlisted. This blog documents the process by which each artist/artist team will work with artist/curator Kendal Henry to develop final proposals which will then be presented to a public art panel, Council and the general public. Only two proposals will eventually be awarded commissions.

2.09.2014

Archinauts

The artwork “Pollyanna's Egg” reflects the emergence of a more cohesive and optimistic community. By acknowledging the past, present and future stories of Braybrook the work is representational of a cross-section of people and places telling a story across time. The story is uniquely Braybrook, unlike any other. We take as our starting point the true story of a 12-year-old Braybrook resident Trena Telford and her pet goose, Pollyanna, as it appears in the Argus, August 1956. This story has been developed into a children's book, “Pollyanna’s Egg” written and illustrated by the artist. The story which celebrates themes of friendship and children's agency to effect positive outcomes is commemorated with a timber sculpture in the form of a large egg to se sited at the new Braybrook community library.

The large goose egg is carved from recycled timber and raised on a form concrete plinth. A “nest” of long grassy plants with delicate feathery tips obscures the plinth. The egg contains a hollow center, which will contain a weatherproof time capsule. The time capsule will be opened at an unspecified time in the future. The inclusion of the time capsule brings the egg to life there's a sense that one day in the future it will hatch, bring to the light things that were valuable too community in 2014.

2.05.2014

a glimpse of the proposals

Yesterday the artists presented their proposals for the two Braybrook Community Hub public art projects. ALL the proposals were thoughtful, engaging and well put together. Below, in no particular order, is a glimpse of the concepts as they each had layers and layers that would be revealed over time and as the community interacts with them. So much hard work, so many great ideas it's a pity only two will be selected. The winning designs will be announced sometime in March.

the panel in deep discussion as they consider all the proposals

Mark Cuthbertson project 1 & 2

The works will consist of a series of soft form cast concrete sculptures. The soft form casting technique involves pouring wet concrete into a supported flexible fabric formwork and allowing it to cure. This process produces an amazing softness and fluidness of line to the formed concrete. The works will vary in scale from 1.5 m to 3 m in height depending on the individual design. There will be up to five works produced and installed as part of the full installation. The work should be installed on-site one or two though there is no preference between the sites. We would encourage the community to voice which site they would like to work installed on. During the workshops, students and the local community will work with Mark to create drawings, paintings, small-scale models and pottery work exploring ideas of what they would like to see at the community centre. It will be an opportunity for Mark to work with the local community to create images, ideas, thoughts and see the world through the eyes of the people of Braybrook. Workshops will be run in a fun and open environment, encouraging positive behavior from students and the community through artistic expression. People will be encouraged to be as hands on as to like, creating art, explore new ideas and techniques and influencing the public art sculpture in the community

Damien Butler

The curatorial approach is focused on the sculpture to alter the experience of the landscape and site. Even the smallest object adds definition and character to space. Our own projections onto them structure a system of imagined and real activities, creating interiorised space. Every object holds the potential for an action or an event, that is, people find within them behaviors and states. Thus the object must not be limited to its physical form, but recognized for its atmospheric and temporal qualities. Damien Butler's “Your Color PlayHouse” carries an evocative reminder of the power of these small intrusions to shape how people spend time. The objects of this installation themselves are virtually insignificant in that they are only facilitators, though they built around them a shift in occupation, behavior, and spatial quality, through the intangibles of vision and light. These bring out the aesthetic significance of objects as shapers of movement and inhabitation, over time and through space. Spaces themselves are not defined only by comprehensive and definite structures - the controlled gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art. Quiet introductions of objects and the imaginative potential that they hold also redefined spatial experience in a much quieter way; they disrupt existing orders, and in doing so re-create them.

An object carries with it a field of influence. What objects are not defined by the parameters of architecture, when they are strategically dispense, they hold the potential to blur the limits of place and program, providing minor accents and experimental landscapes. This is the kind of architecture not based on construction limits, but a form of disappearing act as features dissipate into the streets. However, through their introduction, they re-orient existing domains and our interaction with them.

