How public art can provide tangible benefits and enrich communities
For over forty years, Natureworks has created art to attract, entertain or inform the public. Our sculpture art, nature-inspired installations and murals appear in public spaces ranging from parks and playgrounds to shopping centres, commercial buildings and educational or cultural centres.
In these settings, the visual and tactile nature of sculptures attracts people’s interest and contributes to a memorable experience. If built to be climbed or played with, sculptures allow people to interact with art physically, while statues or relief sculptures turn ideas into reality by giving them a three-dimensional form. In particular, giant sculptures (Big Things) attract attention from afar and represent unique aspects of a community.
2D mural art also draws people in, bringing life and colour to public spaces.
Benefits of public art
Art can be a powerful and emotive medium. A well-crafted sculpture or beautiful mural does much more than please the eye, it can achieve measurable benefits for individuals, organisations or communities.
Art in public settings can:
- promote a town or region (by creating an attraction people want to visit, such as a ‘Big Thing’ sculpture such as William the Wombat)
- provide a safe, enjoyable play experience (by installing sculptures designed to be explored or climbed on, such as Broadwater Water Play or Rotary Park Jimboomba)
- inspire awe or wonder (especially if sculptures are combined with other media such as murals, holograms, lighting or sound)
- raise awareness of important issues such as wildlife conservation (by depicting endangered species or communicating related concepts, such as this educational sculpture about how human waste impacts marine life)
- promote a brand or organisation (by creating art that customers notice, boosting awareness and memorability of the brand, such as The Lion, Richlands)
- engage the local community (by producing art that allows collaboration, or art that creates a sense of pride in the culture or local area, such as the aboriginal figures for Murrook Culture Centre)
- raise money for charity, by auctioning art pieces (see the Giant Heart sculptures project at Toowong Village)
Examples of public art projects by Natureworks
The gallery below shows just a handful of our public art projects. Please contact Natureworks to discuss the vision and requirements for your public art project.
Art in public spaces – brochure
Immersive art experiences
Of course, sometimes art can extend beyond 2D murals and 3D sculptures to encompass other dimensions of time and space… To create multidimensional experiences, Natureworks collaborates with specialists to combine 3D sculptures with murals, augmented reality, holograms or digital art. For example, the amazing team at Laservision created a highly immersive virtual Great Barrier Reef experience that included sculptures by Natureworks.
In the video below you can see our sculptures of the Coral Trout (at 0:27 in the video) and Starfish (0:40). For a short case study with more info, please see our Public Art brochure (see above).
Looking to create public art for your organisation or community?
To design and fabricate public art sculptures large or small, Natureworks meets the needs of landscape architects, town planners, community groups, business owners and commercial organisations. We can create sculptures based on your vision, or provide creative ideas to meet your objectives and budget.
At Natureworks, our creative design process starts by discussing the outcome you want to achieve before producing design concepts.
As well as designing, making and installing sculptures, our artists can paint beautiful custom mural art to enhance walls/spaces. For exhibitions, business promotions or educational displays, our team can also provide themed props to create a unique, integrated experience.
Getting funding for public art
To get your idea for a public art project off the ground, Natureworks can provide input to funding proposals or grant applications. This may involve estimating and scoping the work, providing concept sketches or discussing ideas and practical considerations. We are highly experienced in this area and can advise on important issues such as the safety and durability of sculptures (for example, see our guide to playground safety). But if you need a spark of inspiration to develop a basic idea, our artists can provide that too!
Please see more of our project case studies or contact Natureworksto see how we can help you create meaningful, memorable public art!
