Creative Placemaking: How Sydney embedded public art into new developments

Since 2011, the City of Sydney has established the principle that new developments valued over AUD 10 million must integrate high-quality public art into their plans. Over 750 works have been submitted in a decade through Sydney’s City Art programme. Striking, accessible public artworks have brought unique cultural identity to new developments. Part of their Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision of a cultural and creative city, the City Art programme has also fostered collaboration between city officials, the private sector, and government agencies, embedding cultural strategy into city planning and creative placemaking.

Implementing a City Art strategy in private developments

Sydney’s City Art Strategy created in 2011 has guided major cultural policy initiatives, temporary programmes, and long-term works. One of the most significant is the Eora Journey: a recognition in the public domain programme, celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through public artworks and interpretation across Sydney’s civic spaces.

The City Art Strategy is supported by the Public Art Policy and Guidelines for Public Art in Private Development, providing a structured, three-stage process for commissioning public art through the planning system.

Administered by the City’s Public Art team and overseen by the Public Art Advisory Panel—a group of artists, architects, and curators—the process ensures artworks are integrated into new developments while aligning with planning controls, conditions of consent, and public domain policies.

The City’s cultural policy encourages early collaboration between artists, curators, architects, designers, and engineers. This ensures public art in private development is not ornamental but embedded into the city’s design. The guidelines also establish best practice for the removal, reinstatement, or deaccessioning of artworks during redevelopment, preserving cultural assets over time.

Although Sydney does not legislate a formal percent-for-art programme, the City’s policy links art budgets to the cost of construction. By recommending 1% of development costs as a benchmark, the City aligns with international best practice. Even amid fluctuating economic cycles, developers recognise the value of contributing to cultural vibrancy, reinforcing the integration of public art into city planning.

Creative placemaking through public art

Between 2014 and 2024, more than 750 public art plans were submitted to the City’s Public Art team, offering hundreds of artists, artisans, and curators opportunities to shape Sydney’s identity.

Works such as Georgia Hill’s Flow/Fold (2024), Badger Bates’ Gates (2022), and Callum Morton’s City Lights (2023) illustrate the diversity and scale of contributions through private sector commissions. These projects highlight the role of public art in creating cultural vibrancy and demonstrate how cultural strategy can drive creative placemaking at scale.

Through sustained investment and strong policy, the City of Sydney has embedded cultural policy into the city’s architecture, planning, and development frameworks. Public art is not only celebrated—it is structurally supported, ensuring that creativity remains at the heart of Sydney’s evolving urban landscape.

---