The Niche Art Project 1

Our aim is to create an awareness of environment by engaging the viewer and revealing shapes and patterns drawn from nature. The smooth seedpods invoke the sensation of growth and potential. A grouping of seed forms in highly polished granite sculpted in the round scattered and tilted to accentuate movement. This distinctive artwork that is site-specific and contemporary will invigorate the public space and promote a sensory engagement within the space. Flowing designs of words and stories, A River of Words - Seed of Thoughts will be etched into the granite seedpods. The artworks will be durable, interactive and meaningfully utilizing vibrant and dynamic designs. Our intention is to communicate the richness and depth of stories that connect people to public places. The River of Words - seeds of Thoughts will come from community consultation. The words will tell a story that connects with the new community hub. A continuous design of etched words flowing across the top surface of the seed forms. We believe significant public art builds on collaboration and consultation to create artworks that have an ongoing dialogue and engagement with the community.

The Niche Art Project 2

Community gardens are places where people can relax, learn, garden and get together with friends. The garden is made up of assigned and shared community plots, a community orchard/ food forest and native planted areas. This artwork is a grouping of giant stylized sprouts with buds at the tips and internal steel structure clad in woven highly durable nylon tube winding up the sprout. Organic growth forms connecting with buds in cast aluminum.

mark cuthbertson

Mark’s current practice is exploring, collecting and the reconstruction of forms and controlled environments within urban and rural community setting. The reinvention of domestic, industrial materials and equipment, in the development and direction of new works. Endeavouring to develop a sense of encounter and to alter the relation between, the sense of place, installed work and the audience. Integrating ephemeral works within natural and built environments, and allowing the community to develop a means of interaction & dialog with the work

jos van hulsen & mary long

Mary Long and Jos Van Hulsen, first set up Post Industrial Design back in 1995 in the dusty streets of Richmond. Their love for the local community has lead them to set up shop again, this time in Barkly St West Footscray. Jos sets the mood with his amazing designs and to complement his work, Mary scours the country for other beautiful things. Many unusual hand-made items can be found in store and you can always find a treasure even on a tiny budget. Resisting the notion of a throw away society, most of the stock is made from recycled materials, the products are timeless and crafted for life. With a continual search to find beauty in the mundane, re-working everyday discarded objects into something new is pure inspiration.

Kendal Henry is an artist and curator who lives in New York City and specializes in the field of public art for the past twenty-two years. He illustrates that public art can be used as a tool for social engagement, civic pride and economic development through the projects and programs he’s initiated in the US, Europe, Russia, Asia, Central Asia, Australia and the Caribbean.

Kendal believes that the most successful public artworks start with the question, “What do you want the artwork to do”, and takes into account the audience and surrounding environment in the creation of that artwork. While all his public works are different they share a common thread. The artworks are always site-specific, created in collaboration with others (artists, community, designers, etc.) and presented in multiples.

He currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts’ Public Art Summer Residency program and is a guest lecturer at various universities and educational institutions including the Abbey Mural Workshop at the National Academy Museum & School of Fine Arts; Rhode Island School of Design Senior Studio; and Pratt Institute’s Arts and Cultural Management Program. Kendal served as the Director of Culture and Economic Development for the City of Newburgh, NY where he created the region’s first Percent for Art Program. Prior to that post he was Manager of Arts Programs at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Arts for Transit for eleven years. During this time, he has overseen the commissioning, fabrication and installation of MTA’s permanent art projects, served as a member of the MTA’s in-house design team, and produced temporary exhibitions at Grand Central Terminal.

Previous to this experience he served as a Project Manager at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ Percent for Art Program. Kendal is also the Curator-at-large at the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art (MoCADA) in Brooklyn, NY and was elected to serve two 3-year terms on the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Council.

Braybrook has for too long been seen as a place of disadvantage and despair. Maribyrnong City Council knows there is more to Braybrook than the headline indicators of disadvantage, and that there are a number of strengths and opportunities in the community. However, we also recognise there are things that can and should be done to improve wellbeing and liveability in Braybrook.

These documents identiy the challenges facing Braybrook and some of the indicators of disadvantage facing our community. They demonstrate the impact of this disadvantage on all aspects of life, including health, education, employment and social inclusion. It also sets out a vision for redressing this disadvantage. As the title suggests, it seeks to provide a framework to Revitalise Braybrook.

Maribyrnong City Council is committed to working to improve the health and wellbeing of all its residents. We recognise that this will require targeted and sustained investment from a range of sources, including government, private, and community sectors. It will also require engagement with the local community to ensure they guide this investment to meet their needs.

‘Revitalising Braybrook’ provides a framework for this investment to meet the needs of the local community and to provide hope to future generations.