Two years ago, Perth was ranked sixth on the World’s Most Liveable City, but a Lead Urban Designer at Hatch RobertsDay believes the city of lights should not be resting on its laurels.
The one metric that Perth fell short in was culture. Peter Ciemitis believes that an improvement of the city’s culture will see it rocket further up the liveability ladder with a series of small, meaningful changes.
“Perth could ‘win the global game’ in attracting the world’s smartest and brightest, but it just falls a little short,” he says.
Why are Global Liveable City rankings important? They help influence global investment and informs companies about the location of their principal offices.”
Ciemitis cites public art expression and its continued proliferation throughout Perth as a major cultural shift that could be easily achieved.
“Over the years, Hatch RobertsDay has worked closely with many developers and councils on creating spaces that are purposeful, characteristic, and reflect the community it is built in. We’ve seen privately owned spaces offered as a canvas for local artists, at a marginal cost, as developers can use local art to improve things like carpark screening, or by embellishing blank walls or stairways, which they may have done regardless.”
Recently appointed to The City of Stirling’s Public Art on Private Land Assessment Panel, Ciemitis is a two-time Archibald Prize finalist and former winner of the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture, while representing Australia at the 2016 G20 Summit Exhibition in China.
A former Panellist on the Public Art Advisory Panel for Perth and Co-Chair for the City of Perth Cultural Advisory Group, Ciemitis says that there is opportunity for Perth’s local councils to provide opportunities for local art installations.
“Public art helps to tell the story of the area in which it is situated, enhancing the character and authenticity of the space, by drawing upon an area’s history, landscape, culture, and people,” he says.
“It builds economic confidence within the local area, demonstrating a thriving environment with private investment opportunities. For developers, it helps to build a brand for the project and provides a marketable resource for future developments. It’s a win-win situation for all.
Ciemitis is excited by the opportunity to oversee a cultural shift within Perth via his professional role and work as both an artist and art advocate.
“In my role, I hope to oversee a broader range of artists being involved in public art projects, and I’d love to see mentoring programs established to help diversify the artistic offering,” he says.
“This was expertly done in the Elizabeth Quay project in 2016, which unveiled the sculptural piece ‘First Contact’ by respected Noongar artist Laurel Nannup. Laurel is not a sculptor by trade, instead a print artist, but within the Percent for Art scheme, she collaborated with WA firm, FORM, to design, develop and fabricate the sculpture.”
