Virginia Rigney, Chairperson of the public art fund art+place

The launch of the $12 million art+place Queensland Public Art Fund late last year was the talk of the state arts sector. Gold Coast Art Gallery curator Virginia Rigney is the chair of the art+place Curatorial Panel and she talks to Arts Update about the fund, public art in the community and her passion for art in public spaces.

What role do you believe public art plays within a community?

To surprise, delight, challenge, commemorate, define and exult. There are many roles for art within public spaces and I think the exciting thing about this kind of art form is that artists are continually finding so many new possibilities for it.

What do you hope will be achieved through the public art fund, art+place?

This fund, I hope, will allow us to make some significant commissions of major art works for the people of Queensland. I also hope the way in which the panel will work with the new position of Government Curator will allow us to broker new kinds of partnerships with government agencies, artists, councils, private developers and education and research organisations that will not only identify new opportunities for the placement of public art but also higher quality outcomes.

I also hope we will be able to encourage and foster excellence in the presentation of temporary public art opportunities and encourage active and ongoing opportunities for public programming for permanently sited art works once they are commissioned.
 
More broadly, I hope some of the works we commission go on to become part of the wider public imagination - ingrained not only in the place in which they are sited, but in our deeper cultural life - just as, for example, William Robinson's paintings of the Springbrook rainforest or David Malouf's writing about Brisbane, have a currency that extends beyond their immediate time and place.

The first batch of submissions for art+place funding have been received by the Curatorial Panel.  What were they like?

The overall impression that we had as a panel was of the depth of enthusiasm for developing public art projects, particularly from sectors where there had been limited opportunity in the past to access government funding for such projects such as local government and the development community. We were also struck by their diversity.

What is the Curatorial Panel looking for in submissions?

Submissions to art+place will be a fairly lengthy four-stage process but this is to ensure that the many complex issues involved in the commissioning of public art can be addressed and that there is opportunity for substantial feedback between the panel, Government Curator and applicants throughout all those different stages.  Funds are released at each stage to allow projects to proceed. So far we have only had to consider the Expression of Interest stage (EOI) which essentially allows a dialogue to start and asks people to identify the potential site for a piece of public art and the general themes or ideas that could be addressed with a commission as well as a general indication of the budget. Some projects identify an individual artist at this stage but this is not a requirement for approval to go to the next stage.

We will be looking for a direct and clear expression of ideas, evidence of consultation with the community and stakeholders and a sense that the scale and context of the site has been well considered. Good illustrations and site renderings are very helpful.

We would like to encourage applicants to consider the commissioning of public art as something more than the embellishment to a building or precinct that has virtually completed a design process and we would also hope that public art should not be seen purely as an opportunity to 'rescue' a site that has inherent design problems. 

We are also keenly looking for great ideas from regional and remote Queensland and ideas that might use innovation in design, technology or fabrication.

Why are you passionate about public art?

It is the opportunity to bring artwork into the public realm that connects with peoples' lives in ways that works presented inside gallery walls cannot.

These may be art works that someone may pass everyday on their way to work and so become a regular point of reflection or a marker for their day. It may also be something that surprises and challenges, enables new connections to be made between people, or perhaps simply something that a child loves to clamber all over.

Public art has the ability to build emotive bonds to place and I think that in our increasingly virtual world the physicality and sheer difference of art is wonderfully sustaining.

Do you think there is now more acceptance of governments spending money on public art? 

Simply going on the evidence of the first round of applications I think we have moved from acceptance to expectation. Communities now expect public art to be part of their everyday experience. They value their streets and parks, their community centres and civic precincts and the commissioning of art for these places is now regarded as, perhaps, the most obvious and immediate sign that the government acknowledges that sense of value too and wishes to support it.  

Is there a particular piece of public art in Queensland that you would consider your favourite?

I think Donna Marcus's work Steam in the forecourt of the new Brisbane City Council offices in Brisbane Square has been particularly successful. There is humour and irony in the elevation of the humble aluminium vegetable steamer into a unit of ordered geometry and it also speaks of that very particular sticky quality of our local climate.

As an artist who usually works in found aluminium, she has been able to infuse this work made from new castings of the metal with her understandings of the particular qualities and history of the material.  It is interesting to see how quickly it has become a popular part of city life with people photographing themselves next to it, TV news being filmed in front of it and how at night-time the lighting totally transforms the work.

Because there is more than one element, what could have been a confusing space bounded by busy streets, has become connected, as if some giant has rolled his marbles across the floor. The work makes you feel like you want to join in and play.

What advice would you give to artists/designers hoping to create public art? 

Public art is certainly emerging as a major area of opportunity in professional practice for artists and designers and so developing the specific skills and knowledge that enable your work to be translated into a public art context - whether it be a permanent or temporary work, interior or exterior -  is now as important as planning for a gallery show for many artists.
 
The new art+place fund specifically recognises the value of the work of the artist in the way that money is to be allocated to projects. For example, when a private developer makes an application, the maximum amount they can apply for is $25,000 for a project, but all of this money is to go to an artist’s fee.

A number of Queensland-based artists have already developed significant national reputations in this area and we would hope that this trend continues for more artists.  Getting your work on to the radar of architects, planners, landscape architects and public art curators may seem a daunting prospect, but you could start by identifying local design or architectural practices that you like and finding out who is involved in this kind of work or by contacting the division within your local council that deals with commissioning public art and inviting them to your exhibitions, send them your catalogues and basically indicate your willingness to be engaged with the making of public art.  

Taking on the role of an artist within a public art project is not without challenges, however. Public art involves the artist in negotiation and discussion with a variety of stakeholders. Getting the balance right between creating an artwork of integrity, that is true to your sensibility, and one that meets the considerations of public safety, maintenance and placement within an overall context, and budget, can be a challenging and exacting process. To be honest, it is not a process that suits all artists. In many projects it will be the role of a specialist public art curator, attached to a project to facilitate these steps, but the artist must also be strongly engaged to ensure that we really see an art work emerge - not an empty piece of fabrication whose core intent and meaning has been compromised out of existence.  

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