Claiming Ground

Claiming Ground:
twenty-five years of Tasmania’s Art for Public Buildings Scheme
Published by Quintus Publishing
ISBN 1 176832 35 5

“Tasmanians can be proud of the Art for Public Buildings Scheme. It began in 1979 and was the first scheme of its kind in Australia.”

So wrote the Hon Lara Giddings MHA, Minister for the Arts, in her Foreword to this softcover book, which is the result of a great deal of collaboration among a great many people.

Artists and designers for one. The scheme has now commissioned more than 800 artworks — with 80 of them chronicled in this book published in 2005, a rollcall of who’s doing interesting work in Tasmania and where to see the pieces themselves.

Secondly, the book is the result of teamwork between Arts Tasmania and the University of Tasmania; editor Noel Frankham, writers Dr Deborah Malor and Diana Klaosen; designer Justy Phillips, and photographer Peter Angus Robinson (with others).

The pages reflect the diversity of both the projects and the participating artists. Each page is filled with interest — first the brief, then how it was interpreted.

As you leaf through these pages you will no doubt come across places you know — perhaps a school, a church, college or hospital. Some of the installations are as practical as seating for an outdoor area, some have aroused a little controversy; the artworks range from a collection of dolls in carved driftwood, paint and fabric to sculptures fashioned from such unusual materials as 800 BHP star pickets.

Paintings, photographic displays, ceramic murals, furniture and screens commissioned under the scheme are to be found all across the state; this book is an excellent reference. LV

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