Arts Facilities & Cultural Places Framework (2005) - Parramatta City ...

7.1 CLUSTER 1 VENUE: CIVIC PLACEMacquarie, Smith, Darcy & Church Streets, Parramatta CBDThis site is located in Cluster 1 as acknowledged in the Arts Facilities & Cultural Places PlanningProcess. This cluster is identified as fulfilling a role of as important area for cultural consumption& a meeting place.The ambitious scale and aspirations of the Civic Place Project offer almost an unprecedentedopportunity to develop a truly inspiring and challenging arts precinct that when complete will givea major focus of civic and public fulfilment for our city of Parramatta, Western Sydney and NewSouth Wales. By its very nature, a comprehensive Arts & Cultural Plan for Civic Place will defineand shape both what the site may look like and how the connectivity, animation and use theplace will operate and be maintained. Additionally, Arts & Cultural facilities for Civic Place areconsidered as a critical component of the Masterplan. It will form an essential part of the creationand maintenance of the social sustainability of the site.Civic Place is to be the ‘new face’ of Parramatta, complementing our national heritage assets.Civic Place is clean, fresh and cultural and integrates business, culture and residences. The siteoffers a stimulating and engaging opportunity to learn about the site and its history, but also toproject Civic Place as a significant new arts destination that engages residents and visitors to bechallenged about the future.The social and cultural significance of the Civic Place site is multi-layered. The site has beenrecognised by the community as performing a number of important social and cultural functionsfrom a civic/meeting/gathering/celebration/market place to a venue that provides strong links toParramatta’s past.The challenge is to achieve a cohesive site resonance. Linkages to the past offer an opportunityfor arts facilities and associated public artworks to begin to engage a site narrative and story,whilst capturing “now” and “looking forward” will present appeal, attraction to discover, beintrigued, to interact and to be stimulated.The site presents a rare opportunity to explore the boundaries of a “new generation centre” -via the fusion of gallery, library, technology, & heritage. The prospect to fuse libraries, museumsand art galleries into a single entity will have the capacity to transform cultural institutions at alocal level and create an environment that has the capacity to tell whole stories for visitors to thecomplex.It is envisaged that the focus of an art program for Civic Place will also embody experimental,progressive new media and digital arts technologies and creative applications. The cross overwith a new media and public domain interface offers exciting explorations of fresh technologiesparticularly in regard to issues that shape and inform it such as time, weather, identity,surveillance, safety and the constructed and natural environment.Arts Facilities & Cultural Places Framework 25