Perth Voice Interactive

VINCENT will become the state’s “arts capital” under a grand plan ushered in by council this week.

On Tuesday night councillors approved a two-year plan that includes a new jazz precinct in Northbridge, a guerrilla arts project, a major artwork entry statement, a co-working artistic space and an Aboriginal artist on their arts advisory group.

“Art is something out community is very passionate about,” says mayor Emma Cole.

The city is already a mural hotspot, but Ms Cole says the new plan transcends “visual and performing arts”.

“[The plan] sets our vision to embed creativity in everything we do,” she said.

Councillor Jimmy Murphy, chair of the arts advisory group, said the plan reflected Vincent’s arty community.

“In the 2000-odd submissions we received during last year’s Imagine Vincent engagement campaign, the word ‘art’ featured in 400 of them,” he says.

He told Tuesday’s meeting: “To contribute to the development of our arts culture and artistic community, it starts with reaching out to and involving our community at a grassroots level – community arts!

“And what better way to engage our community than through initiatives such as our guerrilla arts campaign.

“A retrospective reward program for people contributing arts in the public realm through their own front yards, business windows or potentially with chalk on the pavement, yarn on the lamp posts, local buskers performing in our town centres and parks, and other random acts of arty goodness the creative minds of our city can conjure up!”

Ms Cole says the two-year plan will lay the foundations for their ambitious five-year art strategy in 2020.

The full plan is available at http://www.vincent.wa.gov.au. Just click on the “Vision for arts” button.

by DAVID BELL