Purpose:

Council is seeking an experienced consultant to develop a Public Art Policy and associated documentation and Art Collection Policy (Civic Collection) for Baw Baw Shire Council.

Background:

Baw Baw Shire is approximately 100 kilometres east of Melbourne in the heart of West Gippsland.

It has an area of 4,034 square kilometres and was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the former Buln Buln and Narracan Shires, the Rural City of Warragul (previously the Shire of Warragul), and some parts of the Shire of Upper Yarra. The northern half of the shire is heavily forested and lies in the Great Dividing Range and its foothills, including Mt Baw Baw National Park, while the shire is bounded by the Strzelecki Range and its foothills to the south. The ‘middle’ part of the shire is more densely populated, particularly in areas close to the Princes Highway and the Gippsland railway line, but still retains its rural environment. Baw Baw is bordered by South Gippsland, Cardinia, Yarra Ranges, Mansfield, and Wellington Shires, with the City of Latrobe completing the cohort of neighbours.

Baw Baw Shire is one of the municipality’s experiencing rapid residential growth. The current population sits at 62,042 and is expected to increase to 87,281 by 2041 which is a growth rate of 40.68%. Baw Baw Shire has a strong and vibrant arts scene, and we proudly hold over 200 artworks available in the public realm and a large civic art collection comprised of both local, national, and international artists. Our extensive and diverse collections reflect our various communities, history, and pride of place. Baw Baw Shire proudly houses the West Gippsland Arts Centre since 1982 and is Gippsland’s premier destination for performing arts. The centre boasts a large 750 seat auditorium, meeting and function spaces, a vibrant community art space, council service desk and a social enterprise café run by Knoxbrooke. It is a proud community hub of creative activity and social connection.

Baw Baw Shire is committed to ensuring the arts are a key part of the fabric of our community. This is reflected in Baw Baw Shire’s community aspirations as Sustainable, Healthy and Thriving and key initiatives in the Council Plan and Municipal Health and Wellbeing strategy as outlined below:

• Supporting community arts and events to create vibrancy and attract people to live work and play in Baw Baw.

This strategy relates to the Community Vision goal: Education, tourism and cultural offerings that help our region to flourish. (Council Plan, Key Focus Area 10.)

• Support initiatives that encourage active and passive physical activity and participation in arts and culture for all. (Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan 2021 – 2025, strategy 1.3)

Specifically, the review and update of the Public Art Strategy directly responds to the Creative Communities Strategy 2023 – 2029:

• Key Initiative Establishment of a Public Art Strategy and supporting policy for the acquisition of public art across Baw Baw Shire. This should include a transparent process for artists to fairly engage with Council, asset maintenance and guidelines for working with communities to support the development of their artistic and cultural identities. (Creative Communities Strategy 2023 – 2029)

Timeframe:

A draft policy is to be completed and ready for briefing by March 2025.

Scope:

Council is seeking itemised quotes for the following four elements.

1. Consultation

• Internal: consultation with key departments who either commission public artworks or are impacted by them.

• External: consultation must include but not limited to, First Nations people and Baw Baw Shire’s Arts & Culture Advisory Committee.

• Desktop review of minimum three (3) Public Art Policies of comparable municipalities to ensure relevance of content.

• Integration of the best practice principles from key industry sources such as but not limited to The National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA) in all policies and documentation produced in this project.

2. Development of a Public Art Policy which must include but not limited to the following elements:

• Acquisition and commissioning of works.

• Deaccessioning

• First Nations artwork commissions, acquisitions, and repatriation guidelines

• Guide on handling gifts and donations of public artwork.

• Governance

• Maintenance

3. Civic Art Collection Policy (artworks that are part of the council collection with the ability to be exhibited)

• Acquisitions

• Deaccession

• First Nations commission, acquisitions, and repatriation

• Gifts and Donations

• Loans

• Storage and maintenance

4. An internal process documents for both public and civic art collections policies which include but is not limited to the following:

• Governance structures

• Accession (including assessment framework/matrix)

• Maintenance and Renewal

• Deaccession

• Commissioning process framework for non-arts council departments

• Gifts and Donations

• Contract and MOU Review

Council may choose to contract all or some of the four items above dependant on budget.

Request for Quotation Process:

Please provide your itemised quote for the above four elements along with the below information to visualarts@wgac.com.au by COB Friday 16 August 2024.

Required information:

• Itemised quote (including hourly rates)

Please be mindful that full scope of works is budget dependant, and an offer may only be awarded for some of the elements.

• Relevant experience and expertise (max 2 pages) Draft schedule of project milestones

• Three referees

Contact:

If you have any further questions, please contact Melissa Forlano, Coordinator Arts & Culture on (03) 5624 2583 or melissa.forlano@wgac.com.au