Public Art
The City of Kingston is committed to developing a Public Art Program which reflects and celebrates our history, stories, cultures and sense of place through ephemeral, temporary and permanent public art.
Council endorsed a Public Art Policy in July 2023 which is accompanied by a Placement Plan and was supported by extensive community and industry consultation which can be seen in the Consultation and Survey Feedback Reports. To view the public art policy and placement plan, please visit our Strategies and Policies page. If you have identified a location for public art, please compete and send Council the Public Art Application Form.
flight paths by melanie caple (2023)
Elder Street South Reserve, Clarinda
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Drawing attention to local animal and floral species of the area, artist Melanie Caple creates a sense of discovery for residents and visitors to the newly upgraded Elder Street South Reserve.
The large scale mural celebrates the natural landscape of Kingston through the use of vibrant colour, form and subject. The design incorporates snow gum sprigs, hop wattle, hardenbergia violacea rosea, galahs, Victorian common heath and a noisy miner bird.
This area of Bunurong Country is associated with gathering, resting and ceremony for Bunurong peoples. Gatherings and ceremony are associated particularly with circular images, reflecting the form that these ceremonial grounds took. The five apical ancestors of the Bunurong nation are extremely significant and are represented by five deep blue dots or waterholes and five birds (galahs) in acknowledgement of the connection that First People’s have to the landscape. (With permission granted to the City of Kingston and to the artist). The thread of blue running through the design champions the importance of the local rivers and the bay, creating a sense of harmony and togetherness.
The two works connect to each other, carrying the themes from one mural to the next.
This significant public art project celebrates a series of parks set aside by the State Government for non-urban use to help combat climate change and improve liveability. Elder Street South Reserve is a unique 4-hectare former landfill site that is undergoing rehabilitation as part of Council’s project that will eventually see more than 300 hectares of land transformed into linked open spaces for the community to enjoy. Completion of this first part of the Green Wedge in 2023 will include active recreation, picnic areas, a nature play space and the planting of indigenous trees and plants throughout.
MELANIE CAPLE
Artist and curator Melanie Caple examines our relationship with the botanical world around us with a focus on immortalising a sense of place. She uses native flora, colour and avian species to activate walls and canvases to draw attention to the fragility and vibrancy of our landscape. Melanie has exhibited in various group exhibitions and has staged solo exhibitions around Melbourne and in Gippsland and was the recipient of the annual Dick Bishop Memorial Award. She has been included in the artist line up for both the Urban Canvas Melbourne Mural Festival and Frankston’s Big Picture Festival.
Work, Play, Connect by hayden dewar
Jean Street, Cheltenham, 2023
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Work, Play, Connect is a large scale public art mural located on Jean Street, Cheltenham.
Inspired by historical artefacts belonging to local residents from the City of Moorabbin Historical Society, artist Hayden Dewar depicts objects and activities that symbolise connection to place through local history and the natural environment. Antique farming equipment reference original market gardens, a bike once owned by a local resident in the early 1900’s alludes to the prevalence of bikes as a mode of transport in the area. The kettle, a tool of bringing people together to connect over a “cuppa” and the intertwined fishing line embody connection.
The characters in the design are known as “Solarquins” and represent the search for a harmonious existence with nature as well as finding sources of creative energy. Here two of them are playing instruments (eucalyptus flower trumpet & branch guitar) and the third is sitting on a shell fishing. The shell and the fisherman are a reference to both the nearby bay and also the history of fishing villages not far from Cheltenham.
Amongst these elements is an array of local native flora and fauna representing a connection to the natural environment, this includes a Red browed Finch, Ring-tailed possum, Wattle & Eucalyptus branches and flowers, a Crimson Rosella and Silvereye (small native bird).
hayden dewar
Hayden Dewar is an accomplished mural artist. His signature style incorporates imaginative imagery and native Australian flora and fauna. Themes explored through this imagery include the environment and conservation, myth, and the human condition. Hayden is passionate about transforming and enhancing public spaces through mural art and thrives on the positivity and public engagement that results from letting his creativity off the leash to roam around the urban environment.
kingston heath reserve public art commission (2023)
by Angharad Neal-Williams
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Kingston City Council supported Suburban Rail Loop Authority to deliver a mural at Kingston Heath Reserve in Cheltenham. Artist Angharad Neal-Williams highlights community connection, nature, and the market experience. The artwork includes native flowers and birds and is designed to blend into the natural environment.
The artwork activates the façade of a shipping container that is used for storage for the Kingston Farmer’s Market, which was recently relocated to Kingston Heath Reserve, Cheltenham. The market is a fresh produce and farm origin food products market that has been trading since October 2004.
