Canberrans will get to enjoy Yes!Fest, the Canberra Street Dance Festival, a mammoth magpie sculpture, and a series of large-scale projected artworks thanks to funding from the City Renewal Authority's Placemaking Grants program.
The Placemaking Grants, which have been awarded since 2018, provide approximately $200,000 each year to events, arts activities, installations, and other projects to make the Canberra city centre an even better place to live, work and do business.
This year the funding has been awarded to four successful applicants for community events and installations across Civic and Braddon.
City Renewal Authority chief executive officer Malcolm Snow said this year's grants will be more important than ever in bringing Canberrans back to the city after months in lockdown.
"The key to creating great places is giving people more reasons to spend time in them. With restrictions lifting, we wanted to support projects that will bring people back to the city centre in 2022."
"The four successful grant applicants are exciting, innovative and showcase some of the best Canberra has to offer."
"From a hip-hop dance festival to large-scale public art, we really believe there is something here for everybody."
Mr Snow said that in addition to strengthening connections to the city centre, the four projects will also deliver significant benefit to the local economy.
"Interesting and enjoyable public spaces aren't just good for the people who live there. They are also attractive places to work, visit, shop and do business."
Placemaking Grants are funded by the City Centre Marketing and Improvements Levy.
Brian Weir from the City Centre Marketing and Improvements Levy Advisory Committee welcomed the announcement, saying that events and activities are essential as the city bounces back from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Anything that makes the city more colourful, interesting and gives people a reason to visit is essential."
"We challenged applicants this year to think bigger and be innovative, and I think they've really delivered."
More detail of each of the four successful projects is below:
Yes!Fest 2022
The ACT's annual festival celebrating LGBTIQ+ love, pride and marriage equality will once again have Braddon's rainbow roundabout at its heart, and feature LGBTIQ+ performers, musicians and artists.
The Canberra Street Dance Festival 2022
After the success of the first Canberra Street Dance Festival in 2021, the event will return in 2022 over the weekend of 9-10 April, promoting engagement in hip hop and street culture in the ACT through a program of dancing, music, MCs, fashion, food, art and more.
Big Swoop
This large-scale artwork in Garema Place by Yanni Pounartzis will pay homage to one of the area's primary inhabitants – the magpie. The 2.4 metre tall, 3.5 metre long sculpture of a magpie eating a chip, affectionally named Big Swoop, will be ready and on display from March 2022.
Reveal Braddon
Lonsdale Street in Braddon will be transformed by three large-scale projected artworks created and commissioned by Visumotus interactive. These works will align with next year's Enlighten festival and will transform entire building surfaces into pieces of art for the entire community to enjoy.
