The City Renewal Authority is pleased to announce the grant recipients for the 2022-2023 Placemaking Grants program!
Three grants of up to $50,000 have now been awarded to drive visitation to the City Centre and strengthen the community’s connection to public spaces.
Canberrans and visitors to the City Centre and Braddon will now be able to use treasure maps to uncover interesting pieces of beauty,enjoy community poetry and embrace free entertainment on Fridays with thanks to:
The recipients will deliver their projects across the City Centre and Braddon between now and July 2023. Submissions were selected based on projects that:
So, what do these creative people have up their sleeves to bring more people and vibrancy to our City Centre? Read on to find out.
Public Art Treasure Hunts
Get ready for a series of two, day-long Public Art Treasure Hunts, events and exhibitions, designed to uncover 100 interesting pieces of overlooked beauty in the City Centre. The main events held over a weekend, will give people the chance to use treasure maps to find interesting objects previously selected in close collaboration with members of the community.
The treasure hunts will link the Australian National University with the City Centre and provide plenty of ways for the community to get involved and experience the urban environment while having a whole lot of fun.
The City Centre will become a giant outdoor art gallery. The best part is that the outdoor gallery and Public Art Treasure Hunts will stand the test of time and be available for anyone to participate well after the initial events.
Claire Granata from PeopleLab who will facilitate the treasure hunts said she and the team are delighted to give Canberrans and visitors a sense of surprise in unexpected places.
"Receiving this grant gives us the opportunity to scale up our creative practice and present our successful Public Art Treasure Hunt events to broader audiences,” Claire said.
“For us, it’s about sharing unique experiences with others. We love to see people surprised, and hopefully change their expectations and their interactions with their environment.”
Poetic City
Embrace your creative side with the Poetic City – Winter Edition. Poetic City will bring a community poetry festival to venues and spaces across the City Centre with a flow of activities, events and installations throughout City West that will bring a sense of place and season ality to Canberrans.
The Poetic City activities will celebrate people from all parts of our community through poetry and language related experiences. These are designed for children and families alongside the City Renewal Authority’s Winter in the City event and will also include installations to stop people in the street and embrace poetry, performances, and workshops. Another key feature of the festival is intergenerational queer poetry in collaboration with the ‘She Shapes History’ walking tour operators.
Jacqui Malins from Poetic City said she and the team are excited to be part of the Placemaking Grants.
“I am thrilled to receive a Placemaking Grant to deliver Poetic City - Winter Edition in July 2023,” Jacqui said.
“It is so exciting to have the resources to work with other poets and artists to devise a festival with something to offer people right across our community: from young kids to their grandparents, and for those brand-new to poetry, through to established writers. Poetic City will be all about creativity, community, participation and shaping new relationships with our city environment.”
Jazida Productions Pop-up Parties
Love a party? Well the Jazida Pop-up Parties are for you! The party comes to life popping up at different locations across the City Centre and Braddon with free entertainment from 5pm-8:15pm on Fridays. You can expect interactive arts and crafts, DJs, cabaret shows, flash mobs, games, fire dancing, circus, live music, drag, and so much more.
Rachel Reid, event curator and renowned cabaret performer, says the fun and festivities are for anyone and everyone to join, the more the merrier.
"I am so thrilled that we’ve been funded to deliver this program of shows” says Reid.
"Nothing brings the community together better than live art and it’s my absolute favourite way to light up the city in a way that appeals to so many people, no matter their walks of life!"
Placemaking Grants are made possible by the City Centre Marketing and Improvements Levy (CCMIL) , a levy paid by commercial property owners in the City Centre and Braddon.
Thank you to everyone that made a submission for this year’s Placemaking Grants - we received a fantastic range of innovative, creative and inclusive placemaking ideas.
To be the first to hear when our next round of Placemaking Grants opens for 2023-24, subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.act.gov.au/cityrenewal/subscribe
We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.