Funded by Suburban Rail Loop Authority, the mural celebrates the notion of community and people enjoying the surrounding environment around them, in harmony in a shared space. The mural responds to the active use of the surrounding reserve as well as the nearby Kingston Botanic Gardens through imagery of local flora and fauna. Glimpses of people in the design appear, subtly hidden and interacting with the environment, to portray the community using and enjoying time in Kingston Heath Reserve.
ANGHARAD NEAL-WILLIAMS
Angharad Neal-Williams is an Illustrator, Muralist and Live Drawer based in Melbourne. Her work combines strong line drawing with controlled colour and shape to create thoughtful, fun and conceptual drawings. Using a bold and warm colour palette, her style is distinctly optimistic and focuses strongly on the importance of composition and line.
A LITTLE PIECE OF HOME
By Carla Gottgens
Follett Road, Cheltenham
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The Kingston Arts and Cultural Development Team worked with public artist Carla Gottgens, who installed public art elements on four electrical poles and activated the concrete footpath and walkways as part of the Follett Road Streetscape upgrades. This striking and interactive design, titled ‘A Little Piece of Home’, references the history of the site and Follett Farm, where fence posts are presented as a puzzle.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Kingston is home to many small shopping precincts, which provide meeting places, personalised interactions with traders and a strong sense of local identity. The Follett Road Shops in Cheltenham are one such precinct and were identified as a key priority area for rejuvenation works.
As part of the Follet Road works, local traders and working groups identified the desire to see a public art component to further revitalise the shopping precinct for residents, whilst fostering civic pride and strengthen connection to place for the local community.
In consultation with students from Cheltenham East Primary School and the Follett Street local traders, Carla designed and installed public art elements on four electrical poles and activation of the concrete footpath and walkways outside of the Follett Road shopping strip and the seated areas.
This project is supported by the City of Kingston.
raindrops and sunbeams (2022)
by Deb McNaughton
Follett Road, Cheltenham
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Kingston Arts worked with local artist Deb McNaughton on a new sculpture as part of the Bay Trail Public Art Project. The sculpture is located along the foreshore at Hazel Pierce Reserve in Mordialloc.
The Raindrops and Sunbeams sculpture features seven arched posts which symbolise a rainbow. The title refers to the two natural elements required to form a rainbow, with raindrops representing the struggles and sadness experienced as a direct result of the pandemic and sunbeams representing the light and hope at the end of the tunnel. Together these elements create a rainbow, while the wording on each post refers to the seven values that make the Kingston community shine so bright. The artist’s intention is to create a visually stimulating landmark whilst representing the strength, diversity, positivity, and spirit of the Kingston community now and into the future.
As part of this project Council worked with The Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (BLCAC) to incorporate seven key community values into the sculpture in Indigenous language, these include:
Respect – King, Chief – Ngarnurngate
Leadership – No Fear – Murrun
Honesty – Truth – Kopin
Kindness – Help, Aid, Assist – Kunar
Happiness – Delight – Pert-Burn-Min-Un
Gratitude – Love – Ge-A-Nbean
Equality – He and I United – Bungarlook
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The sculpture is a nod to the temporal Rainbow of Hope mural Deb painted at Shirley Burke Theatre, Parkdale in 2020, which received an overwhelming positive response from the local community, as it celebrated the unity and connection demonstrated amongst Kingston residents in the face of social distancing rules.
In July-August 2020 the community was invited to provide feedback on public art for the Bay Trail via the ‘Your Kingston Your Say’ platform. The survey results reflected an overwhelmingly positive response to the design and its timely focus on the hope and connection experienced in the Kingston community during the challenges of COVID-19.
Following a series of creative community engagement workshops held towards the end of November 2020, the artist undertook consultation with community members and surrounding primary schools. Leadership groups from grade 6 classes at Parktone Primary, Aspendale Primary and Edithvale Primary Schools identified the key community values of Respect, Leadership, Honesty, Kindness, Happiness, Gratitude and Equality. These values will be celebrated through text plaques on each of the sculpture's arches in both English and the language of the Indigenous Land Owners.
The artist worked with Council Officers, led by the Indigenous Portfolio Officer in consultation with Traditional Owners on this multifaceted project.
This project is supported by the City of Kingston.
DEB MCNAUGHTON
Deb McNaughton is an established Australian artist based in Aspendale. Deb runs public workshops from her studio and has a love for colour and a passion for making the world a brighter place through art. Working with a variety of mediums, Deb’s style is described as spontaneous, diverse and fun. Her creativity comes from the heart and her colourful creations are widely recognised in both Australia and overseas.
