While this might seem obvious, unless a cultural project really maps into its surrounds, it will always feel generic and ‘stuck on’. Really exploiting the potential a site has to offer for temporary cultural projects can bring great rewards for place-making. At Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (2008-16) I was responsible for directing a programme of 11 major festivals and cultural projects in Darling Harbour and The Rocks annually. These sites are extremely contrasting: they required a whole different scale of work, a different approach to engaging the public, local businesses and cultural practitioners. For example, hanging trapeze artists from the freeways that pass over Darling Harbour at the annual Hoopla Circus Festival (left) woke people to reconsider where they were in one way. And inviting visitors into the intimate laneways for The Rocks Village Bizarre installations, happenings and site-specific curiosities (image above and video below) was a whole other approach…
Michael Cohen 