Heart of the City
The love of place through public art
Sunburst by Sara Hughes, 2016
In a citywide Public Art Project called Hearts of the City in Auckland, New Zealand, Artists were charged to share what Auckland’s central city means to them, and their answers proved to be a beautiful reminder of the diversity of Auckland.
Sunburst by Sara Hughes
Fort Lane
"Hughes has attracted significant attention throughout Australasia, winning both the Wallace Art Award and the Norsewear Art Award in 2005.
Her Hearts of the City artwork is a spectacular burst of color referencing the architectural details of Auckland's art deco and heritage sites. Like a sunburst, this heart is exploding with everything life has to offer - Sara hopes that its rays will be positive and life-affirming to passersby. ", (Heart of the City Auckland)
See
Other murals created for this project reveal the diversity of Auckland.
'East Meets West', Flox, 2015
Elsie', Askew One, 2015
Dragon by Chris Heaphy
Federal Street
'Downtown Tiki', Dick Frizzell, 2015
Say
Do you have public art in your city?
If so, how do you think it impacts the people?
How does it impact the quality of life?
Do
Go out and visit some public art near you!
Read 10 Great Reasons to Support Public Art (below) from the Amherst Public Art Commission and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.
Consider supporting public art in your community!
10 Great Reasons to Support Public Art
1. It’s public! Everyone has access to public art. It’s directly in the public sphere and not confined to galleries or museums.
2. It enriches our physical environments, bringing streetscapes, plazas, town buildings, and schools to life.
3. It’s a great tool for civic engagement, building social capital, and encouraging civil discourse.
4. It provides professional opportunities for artists and cultivates an environment in which the creative class thrives.
5. It boosts local economies. Businesses supply materials and labor; restaurants, hotels, and transportation companies benefit from a site that attracts visitors.
6. It’s an investment in place-making—measured by livability and quality of life—that also engenders community pride.
7. It connects citizens to their neighbors and their shared history through documentation and celebration and makes cultural heritage a tangible community asset.
8. It enlivens places where people work, which can improve employee morale, productivity, and respect.
9. It creates supportive learning environments. It opens eyes—and minds! It attracts students to environments conducive to both learning and fun.
10. It raises public awareness about important community issues, such as environmental stewardship and respect for diversity.
About the Artist: Sara Hughes
Sara Hughes is a dynamic artist with a career well established and highly regarded in Australasia. Hughes has exhibited in public galleries throughout New Zealand and her paintings and installations are held in many important Australasian public and private collections, including the Chartwell Collection; Auckland City Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki; Te Papa Tongarewa; Wellington, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and the Gallery of NSW, Sydney. Her work has attracted significant attention, winning both the Wallace Art Award and the Norsewear Art Award in 2005. In 2008 she was the first New Zealand recipient of The RIPE: Art and Australia magazine Art Award and she has been selected to participate in a number of notable residencies, including the Francis Hodgkins Fellowship in 2003, the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York in 2007 and the Creative New Zealand Berlin Visual Artists Residency at the Knstlerhaus Bethanien in 2008/09.
Hughes completed an MFA in painting in 2001 from the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland. Her work has been published widely appearing in art and architecture magazines, including Art NZ, Art News, Artlink, Art in Australia, and Monument. Hughes has undertaken a number of high-profile public commissions, including Magma, 2017 a large 500sqm painting in Auckland, as well as a series of striking outdoor works for the re-opening of Cathedral Square in the center of Christchurch, 2014-16. Her most recent project was installed in 2019 on all four sides of the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland; it is the largest integrated public artwork in New Zealand.
http://www.sarahughes.co.nz/
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