While many world cities enchant us with their classical architecture, their boulevards, monuments and historic buildings, Sydney expresses itself in exciting contemporary design, making it a creative and colourful place to live, work and visit. No other time reveals this more than “Art & About,” which reinvents some of the city’s busiest public squares and laneways into engaging works of art.

Amongst the program shines a few highlights – one in particular being the Paired Gold project by Stephen Collier and Kim Connerton. In this project, noisy, dreary Wilmot Street is re-imagined as a golden thoroughfare with sheets of faux gold applied to the entire length of the street, lining all its surfaces. Paired Gold will offer pedestrians a shimmering, transformative and other-worldly link between George and Pitt Streets.

Augmenting Spatially by Refik Anadol and Alexis Sanal, curated by Pelin Dervis reinvents Abercrombie Lane through unique sound and light installations, as an Istanbul-inspired urban space. As passers-by move through the laneway, the installation will react to footsteps and conversations, with the interactive acoustics and geometric lines of light that stretch the length of the laneway transforming the public’s experience as they travel from George Street to Tank Stream Way.

“Art & About” was launched in 2007 and features a myriad of exciting and inspiring projects by more than 50 artists, architects and creative professionals. City of Sydney CEO Monica Barone said “A crucial part of our vision for the future of Sydney is to transform George Street into a destination, rather than just a thoroughfare. Public art has a big role to play in this, along with wider footpaths, light rail, new street furniture and more street trees”.

Initiatives like “Art & About” and the promotion of Public Art undoubtedly play an invaluable role in making Sydney such a colourful and enticing place to live.


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