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Public art

Ghostpatrol, Living and Dreaming in this City, 2019, Tallawong Station. Commissioned by Landcom in 2019 for Sydney Metro Northwest Places Public Art Program. Image courtesy of Landcom.

Public art enriches the connection between people and place

Public art

Public art is an essential part of placemaking and is playing a key role in developing community identity and a strong sense of place as Sydney Metro Northwest Places develop over time.

Sydney Metro Northwest Places artworks are memorable, distinct, powerful, and contribute to an enhanced experience of place.

The Sydney Metro Northwest Places Public Art Guidelines provide information about the approach to develop, produce, install and manage temporary and permanent art within the public domain, private developments and connections across the program. They have been informed by Landcom’s Public Art Guidelines and will guide a consistent approach to delivering the public art program.

Public art program

The public art program may include a series of permanent art, the integration of art into architectural and landscape design features, and more temporary works such as installations, new media and outdoor performance. The program includes art delivered by both Landcom and development partners.

The thematic framework for the public art program lies in the idea of ‘The Network’, represented by the interconnected values and relationships we develop with people, places and the environment.

‘The Network’ consists of five sub-themes.

  • human and environment: art with a focus on sustainability and our relationship to the environment
  • art and community: art that is participatory and socially engaged and fosters connectivity
  • here and far: art that transports us literally or through the imagination
  • past and present: art that connects us to stories specific to the site over time
  • existing and new: art that celebrates renewed sites and development.

Landcom delivered art

We are delivering a series of art projects which reflect the past and present of Sydney’s Northwest, and include new ideas about art through storytelling, interpretation and cultural expression.

Art Track Map

The Art Track Map is an ongoing initiative that brings together the artworks on display along the Metro North West Line as part of Landcom’s Sydney Metro Northwest Places.

The Art Track Map lets you find the location and information about the artworks. The artworks are listed below on the left-hand side and their location corresponds with the numbered dots on the map. Click on the artworks listed below to learn more about them and zoom in on the map to see their location onsite.   

Sydney Metro Northwest Places is fortunate to have a growing collection of public artworks and these will evolve as places continue to develop. Public art has the ability to define and enhance our local environment. It inspires us and plays a significant role in invigorating the precincts as places for people to live, connect and grow.

For further details, you can open the Art Track Map directly on your phone and use the Metro to jump on and jump off at each station to see the artworks up close. Learn more about the Sydney Metro Northwest Places public art program and artworks that have been created below.

Creative hoardings

In 2019 and 2021, we worked with art curator Amanda Sharrad to find artists to create contemporary, bold and innovative artworks to inspire, invigorate and announce Sydney Metro Northwest Places.

In 2019 artists nationally and internationally were invited to have their art displayed on the hoardings of development sites. The result was the commissioning of talented and inspiring artists who provided works that enhanced the visitor experience of the sites. The large-scale artworks were installed for the community to enjoy at Tallawong, Kellyville, Bella Vista, Hills Showground, Cherrybrook and Norwest in late 2019 and early 2020.

In April 2021 we called out to artists to express their interest in producing artwork for our second round of creative hoardings. In late 2021 and early 2022, new artworks were installed at Tallawong, Kellyville, Bella Vista, Hills Showground, Cherrybrook and Norwest. Read more about the artists who worked with us and their artworks below.

Current creative hoarding artworks

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) and Landcom

In 2019, Landcom partnered with the MCA’s C3West initiative on two art projects - The Plant Library with Lauren Brincat and Hasta La Bella Vista Baby with Tina Havelock Stevens.

The Plant Library

In spring 2019, local community gardeners and horticultural experts took part in Lauren Brincat’s The Plant Library, at Tallawong Pocket Park. The project honoured the Cumberland Plain and reflected on the area’s transformation from the food bowl of Sydney to a residential community, filled with a rich growing culture of its own. Over 10 days, more than 1,000 people visited The Plant Library, many of them sharing stories of gardening and their lives in exchange for a seedling.

This program was presented by Landcom in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art’s C3West initiative, Blacktown City Council and Blacktown Arts. To find out more watch this short video.

Watch the video

Visit The Plant Library gallery

Hasta La Bella Vista Baby

Hasta La Bella Vista Baby was held on 30 November 2019 and provided a unique after-dark celebration of the Hills Shire’s diversity and creativity, celebrating art, dancing, live music, good food and more. The event was led by artist Tina Havelock Stevens, who spent a year collaborating with the community to craft an exciting evening, paying homage to a rapidly changing suburb. 

This program was presented by Landcom in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art’s C3West initiative and The Hills Shire Council. Watch the Museum of Contemporary Art’s documentary of the event below.

Watch the video

Visit Hasta La Bella Vista Baby gallery

Development partner delivered art

We champion high quality public art in private developments and support the delivery of public art by our development partners. Public art projects are guided by site-specific concept development approvals and the associated Urban Design Guidelines.

Sydney Metro delivered art

Light Line Social Square is Sydney Metro’s public art project for the Metro North West Line. This urban environmental art project is integrated into the spaces and structures, light and life of the stations and their precincts at Cherrybrook, Castle Hill, Hills Showground, Norwest, Bella Vista, Kellyville, Rouse Hill and Tallawong. 

The expansive art project is a collaboration between Turpin Crawford Studio, Peter McGregor from McGregor Westlake Architecture and Hassell. Light Line Social Square includes artful landscapes, sculptural furniture, transparent coloured glazing in skylight lanterns, facades, lifts and escalators, train activated platform lighting, glazed tiled walls, playful paving and cooling mist installations.

Learn more about the Sydney Metro delivered art.