Art for our sakes
UNO catches up with Deborah McCormick, the newly appointed chair of Tauranga’s Public Art Panel, to find out how our city is about to change for the better.
WORDS Karl Puschmann
Deborah McCormick.
When you look at Tauranga you see the sparkling glint of the Pacific Ocean, the potential of a city centre revitalising itself, and the excitement afforded by our great outdoors that offers ample activities of escape and recreation to indulge in.
When UNO asks Deborah McCormick what she sees, her answer is simple: “A blank canvas”.
As the recently appointed chair of Tauranga City Council’s new Public Art Panel, hers is an invigorating view. After all, a blank canvas offers only possibility and promise.
So what are we talking about when we say public art? Deborah says the council has developed a “sophisticated” framework that expertly defines
the parameters but, after some light prodding, gives her own explanation.
Fanfare by Neil Dawson.
“My definition is that it’s art in a public space developed with a community. It’s often sculpture or installations, it can be mural or performance,” she explains, noting that public art comes in two flavours, permanent and temporary. Even though the medium and duration can be vastly different, there is a shared commonality.
“All public art comes with a different idea and all start with an artist responding to a site, responding to a brief, and responding to the current issues of the time,” she says. “That’s the exciting part of it.”
Deborah’s worked in the public art space a long time, 25 years by her reckoning. In 1998, aged 23, she co-founded Scape Public Art in Ōtautahi Christchurch after finishing art school. In that time Scape has commissioned over 250 temporary public artworks and 15 permanent artworks, indelibly enhancing the Garden City.
Te Aika by Rachael Rakena and Simon Kaan.
“I want to bring that experience to this role,” she says of her new position as chair. “I want to learn about the local connections and stories and show how a shared vision can be produced when a group of civic people come together with artists to take art out to the public realm.”
These qualities are what the newly appointed panel of six will be looking
for during their three-year tenure as they start envisioning how best to
fill our shared blank canvas.
“It’s one of the first – if not the first – opportunity where a city in New Zealand is wholeheartedly placing art and public art at the centre of a lot of very important civic projects,” Deborah enthuses. “This idea of ‘a per cent for art’ model is brilliant in terms of bringing sustainable funding. It’s a model that’s been implemented to great success overseas, most notably in Australia and in America.”
Two years ago the council realised they needed to rethink how public art was working – or rather not working – in Tauranga. The solution was the Public Art Framework, which includes a ‘Per Cent for Art’ funding model. As the name suggests, this model allocates one per cent of the budget for any above-ground council-led capital project, to a dedicated public art fund. The independent Public Art Panel provides advice to Council on which projects should receive funding. The Council is staging the implementation, starting at 0.25 percent this financial year, and growing to one percent over the next four years.
Stay by Antony Gormley.
“This sits alongside council and development regulations and creates
a whole industry for the arts that sustains itself with jobs, fabricators, consultants and design experts,” Deborah explains. “There’s a wonderful opportunity to build all of that alongside this ‘Per Cent for Art’ model and for Tauranga to become a hub for public art and creativity.”
“People come to cities to see things. That’s why public art is so important.
If we want to build cities that are livable and that people want to explore, spend time and linger in then we need to get that human connection back and provide really exciting public space,” she continues. “With good architecture, good landscape design and public art as the jewel in the crown, Tauranga will become a place that people will want to visit as a destination and come back to. Public art needs to be a layer we build the aspirations and plans of the city upon. Part of my role will be to understand how the public art vision of the group aligns with where the city is going.”
It’s hard not to get caught up in her enthusiasm. It’s fair to call her a passionate evangelist. But that’s exactly the qualities you want in someone who is going to play a key part in steering the look, feel and vibe of our city moving forward.
“There are many purposes to public art, including well-being and connection,” she says. “Public art brings people together. It stimulates learning and thought and connects people to art concepts. It’s about creativity and creates opportunities to push boundaries and challenge perceptions.”
Since being appointed a month back the panel has already met and begun work. While it’s too early for Deborah to share any details or timeframes, she’s itching to get works underway.
Watch this space.
Deborah is joined on the panel by Darcell Apelu, Shea O’Neill, Kereama Taepa, Alice Tyler and Arohanoa Mathews, who represents Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana.