FAQ

Public art is any medium that has been planned and exhibited with the intention of being in the physical public domain, generally outdoors and accessible to all, including publicly accessible buildings or parts of a building. Public art can be permanent or temporary, sculptural, mural or significantly diverse in form. Public art creates iconic places, enhances spaces and supports the community. It promotes economic development, social cohesion, urban rejuvenation and tourism. 

Most public art tends to be site specific but can also involve the community or multiple collaborators. Some common types of sculptural or 3D public art includes, monuments and statues, building integrated works (I.e. on the façade of a building), functional and integrated works (i.e. integrated into street furniture, bins, lighting design, canopies etc.), temporary, ephemeral, pop up and/or guerrilla art.

Some common forms of 2D public art includes, murals and/or graffiti art, projection and digital art, wall superimposed art such as large format stickers or paste up’s, art that has been etched or built into glass or other. Temporary, ephemeral, pop-up or guerilla art can also be 2D. More modern forms of public art may also include performance art, art spaces and/or live art, digital and varying forms of multimedia art. 

At present the City has approximately 23 permanent works, however, since the introduction of planning policy P316, the City will see a significant increase in developer contributed artworks soon to be revealed across the City. It is likely that the number of public artworks will double in the next few years. 

The City of South Perth supports the development of public art through its investment of 2% (of a total project cost) towards public art in new above ground urban design, public open space, community building constructions and redevelopment projects. The policy only applies to projects with a value greater than $2 million dollars.

In July 2014, Council endorsed a Planning Policy P316 Developer contribution for public art. This policy requires developers of projects with a value of $4 million or greater to contribute at least 1% of the total project cost (excluding land value) towards public art. The contribution can be delivered as public art within the development itself, within the neighbouring precinct, or as a contribution to the City’s Public Art Fund.

The City’s public art fund offers opportunity for new projects. This allows the City the prospect of delivering artworks in locations that may not have a new planned development or upgrade.

The City of South Perth regularly reviews the Public Art Strategy, updates our policies and delivers a range of projects throughout the year. The City will use your input to help guide the decisions and projects as delivered annually.