20 April 2016

Kingston Arts Precinct - to be or not to be?

| Paul Costigan
Join the conversation
9

Kingston-Precinct-P1150030

When the ACT Government announced in October that they were putting out to tender the development of an arts precinct within the Kingston Foreshore, it did send a quiet ripple through those involved in the arts.

There are many models of precincts that could be classified as being an arts precinct, such as parts of South Bank in Melbourne. Within it are two university arts campuses, large state institutions and several medium sized organisations. Most smaller organisations and the commercial arts galleries are located elsewhere in Melbourne.

Brisbane’s South Bank has a cluster of cultural institutions. There used to be other arts bodies nearby, but over the years the surrounding streets have seen the departure of arts organisations and galleries. This has been due to rising rents as the developers have moved in to take the benefits from the ambience created by the government-funded improvements along South Bank.

The Singapore Government invests seriously in cultural activities with several approaches operating in tandem. Locally there are strong links between the business sectors and arts and cultural initiatives and institutions – something we hope that the ACT Government is learning about on its visits to Singapore.

Singapore has an arts and heritage precinct. This is an area of the city within which are a couple of major institutions, some commercial spaces, several government assisted organisations as well as two huge architectural wonders – the LaSalle College of the Arts university and nearby The School of the Arts, a national pre-tertiary specialised arts school dedicated to arts education.

This huge commitment to major arts events and institutions is part of the city/state’s international profile. The brand new National Gallery Singapore opens soon – 24th November.

Canberra residents have the benefit of a mixture of local and national oriented cultural institutions and organisations. A national arts precinct already exists if you link the national cultural institutions within the Parliamentary Triangle.

Kingston-Megalo-P1150060 KingstonGlass-P1150043

The Kingston foreshore area already has the makings of a locally focused arts precinct with the Glass Workshop and Megalo Access Printing nearby. In between is the very successful Sunday markets held in the old bus sheds.

While the announcement that the government was seeking proposals for the development of the arts precinct at Kingston was understandably welcomed, I noted many were being careful with their praise. No details of the concept were made available.

The agency involved, the LDA/directorate, does not have a good track record of working with the community — think Telopea Park, Yarralumla, Dickson shops, Dickson Parklands and many more. There was a very notable absence of arts people or any arts minister from the announcements.

Kingston-markets-P1150051 Kingston-Markets-P1150057

The Kingston markets draw huge crowds each Sunday and all the available parking is contested. All that parking is required for the markets to continue to have a future. Yes, the development as mentioned is to provide parking, but I suggest that the LDA/directorate has a questionable record on planning for parking during the construction of such major developments.

For instance in Dickson, some traders are reporting loss of business due to the parking problems that already exist and it is well known that these issues are predicted to become something else given that parking areas are being sold and others earmarked for development. Traders are reporting that people are already factoring in the coming changes and adjusting their shopping habits away from Dickson.

Looking at the many statements around the broad outlines for the proposed Kingston Arts Precinct, I suspect the inadequate forward planning will lead to problems for the markets and subsequently for the nearby suburbs as visitors look elsewhere for their parking — and there goes my favoured spots near the shops!

Kingston-cars-P1150035

To bureaucratically develop such an area as arts oriented destination will be fraught with numerous issues. Fingers will have to be crossed that there will be some increase in cultural activities and more likely this will be conditional on a proportional increase in operational support for the local arts organisations.

It will take a special mix to bring together such a package of arts activities especially in Canberra given the larger institutions are located elsewhere.

This is not to say the development of the area should not be welcomed. There are acres of surface car parking around the precinct now and some mixed development is inevitable and definitely should happen.

Significantly this initiative is being driven by the need to sell land and as such the arts precinct concept is being used to encourage residential developments in this section of the Kingston Foreshore.

The various stages of developing this arts precinct concept and then to delivery something real will take a very bold, intelligent and creative hand to oversee and guide the project.

Let’s remain optimistic that such a person exists within this government and that they will be able to deal with the inevitable quagmire of demands by the development and property lobbyists.

This proposal could result in something positive –I really wish it to be so!

Join the conversation

9
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Masquara said :

dungfungus said :

The Glassworks is too commercial – crikey they must use a lot of electricity – renewable of course.

They run at a massive loss – heavily subsidised by ACT ratepayers ….

I suspected as much but try and find out just how much money it is losing is difficult. And of course this wouldn’t include the value of the real estate it is sitting on.
Governments should stay out of tax-payer funded commercial ventures full stop.

dungfungus said :

The Glassworks is too commercial – crikey they must use a lot of electricity – renewable of course.

They run at a massive loss – heavily subsidised by ACT ratepayers ….

Postalgeek said :

Masquara said :

Maya123 said :

Masquara said :

Canberra’s arts precinct should be clustered around 2601 and 2602 where there’s a creative class – there is heaps of land: the CSIRO in Ainslie/Campbell; the old flats on a big block adjoining Chisolm St; the old Ainslie Infants could be used a lot more; there are pockets of infrastructure like old scout halls and Parks & Gardens depots; Ainslie Village – lots of places. Inner south can stick to tourism markets and people can boldly venture there for the glassworks and the Fitter’s Workshop. The cultural institutions in the form of national gallery, library and museum are not really what an “arts precinct” is about. They are collecting, not making institutions.

Do you live in the 2601 and 2602 area?

