Former South Sydney Hospital site. Image supplied by City of Sydney.
The City of Sydney is calling for proposals for a major public artwork in the heritage precinct of the former Royal South Sydney Hospital at Green Square.
The site is located at the eastern end of Green Square Town Centre flanked by Joynton Avenue and the proposed Aquatic Centre to the east, Zetland Avenue to the north, Portman Street to the west and Hansard Street to the south.
Billed as the development of an entirely new town centre, Green Square is projected to house about 40,000 residents and attract 22,000 workers by 2030. Currently, Green Square and the surrounding areas of Waterloo, Zetland, Redfern, Alexandria and Beaconsfield have the highest Indigenous population in Sydney. The area is also home to the greatest number of residents from non-English speaking backgrounds in Sydney.
‘In higher density living environments, public space becomes our living rooms and backyards,’ explains Amanda Sharrad, Green Square Curatorial Advisor. ‘The City of Sydney is currently developing high-quality open space and public facilities in Green Square, which is recognised globally as an important direction in urban renewal’.
Through the adaptive reuse of several heritage buildings, the former Royal South Sydney Hospital site is earmarked as a community space for people to gather, play, create and relax in Green Square.
‘The former South Sydney Hospital site has a number of heritage buildings that will be refurbished to support cultural and creative pursuits in spaces such as artist studios, exhibition and workshop spaces, a community shed and garden, and a central park,’ Sharrad says.
Combining integrity and artistic excellence with innovation, the public art commission is expected to draw on themes of new and existing Green Square communities, local ecology and/or the rich indigenous and industrial significance of the historical hospital site.
‘Great public art happens when the artist responds to a site in a unique and innovative way, with an artwork that is engaging and culturally relevant while maintaining the integrity of their individual artistic practice,’ Sharrad maintains.
In the early 1900s, Zetland was a busy industrial centre. The factories and their shift work brought characteristic sounds, smells – and accidents to the area. The new South Sydney Hospital opened on 9 August 1913 after an intensive local fundraising campaign.
‘The history of this site is a significant link to the existing community, in that the hospital has always played an extremely important part in the life of this community – as a site of births, deaths, convalescence and rehabilitation, nurses training, work opportunities, events and gatherings,’ Sharrad notes.
The area’s industries initially thrived in part due to the abundant water supply that drained Sydney’s southern suburbs, including Waterloo and Zetland. Waterloo Swamp was once vast sand dune wetlands, with heath and scrub as well as eucalypts, acacias, yellow tea tree, Christmas bush and ferns. Brolgas, cockatoos and black swans were prolific, as were bandicoots and wallabies.
Evidence of dugong inhabitation and stone tools excavated during the construction of Alexandra Canal in the 1890s indicate that indigenous people had been living in the district for over 6,000 years. Watercress, fish and eels used to provide food for indigenous communities.
In recognition of this formative oasis, the community gardens on the former South Sydney Hospital site include a native habitat program, providing educational facilities and a social place for food production and plant propagation.
Green Square’s sustainable development storm water management strategy further complements the site’s origins as a swampland. Storm water is to be redirected into the former South Sydney Hospital Administration Building to be treated, recycled and redistributed for use throughout Green Square. Water-saving data will also be available for prospective artists’ creative interpretation.
The successful commission will either be integrated into the park environment and/or the cluster of heritage buildings containing the community facilities. Artworks may be installations in the park or public domain, be attached to or suspended from the external surfaces of buildings or be fully integrated into the refurbished areas of the existing architecture.
The artwork will be developed through a collaborative process with the site’s architect and landscape architect. Amanda Sharrad cites Lang Baumann’s Beautiful Steps and Street Paintings as successful examples of an artist achieving maximum impact with relatively inexpensive materials.
On a larger scale and budget, Olafur Eliasson’s Your Rainbow Panorama at the Aarhus Kunstmuseum in Denmark is another inspiring example. Mounted on top of the museum, the circular glass walkway of Your Rainbow’s Panorama allows users to view the city through the full spectrum of colour. ‘The art and architecture is completely and inextricably linked,’ Sharrad says, praising the work for its ‘immensity, beauty and concealed complexity’.
The former Royal South Sydney Hospital site is the second site to be considered for public art in Green Square, following the registration of 57 expressions of interest in the Drying Green site earlier this year. The project is part of the City’s commitment to public art in Green Square, delivering on the public art strategy for the area as part of the City of Sydney’s public art program City Art.
Proposals will be judged by the Evaluation Panel which comprises a subcommittee of the City’s Public Art Advisory Panel. In consultation with Sharrad, the panel will review each submission and come to a unanimous decision which then becomes a recommendation to Council. Shortlisted artists will also be given the opportunity to present their developed concepts to the Panel for discussion.
An artist’s briefing for expressions of interest in the former South Sydney Hospital site will be held at Town Hall House, 456 Kent St at 10am, Wednesday 30 April, 2014.
The briefing will be an opportunity to hear from the City team working on Green Square and Amanda Sharrad, Green Square Curatorial Advisor and to ask any questions about the project and overall context
To register your attendance please email Anthony Manuatu, Tendering Officer amanuatu@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au by COB Friday 25 April.
To read more about the project and download the documents visit the City of Sydney’s City Art.
