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

9.2 ‘GUNYAH’ - A NEW GENERATION CENTRE, CIVIC PLACESpecialisation: New Media/Fusion - Library, Information, Gallery,Heritage, TechnologyThe OpportunityThe Civic Place Development provides the opportunity for designing and integrating purpose-builtcultural spaces into the early planning stages of the development rather than as an after thought.Such a commitment would build on Council’s award-winning Public Art Program and send astrong message to the broader community about the importance of the arts and culture inParramatta’s daily life and in the development of successful cities.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 fusionof gallery, library, technology, heritage as a new generation centre is a logical progression.The development of a ‘new generation’ space that is cutting edge, innovative and unique toParramatta would be a major asset for Sydney. No centre of this type currently exists in theregion, or the broader Sydney metropolitan area, and such a facility would complement highprofile institutions in the Sydney CBD while establishing a major point of difference forParramatta.Models that are setting the pace across the Tasman include the Wellington-based ‘Te Papa’centre which demonstrates how history, contemporary societies, art forms and Maori culture canbe incorporated into one institution. Also leading the way is ‘Puke Ariki’—a ground breakingknowledge centre developed by New Plymouth District Council—where library, museum andvisitor information are united to tell the stories of Taranaki, past, present and future.The proposed ‘new generation’ centre would investigate collaborations with the local industry,science and technology and would build on Council’s 2003 partnership with Information &Cultural Exchange (ICE) to develop SWITCH, a new–media arts space that ICE has beensuccessfully operating in Granville since mid 2004, funded by the NSW Ministry for the Arts andCouncil.SWITCH is helping to change the cultural landscape of the region by offering educational andtraining pathways for Western Sydney communities and artists, including pilot programs in film,TV, music recording, digital animation and web and graphic design.Arts Facilities & Cultural Places Framework 41