The City of Sydney releases eight licensed artworks for developers to display on construction hoardings.

Construction hoardings protect the public from active worksites on large developments, and the City of Sydney has spent a decade turning those plain barriers into a citywide gallery of contemporary Australian art. The latest round of the creative hoardings program delivers eight new licensed artworks, two of which have gone up on construction sites at York and Erskine Streets in the city and at Link Road in Zetland.

Developers in high-traffic areas must cover their site barriers with art by a living Australian artist or with relevant historical images. The program gives them two routes to comply, and builders can commission their own artist or they can license artworks from the City of Sydney free of charge, which hands artists a large public canvas and developers a simple solution.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore says Council created the program in 2016 in response to community demand for more street art that enlivens the streets of Sydney and brings creativity into the everyday. “As our city continues to grow and evolve at pace, construction sites are common,” says Moore.

Council can prove clear results since that launch, with Moore describing a program that has inspired numerous cities. “The program is a real success story, with other cities in Australia and overseas inspired to try their own. Since its introduction, we’ve licensed 38 quality contemporary Australian artworks for use by developers on more than 521 hoardings across inner Sydney,” she says.

Gardens grow beside Wynyard station

Artist Louise Zhang contributed The gardens we plant, a work inspired by market gardens and communal courtyards as spaces that provide nourishment and connection. Crews fitted the artwork on a site near Wynyard Station. Zhang describes the experience of seeing her work at scale as magnificent. “We thrive with nature. Plants have importance in every culture, every religion and for every person in some way. We can’t live without them and that was why I wanted to put a garden in the city,” she says.

The choice of subject carries particular meaning for a place defined by concrete, cranes and commuters. Zhang speaks of the city’s pace when she explains her thinking. “The city can be a very busy, noisy, bustling space, so having a garden or greenery in the area not only helps with climate and shade, it helps the soul as well,” she says. Her large-scale planting turns a temporary barrier into a pocket of greenery for the people who walk past on their way to the train.

For architects, designers and developers, the hoardings program offers a practical model for the early stages of a project, since a site barrier becomes a public-facing design element long before a building takes shape. A well-chosen artwork gives passers-by a reason to look up, and it gives a project team a way to announce its presence in the neighbourhood with care and creativity.

Children see the city through their own eyes

Through their eyes follows a collaborative path, with junior players from the Redfern All Blacks rugby league football club co-creating the work during art workshops with Worimi and Bundjalung artist Taleena Simon. Simon is an accomplished player who represented the club and Australia, so she brings first-hand knowledge of the community she was working within.

The artwork presents the city as children see it. Footprints, travel symbols, wavy lines and dotted patterns represent the junior players and their journey through Gadigal Country, and they capture the landmarks and experiences that define the essence of the city for these young artists.

The players have responded with enthusiasm to the sight of their work on a public site. “I’m so excited to see our artwork in public,” one junior player said. Another contributing junior described the part of the process that mattered most to them. “My favourite thing about this artwork is the freedom of drawing and how I get to draw things with friends,” they said.

That mix of professional practice and community participation gives the fourth round of the creative hoardings program its heart. It shows how a compulsory safety measure can carry stories of place, culture and childhood. Each new hoarding adds another layer to the streetscape while the buildings behind it take shape, and each one offers a reminder that good design can start on day one of a project.

Visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au to see the eight selected artworks released this year in the fourth round of the creative hoardings program.

Images: Supplied.