The City of Sydney has begun the process of turning a busy street in the heart of Chinatown into a new public art space.
Thomas Street, which runs between Hay Street in Haymarket and the ABC Centre in Ultimo, has been earmarked as a future pedestrian thoroughfare and will be transformed into a sculpture garden that reflects the diversity of the local community.
Public Art Curator for the City of Sydney’s Chinatown Public Art Plan, Aaron Seeto, said: “Chinatown and Asian culture is no longer these stereotypical images of red lanterns that people subscribe to,” he said.
“There are different layers of migration in the area, different Asian communities as well as international students and young professionals. It is a very important space for Sydneysiders.
The Council recently held a forum that involved presentations from artists, designers and planners, to discuss ideas and concerns associated with converting the space into a public garden.
Design Director of the City of Sydney Bridget Smyth said: “We tried not to take a formulaic approach to designing the city… and through the forum the city can engage with the community in a different way than just at a town hall meeting.”
The proposed ‘new century garden’ will house a number of permanent artworks as well as provide a public meeting area and a space for temporary projects and presentations.
“Because there’s so little public space in Chinatown we want [the garden] to be a counterpoint – a place of reflection and contemplation,” Ms Smyth said.
The forum will assist City of Sydney staff with finalising the design brief, but there is still a long way to go before the plan is cemented.
“The forum wasn’t about coming up with a concrete plan but was a philosophical discussion about what could be possible… now it’s a question of refining the idea,” Mr Seeto said.
A brief will be compiled based on the forum discussions and once completed the council will put out an expression of interest for artists who want to be involved in the project.
Despite concerns that local businesses feel cut off from traffic by the closure of Thomas St, Ms Smyth said there has been no backlash from the local community.
“The sentiment from Chinatown has been; ‘please just do it, just get on with it,’” she said.
By Rachel Corbett