Actually, all the arts places that I know of are in the inner south. The Australian Art Gallery, Beaver Gallery, the Glass Works, The Portrait Gallery. It does seem the logical place to have the art scene.
I asked you where you live, so I better admit to living in the inner south. I am trying not to let that influence me though, if that’s possible.

Those places you name are not places of arts practice.

M-16 is in Griffith.

I went to M-16 last weekend and acquired one of those fabulous Thea Katauskas paintings of the disappearing Canberra homes. It’s a great venue and there are other exhibitions there also. I noted at least two workshops in session. Plenty of visitor parking (was the old library).
What about Bob Stephen’s Aarwun Gallery at Gold Creek? He conducts regular tutorials and workshops.
The Glassworks is too commercial – crikey they must use a lot of electricity – renewable of course.

Masquara said :

Maya123 said :

Masquara said :

Canberra’s arts precinct should be clustered around 2601 and 2602 where there’s a creative class – there is heaps of land: the CSIRO in Ainslie/Campbell; the old flats on a big block adjoining Chisolm St; the old Ainslie Infants could be used a lot more; there are pockets of infrastructure like old scout halls and Parks & Gardens depots; Ainslie Village – lots of places. Inner south can stick to tourism markets and people can boldly venture there for the glassworks and the Fitter’s Workshop. The cultural institutions in the form of national gallery, library and museum are not really what an “arts precinct” is about. They are collecting, not making institutions.

Do you live in the 2601 and 2602 area?

Actually, all the arts places that I know of are in the inner south. The Australian Art Gallery, Beaver Gallery, the Glass Works, The Portrait Gallery. It does seem the logical place to have the art scene.
I asked you where you live, so I better admit to living in the inner south. I am trying not to let that influence me though, if that’s possible.

Those places you name are not places of arts practice.

M-16 is in Griffith.

Holden Caulfield9:01 am 12 Nov 15

Not bad, 10 paragraphs before mentioning Dickson. A new personal best?

Masquara said :

Maya123 said :

Masquara said :

Canberra’s arts precinct should be clustered around 2601 and 2602 where there’s a creative class – there is heaps of land: the CSIRO in Ainslie/Campbell; the old flats on a big block adjoining Chisolm St; the old Ainslie Infants could be used a lot more; there are pockets of infrastructure like old scout halls and Parks & Gardens depots; Ainslie Village – lots of places. Inner south can stick to tourism markets and people can boldly venture there for the glassworks and the Fitter’s Workshop. The cultural institutions in the form of national gallery, library and museum are not really what an “arts precinct” is about. They are collecting, not making institutions.

Do you live in the 2601 and 2602 area?

Actually, all the arts places that I know of are in the inner south. The Australian Art Gallery, Beaver Gallery, the Glass Works, The Portrait Gallery. It does seem the logical place to have the art scene.
I asked you where you live, so I better admit to living in the inner south. I am trying not to let that influence me though, if that’s possible.

Those places you name are not places of arts practice.

I said where I live, but you didn’t say where you live. Trying to get a perspective on where people are coming from.
The Glass Blowers workshop isn’t!

Maya123 said :

Masquara said :

Canberra’s arts precinct should be clustered around 2601 and 2602 where there’s a creative class – there is heaps of land: the CSIRO in Ainslie/Campbell; the old flats on a big block adjoining Chisolm St; the old Ainslie Infants could be used a lot more; there are pockets of infrastructure like old scout halls and Parks & Gardens depots; Ainslie Village – lots of places. Inner south can stick to tourism markets and people can boldly venture there for the glassworks and the Fitter’s Workshop. The cultural institutions in the form of national gallery, library and museum are not really what an “arts precinct” is about. They are collecting, not making institutions.

Do you live in the 2601 and 2602 area?

Actually, all the arts places that I know of are in the inner south. The Australian Art Gallery, Beaver Gallery, the Glass Works, The Portrait Gallery. It does seem the logical place to have the art scene.
I asked you where you live, so I better admit to living in the inner south. I am trying not to let that influence me though, if that’s possible.

Those places you name are not places of arts practice.

Masquara said :

Canberra’s arts precinct should be clustered around 2601 and 2602 where there’s a creative class – there is heaps of land: the CSIRO in Ainslie/Campbell; the old flats on a big block adjoining Chisolm St; the old Ainslie Infants could be used a lot more; there are pockets of infrastructure like old scout halls and Parks & Gardens depots; Ainslie Village – lots of places. Inner south can stick to tourism markets and people can boldly venture there for the glassworks and the Fitter’s Workshop. The cultural institutions in the form of national gallery, library and museum are not really what an “arts precinct” is about. They are collecting, not making institutions.

Do you live in the 2601 and 2602 area?

Actually, all the arts places that I know of are in the inner south. The Australian Art Gallery, Beaver Gallery, the Glass Works, The Portrait Gallery. It does seem the logical place to have the art scene.
I asked you where you live, so I better admit to living in the inner south. I am trying not to let that influence me though, if that’s possible.

Canberra’s arts precinct should be clustered around 2601 and 2602 where there’s a creative class – there is heaps of land: the CSIRO in Ainslie/Campbell; the old flats on a big block adjoining Chisolm St; the old Ainslie Infants could be used a lot more; there are pockets of infrastructure like old scout halls and Parks & Gardens depots; Ainslie Village – lots of places. Inner south can stick to tourism markets and people can boldly venture there for the glassworks and the Fitter’s Workshop. The cultural institutions in the form of national gallery, library and museum are not really what an “arts precinct” is about. They are collecting, not making institutions.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.