Until now Melbourne has been the destination for street art, with its colourful laneways attracting local and overseas visitors. But Sydney may soon get the go ahead for a colourful change to our planning system that will see more art on the streets.
Earlier this month the City of Sydney proposed an amendment to the Sydney and South Sydney Local Environmental Plans, that would allow street art to become exempt development.
Three years in the making, the change will remove a major barrier to creative expression in Sydney, while also acknowledging and protecting the character of our city.
Currently property owners who would like an artist to paint their external walls must submit a development application to council. Under the proposed changes this step will be removed, but the artwork will still need to meet several criteria including:
The proposal is supported by a range of other initiatives, and sits alongside the City’s anti-graffiti regulations.
A study commissioned by the City of Sydney found that the current approach to street art is confusing, time consuming and costly – often costing more than the art work itself! There is also confusion around maintenance responsibility and ownership of the art.
In response to the confusion, several initiatives are proposed to clarify the approach, including street art as exempt development, identifying suitable locations for artwork and creating an online register to showcase work around Sydney.
For the artists, this a big step in removing red tape and recognising the value they bring to our public spaces. It is also a way of legitimising and decriminalising street art. For Sydney-siders this move will support more visible and accessible creativity and is step towards handing back public space to the people.
Public exhibition of the planning proposal is expected in April/May2017.
The background study Reframing Graffiti and Street Art in the City of Sydney: Report of the Mural, Street Art and Graffiti Review Project November 2014 is available here.
For more information on these changes or to discuss how we can support your creative city project, contact the Urbis Social Planning team.