The Ponds

BACKGROUND 

Public art is becoming a key part of the cultural interpretation and community building functions of new development areas. In Western Sydney the focus on public art is part of a broader commitment to cultural planning and development. Underpinning this is the belief that cultural intervention early in the life of new communities can have a positive impact on the identity of new urban areas. In particular the potential for art to explore community and environmental themes including social history, local ecology, the process of settlement and the intercultural populations of suburban Sydney.

Landcom has a commitment to socially sustainable communities. This is reflected in the early planning and provision of social infrastructure and the attention to open space and community environments. Increasingly public art is becoming part of this scenario with consideration being given to the inclusion of thoughtful cultural projects as part of the early planning process.

The Ponds Art Strategy has a broad focus including the development of public art projects in key localities such as entry points to the suburb, the creekline, neighbourhood parks, community spaces and facilities and major recreational areas. It is designed to work in tandem with the landscape strategy and build on early work done in this area in both its thematic development and the location of projects. The Art Strategy reflects an interest in supporting broader cultural development objectives in Blacktown and Western Sydney through the engagement of regional artists, support for emerging artists in the area and well-managed community involvement as the program progresses.

The sculpture competition adds a new and competitive dimension to this process offering artists from many backgrounds an opportunity to develop work that may find a place in the life of the emerging community.

THE COMPETITION

The artist/s are invited to develop a sculptural work that uses lighting, sculptural or installed elements and surface treatments. The artwork may have a series of connected elements and should be designed for location in the parklands adjacent to the Keirle Road Sustainability Centre shown in the accompanying images.

Landcom looks forward to a sculptural work that will:

• Respond to the site as a significant community environment that will be experienced and enjoyed by families, children, new home-buyers, new and established residents and visitors to The Ponds
• Treat the site as a cultural landscape with a layering of environmental, cultural and community references
• Respond creatively to the landscape design, community spaces and the creekline.
• Respond to opportunities to use sculptural elements to achieve a visually engaging, yet durable outcome
• Ensure that the design, media and fabrication techniques represent excellence in Australian art and design

It is anticipated that the artist will use the themes referred to in this brief as a source of inspiration and a point of departure for responding to the site. While literal or simplistic responses are not expected or required sensitivity to the site as a place of cultural meaning and as a community environment is part of the brief.

SAFETY & DURABILITY

The artist/s are required to design the work for an area with a high level of community use. The work must be fabricated from durable, vandal resistant material. It must avoid sharp edges and apertures that children could trap fingers or heads. Ease of maintenance will also be a consideration.

CULTURAL THEMES

In the development of an arts strategy for The Ponds the following themes have emerged:

The Movement of Water through the Landscape

In this theme the essential nature of the creek  might be explored, in particular:

• The presence of water in a dry environment
• The nature of both natural and artificial water flows – movement of water through the landscape
• Second Ponds Creek as a locus of habitat, settlement, cultural identity, rejuvenation

Local Heritage: Tribal, Agricultural, Urban

In this theme invites a response to the heritage of the locality. In particular:

• The creekline as a food line – Aboriginal, European,
• The changing nature of habitat from pre-colonial to intercultural
• The flora and fauna of the remanent environment
• The gathering or ‘harvesting’ of objects of meaning – artefacts, ephemera, contemporary images, heritage photos

Contemporary Urban Culture in Blacktown

The suburban environment as a cultural force, the different ways communities relate to environment, sustainability and creative thought

• Intercultural expressions of family and community identity
• The meaning of ‘home’
• Beneath the roofline - the meaning of rain

SELECTION CRITERIA

Selection will be based on the following criteria:

• The degree to which the work successfully responds to one or more characteristics of the place and context.
• The degree to which the work successfully responds to its audience, the local residents and community or,
• The degree to which the work addresses themes important to the public domain as articulated in the Masterplan documents
• Originality
• Expression of creative and inventive ideas
• Craftsmanship
• Suitability of materials including robustness and safety issues
• Appropriateness for permanent installation on the actual site

THE SITE IN CONTEXT – A SOCIAL HISTORY OF SECOND PONDS CREEK

Central to the Landcom ‘Ponds’ development is Second Ponds Creek around which public open space is planned.

Located between Quakers Hill (NSW) and Rouse Hill in the Blacktown City local government area, approximately 35 kms northwest of the Sydney CBD, Second Ponds Creek runs through the gently undulating landscape of the Cumberlands Plains which extend from near Pitt Town in the north to Campbelltown in the south and Parramatta in the east. The geology of the Cumberland Plain is comprised mainly of shale belonging to the Wianamatta Group and the soils are relatively fertile. The site is bounded by Schofields Road,  Hambledon Road and Stanhope Road and lies in the Parish of Gidley.

After many thousand years of Aboriginal occupation and 150 years of agricultural use, the Second Ponds Creek area bears little resemblance to the forest environment that once covered the site. Evidence of Aboriginal settlement, including a broad distribution of stone artefacts from campsite activities, abounds in the area, especially along the creek line. Aboriginals farmed the area in their own way, often planting yams and other edible foods and the Creek was known for its good fishing both by Aboriginals and white settlers. White and red ochres obtained on site were used for corroborees. Local fauna, including kangaroo and possum provided good hunting.

At the beginning of 1804 Schofields Road was just a cart track through the bush. None of the hills in the area were officially named, little surveying work had been done and no lands granted. By 1818 Governor Macquarie had made a land grant of 380 acres to Jonas Bradley who grew the first successful tobacco crop in the colony.

In 1820 a land grant was made to John Palmer who was an officer in the First Fleet.  The farm stretched from near the Windsor Road along the route of the present Schofields Road to beyond Alex Street, along Burdekin Road to a boundary parallel with the Old Windsor Road.  The property was later purchased by the Pearce family, by the second half of the 19th century the Pearce’s owned most of the land from Seven Hills Road to Schofields Road near Rouse Hill.

The white settlers in the area grew wheat, maize and potatoes and cattle and sheep were grazed. In the 1850s the onset of wheat rust largely put an end to the cultivation of grain right across the Cumberland Plain and orchards of citrus and stone fruit became the main income earners following later by poultry farms.

The arrival of the railway to Quakers Hill opened the area up to more residential development with the Quakers Hill Estate subdivision offered for sale in the early 1900s. Despite this the area still retained its rural character until after the Second World War when housing development in Blacktown gathered momentum.

Blacktown is now a city of 265,000 people with 48 suburbs and one of the fastest growing populations in Australia with an additional 5,300 residents moving into the area each year. The city is home to people from many cultural backgrounds with 29% of residents speaking a language other than English. Blacktown has the largest Aboriginal population in Australia.

The immediate residential areas around The Ponds including Newbury, Parklea and Stanhope Gardens are some of Blacktown’s newest residential areas. Like other areas of the city they are home to young, culturally diverse communities.

Click here to download an Image of the Site.
Click here for a Concept Plan.
Click here for an Oblique View.
Click here for an Impression of the Managed Lawns.
Click here to download an Application Form.
Click here to visit the UWS website.

GO BACK