Perth Voice Interactive

BIG developers operating in the Perth CBD may soon have to shell out one per cent of the cost of their projects for public artworks, and more Aboriginal art may one day grace the streets.

Perth city council is playing catchup with Vincent and Bayswater councils in floating the idea for its own per cent for public art scheme.

In Vincent the scheme has paid for works like the Hollywoodesque Beaufort Street sign, the Chen Wen Ling sculpture on Vincent Street, and the questionable OMG outside the Beaufort Street McDonalds.

The PCC reckons it needs more cash for artworks (though not stated quite so succinctly in the bulky bureaucratic draft strategy) and putting a hat out to the private realm is a good way to “enhance aesthetic appeal of developments within the city” and “invite more people into the city”.

With developments in the CBD in the tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars, even a one per cent commission can mean serious art.

Council staffers are keen to “ensure that the Aboriginal community has a voice and a presence in the city’s enduring public art” (though not explicitly called out in the document, an enormous number of the statues in the city are dead white men—Alexander Forrest, Bishop Hale, John Septimus Roe, Captain Stirling, Edmund Rice and Charles Court to name but a few).

The draft’s up on the PCC website for comment till May 15.

by DAVID BELL

ANNAPURNA Nepalese Kitchen is helping the earthquake appeal effort, holding a buffet lunch this Sunday May 3 and inviting people to pay what they want with all proceeds going to the Nepal Earthquake Victims Appeal.

Local federal MP Alannah MacTiernan is asking everyone to get down there “and support our local Nepalese community assisting their countrymen get through the devastation of the earthquake”.

“It is a very important cause, and I can vouch for the tastiness of the food,” Ms MacTiernan says.

It’s at 340 Beaufort Street. If you just love donating but aren’t hungry give to http://www.nawa.org.au

A NORTH PERTH woman called the Voice this week saying the WWI postcard found on the fence of Graham Farmer Freeway earlier this month (Voice, April 25, 2015) might be a fake.

She says several fake postcards had been made and shot from a cannon as part of The Giants puppet performance in February.

When we checked with Perth International Arts Festival spokesperson Rania Ghandour this week she said the postcard in our report “looks real”.

HISTORY was made Tuesday when Bayswater city council voted unanimously to fly an Aboriginal flag outside and inside its civic HQ.

Previously the council only flew the flag during NAIDOC and reconciliation week. The council will spend $1500 installing a fourth flagpole for an indigenous flag, to be flown permanently alongside the national, WA and Bayswater flags, and another $250 on five Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander desktop flags, to be placed in the civic chambers and reception.

The motion was tabled by ex-pom Chris Cornish, who moved to Australia with his family when he was 13-years-old.

“This is symbolic of saying we respect your culture and traditions,” he said. “A move that says there is a friendly face waiting inside to greet you. But it should be noted that this is only a baby step towards reconciliation, and like other councils have done I would like Bayswater to develop a reconciliation action plan.”

Cr Cornish says he’d originally wanted a separate Torres Strait Islander flag flown outside too, but changed his mind because he thought he wouldn’t get enough support.

Cr Barry McKenna declared flying the Aboriginal flag “was the right thing to do”: “You cannot deny the history books,” he said. “There are Aboriginal sites dating back thousands of years that are located near to this very building.Aboriginal people were walking on this land long before the white man arrived.”

The campaign for the flag to be flown permanently was initiated by the Maylands ratepayers and residents association.

“I was slightly disappointed the TSI flag didn’t get the nod to be flown outside, but now this is in place, it is inevitable that will happen further down the line,” MRRA president Roger Tomlins says. “In general, we are delighted and it is a great step forward for Bayswater council.”

The move had the backing of Maylands Labor MP Lisa Baker and Perth federal Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

Voice photographer Matthew Dwyer snapped this pic of a curiously 3D-seeming bus in the alley behind La Cholita. The perspective mural is the work of local artist Drew Straker, who’s been drawing on walls for about 15 years.

ADORABLE hounds prowled the CBD streets this week sniffing out change for Guide Dogs WA. They have 48 working dogs at the moment and 42 more puppies in training, and with local companies giving up their employees to shake tins they’re hoping to pull in $30,000 for the program.

PARADES. Sometimes they’re too big and make too much sense. Two artists are putting an end to that with Tiny Parades, “a call to action, a noisy protest, a mournful march and a joyous celebration”. Why? Because parade. Across May and June artists Renae Coles and Anna Dunnill will march fortnightly to “champion human-sized struggles and joys”. The first is this Saturday May 2 at noon at Stirling Gardens and every fortnight after that, keep up with the Facebook page Tiny Parades.

BAYSWATER city council has allocated $40,000 for a tribute to former mayor John D’Orazio, who died unexpectedly during surgery in 2011 at the age of 55. During his 17-year reign, Bayswater introduced WA’s first security watch, Morley Galleria was redeveloped and green bin recycling introduced.

A FRENCHMAN apparently trying to re-enact the 1910 great flood of Paris has caused $400,000 water damage to a St Georges Terrace building. The 19-year-old French national has been charged with unlawful damage after allegedly turning on a sixth floor fire hydrant. Water flooded the stairwell, escalators and wall cavities to lower floors, the power supply was tripped and part of the ground floor ceiling collapsed. He’s due in Perth magistrates May 27 and if convicted may be looking at some time in the Perth bastille.

FORMER Bayswater mayor Terry Kenyon has described as “silly” the decision to spend $37,000 developing a long-term parking strategy for the Maylands town centre. He says the study will swallow half the $80,000 the council has amassed from parking-in-lieu fees.

BAYSWATER city council has voted to take no legal action against the Barnett government in order to recoup the $1.2 million it spent preparing for council amalgamations. Legal advice suggested chances of success were slim.

THE Maylands Business Association has lost its management rights for the Maylands Street Festival. Bayswater city council has awarded the $12,500 contract to Local Arts and Community Events. The MBA used to run the event but a cock-up over last year’s resulted in others being invited to bid for the contract. Community Connect was awarded $15,000 to hold the Noranda Christmas Street Festival.

THE Mount Hawthorn Streets and Laneways festival kicks off this Sunday May 3 with 20,000 people expected to pour down. The streets transform into a village-like market atmosphere with Flinders Street north becoming Ladybird Lane (with ladies offerings), Axford Park becoming Eats and Beats Central and Fairfield Street showing off the “green” businesses around Vincent. It’s on noon to 7pm, so there’s still time to watch the Pacquiao v Mayweather fight beforehand if you like to see blood. Maps and event details are at http://www.mthawthornhub.com.au