PPAF to close

Perth Public Art Foundation is to be wound-up after the City of Perth failed to renew its funding and it struggled to secure other backing amid the pandemic.

The not-for-profit foundation had the mission to advocate and champion public art in the City of Perth.

Until the end of 2019, PPAF staff were employed by the city and informally seconded to the foundation, and the city funded the running of the organisation through a principal partnership.

A statement from PPAF said strategic planning by the City of Perth in March 2020 resulted in a redirection of how the city would deliver public art, and meant the foundation would no longer receive funding.  

“The [PPAF] board adapted the strategy process, to consider several options including pivoting the organisation to recalibrate its focus and explore new revenue and funding streams,” the statement said.

“Unfortunately, during this period, the COVID-19 pandemic escalated and lockdown rules were put in place.

“The board considered ‘hibernating’ for six months to provide a period for COVID-19 restrictions to lessen, enabling meaningfully discussions with the sector on what a pivoted organisation might look like, however, undertaking this process and securing new funding partners within the current level of reserves was determined an impossible feat.”

The statement said the PPAF board and the City of Perth acknowledged the success of the foundation since its transformation in 2014, including securing $2.6 million in funding and delivering projects that provided opportunities for local artists and benefited the Perth community.

The foundation is responsible for work including an artwork by Anne Neil in Stirling Gardens Memory Makers, Judith Tulloch’s bronze sculpture Judith, and Zokei Mobius In Space by Japanese artist Ushio Keizo at Elizabeth Quay.

It also delivered strategic plans and studies including the Bicentenary scoping project and the Creative Cultural Mapping Plan for Perth.

The foundation had one full-time staff member and a four-person board. 

A City of Perth spokesperson said it was not involved with the decision to close PPAF.

Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery director Ted Snell said it was a shame the foundation had to close because it had done good and important work to improve the facility, liveability and vibrancy of the City of Perth.

“What PPAF were able to do was coordinate fundraising, provide guidance and curatorial direction, facilitate collaboration and deliver on projects in a way that greatly benefited the community,” Mr Snell told Business News.

“Although independent of the city, their [the city’s] support was vital to PPAF, but this was not enough in the onslaught of COVID-19.”

Mr Snell pointed to an essay in the PPAF discussion paper he wrote earlier this year, which said the City of Perth needed a public art policy to explore new models and provide a greater social return on investment.

“Without the foundation it is difficult to image who will drive this process, yet it is vital for the long-term dynamism of the City of Perth,” Mr Snell said.

City of Perth chair commissioner Andrew Hammond said the city was taking a conservative and targeted approach to planning for new public art, while focusing on efforts on conserving, promoting and interpreting existing public artwork in the city.

He said the city was undertaking initiatives regarding new public art including receiving advice from the Public Art sub-commitee of its Cultural Advisory Committee, developing plans for the city’s six neighbourhoods and continuing to identify opportunities for public art in new developments.

City of Perth is one of the few councils in the metropolitan area which does not have a Percent for Art scheme, requiring developers to spend 1 per cent of project costs on public art.