Foregrounding is an approach that preferences Aboriginal knowing and being, as a way to work with place, story, and connection. To foreground is to bring attention to and to form meaning around. In this sense we wish to approach our program and commissions with a deep understanding of place and connection formed with involvement and collaboration with Aboriginal community members, artists, and curators.

Artworks that engage with the unique natural, built, and cultural landscapes of Wyndham while considering growth, societal and suburban change. We are concerned with the human impact on environment and the impact of environment on human life. Through this thematic we engage with broader themes of environmental, economic, social, and cultural sustainability. We consider how we live now, how we lived then and how we will live in the changing environment we call ‘home’.

Work that reflects the past, present, and future communities of Wyndham while also leveraging Council’s program to stimulate local cultural production and creative industry. This thematic creates a space for a uniquely Wyndham cultural character to emerge, with all of its emerging influences. This is set in a context of rural, coastal, and urban lifestyles, all significant parts of the deep suburban experience here. It recognises that our people make work that speaks to this place and that our people are creative, culturally complex and emerging in influence. We make space for these perspectives in the work we commission and actively prioritize possibilities for creative growth and endeavour.

Works that engage with new mediums and forms of artmaking while creating space for all of the possible futures that a young and emerging cosmopolis can generate. This thematic engages with technology and innovation, recognising that cultures adapt to technological change finding new ways to express ancient traditions and ideas. Drawing upon the reclamation of Futurism by younger artists, this thematic offers an expanded view of how culture is expressed in a contemporary context. It preferences younger voices, new ways of making, the digital realm as a platform and place; and the hybrid of design, performance and traditional artmaking that creates the new and now. It is bold and offers a unique positioning for Wyndham as a potential hub of technology enabled art and creative industry grounded in a highly diverse community.

We will establish ongoing internal and external consultation, to understand our people and place, and deliver a program that is reflective of and embraced by our diverse and rich communities.

We will update all current available online information on the existing Public Art Collection, develop a communications plan to support the delivery of draft Plan and program. Through clear, and ongoing communications we will celebrate our existing collection, the forward plan, new commissions, and initiatives and deepen community engagement and understanding of public art.

We will seek to improve access, education, and engagement with the Public Art Collection, by developing a strong education and engagement program across a variety of mediums and methods.

The program will integrate opportunities to strengthen the capacity of local artists. With the need to include established artists in our programming, we will also focus on supporting and developing local and emerging artists via a range of supported and temporary commissioning programs as well as professional development programs including talks, workshops, mentoring/assistant roles, short courses, funding, open calls and other opportunities for emerging artists. These development opportunities will be factored into the planning of major public art commissions, so that emerging artists are able to learn and be involved in projects with more experienced artists.

To achieve the ambition of becoming a leader in the field of Public Art, we will actively engage in research across the field, working with a range of partners, internally and externally, to ensure best practice. We are committed to an ongoing continuous improvement approach to all aspects of programming. All work undertaken will be periodically assessed and evaluated, either internally or externally.