Connecting people and place: Public art at Sydney Metro stations

This project will evaluate the benefits of public artworks within Sydney Metro stations. It will employ a holistic approach to assess its value and impact in relation to user experience and wellbeing, placemaking and environmental value, education and cultural engagement, and economic vitality.

The study examines everyday metro user experience and local perceptions of these public artworks to inform best practice for future public art investment in the context of major infrastructure.

Participants

• Transport for NSW
• RMIT University

Project background

Public art plays a significant role in enhancing public spaces and is increasingly recognised for its ability to boost place identity, foster social connections, and contribute to the economy. However, measuring its social impact, cultural value and economic benefits remains challenging, as public art is multi-dimensional and not easily quantified using traditional metrics in the short term.

While there is consensus on the intrinsic cultural value of art, such as beauty and creativity, there is also a growing need for a holistic evaluation framework that captures the broader, instrumental benefits of art, such as its relationship to social inclusion and wellbeing, placemaking and environmental value, education and cultural engagement, and economic vitality. No such holistic framework currently exists for empirical research and evidence-based evaluation.

This challenge of evidencing the impact of public investments in art has long been a focus for practitioners in public art, urban planning, cultural policy, and evaluation. Further, there is a need to understand the impact of different forms of public art (stand-alone sculpture, architecturally integrated, ephemeral, or participatory and collaborative public art) and the scale of investments in relation to local impact.

This project offers a unique opportunity to apply a holistic evaluation framework and refine social, environmental, cultural and economic impact measures with an aim to better understand how public art in Metro stations can create a stronger sense of place and connection with diverse stakeholders including local Traditional Custodians, commuters and tourists, precinct residents, and local businesses and services.

Research into the potential for public art to transform ordinary spaces into meaningful places can provide support for broader evidence-based policy and planning efforts in public transport and urban infrastructure.

Project objectives

The evaluation will look at social, cultural, environmental, and economic benefits of public art investment in Sydney Metro train stations.

Please note …

This page will be a living record of this project. As it matures, hits milestones, etc., we’ll continue to add information, links, images, interviews and more. Watch this space!