Website: debmcnaughton.com
Instagram: @deb.mcnaughton
the art pass reimagined by anu patel
Rowy Lane, 1/423 Nepean Highway, Chelsea
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Due to the demolition of the Chelsea Station as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project, Kingston Arts has partnered with artist Anu Patel to create a mural in homage of The Art Pass; a large scale public mural which was created for the Chelsea train station underpass in 2013 by the artist. For The Art Pass Reimagined project, Anu worked with a wide range of community members to complete the large scale mural on the laneway wall, which is the pedestrian walkway that connects the Chelsea Shopping Precinct with the Safeway carpark. The feedback on the ground has been so encouraging, and seen Anu mentor an array of local residents who picked up a brush and painted alongside her, in addition to participants from the original 2013 project. Anu worked closely with local community members as well as 300 students from Bonbeach Primary and Chelsea Primary Schools.
A special thank you to the Lead Volunteers who each contributed to the painting of the mural including: Terrin Ypelaan, Valda Walton, Roisin Johnson, Elizabeth Alexandrou, Debra Wright, Wayne Roberts, Jasmine Pole and Fiona Connell.
This project is proudly funded by Kingston City Council in partnership with the Level Crossing Removal Project
butterfly renewal & the monarchs
Mural by Mike Makatron and sculptures by Damian Vick through Artbox.
Horscroft Place Pocket Park, Moorabbin
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Artists Mike Makatron and Damien Vick via Artbox and The City of Kingston have partnered to create public artworks at the Horscroft Place Pocket Park.
The Butterfly Renewal murals by Mike Makatron and assisting artists takes inspiration from Australian flora, depicting the progressive stages of the Monarch butterflies' rebirth, which, much like Horscroft Place Pocket Park, has undergone a significant transformation.
The Monarchs sculptures by Damian Vick are designed to continue the narrative of the adjacent mural, bringing an additional and playful dimension to the space, emerging from their chrysalides to bathe their newly formed wings in the sun.
The Horscroft Place Pocket Park was developed by the City of Kingston in partnership with the Victorian Government through the Suburban Parks Program.
the shape of movement by abbey rich and beci orpin
Ben Kavanagh Reserve, Mordialloc
Photo by Shuttermain
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As part of the redevelopment of the Ben Kavanagh Reserve in Mordialloc, Kingston Arts partnered with artist's Abbey Rich and Beci Orpin to deliver a large sports themed mural on the onsite sports rebound wall. Throughout the community consultation process, the artist's collaborated with Mordialloc Beach Primary and St Brigid's Primary students on the murals design. Students worked with the artists to create a vibrant design inspired by energy, play and movement.
This project is proudly funded by the City of Kingston.
the strand mall by tom civil
The Strand, Chelsea
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Artist Tom Civil has completed a painted mural in the Chelsea Strand. As part of the development of a long-term plan for Chelsea, Council heard community feedback about the desire for a new mural in the Strand to help enliven the public realm. The artist worked with members of the Chelsea Community Panel to develop the design, incorporating the strong coastal and beach themes that the community in Chelsea hold close to their hearts. The mural features local plants, shells, seeds, starfish, grass, seaweed and other objects home to Chelsea’s beaches, including a conical sand snail egg sack. A piece of fluorescent fishing line highlights the importance of keeping our waterways clean and safe.
Tom Civil is Melbourne based artist, muralist, community art facilitator and print-maker and has been practicing for over 17 years.
Commissioned by City of Kingston.
seasonal migrants by geoffrey carran
Seasonal Migrants, sharp-tailed sandpipers and the importance of local wetlands.
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Seasonal Migrants, sharp-tailed sandpipers and the importance of local wetlands.
unokomuno (2017)
By Ian Bracegirdle
Westall Library and Community Hub, 35 Fairbank Road, Clayton South
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In 2016, high profile artist, Ian Bracegirdle, was commissioned to work in partnership with the local community to create a site specific artwork outside the new Westall Library and Community Hub that would celebrate the local area and its people. Whilst the plant like form historically references the market gardens that once thrived in the area, it also reflects the growth of the contemporary community, the waves of migration to the region, as well as the language and culture of past and current generations. The outer glazing or skin of the sculpture, features drawings, icons and words gathered through community consultation and workshops. The coming together of community is further reflected in the title of the sculpture, Unukomuno, which means one community.
seasonal migrants by geoffrey carran
Seasonal Migrants, sharp-tailed sandpipers and the importance of local wetlands.
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Seasonal Migrants, sharp-tailed sandpipers and the importance of local wetlands.