Sourcing art for business

ON the first floor of the King Street Arts Centre there is a business purely devoted to celebrating the magic of art in our city

Established in 1998, ArtSource is an artist referral service that provides businesses with easy access to Western Australia's best artists for public and private commissions.

ArtSource is a resource that businesses can use to find the best artists to produce a work for their office, school or public space.

ArtSource's client list includes Leighton Contractors, Ernst & Young and Killerby Vineyards.

'We have a database of over 260 artists in Western Australia, this is used as a reference for public and private art commissions," ArtSource manager Jude van der Merwe said.

The most recent large project that ArtSource has managed was a roundabout sculpture - Bunbury's Transfigurations: The Navigators with artist Jon Tarry.

Completed in October 2000, the overall budget was $150,000.

Most of the projects that ArtSource works on have budgets of between $40,000 and $150,000.

"Our clients include local government, architects and land-scape architects," Ms van der Merwe said.

"At ArtSource, clients come to us with a project and brief guidelines.

"We ask what sort of artist they're looking for and often make suggestions."

ArtSource also works closely with the State Government's Percent for Art Scheme

Through a partnership between Contract and Management Services (CAMS) and ArtsWA, the Percent for Art Scheme was set up to ensure opportunities and exposure for West Australian artists and to improve the public spaces of Perth.

Applied to selected projects, the scheme ensures that up to 1 per cent of the construction costs of selected public buildings is put aside for art.