Dunedin City Council Ara Toi relationship adviser council initiatives Lisa Wilkie said the projects planned for Te Rauone Reserve, Tomohaka-Tomahawk Beach, and the St Clair to St Kilda coast were not part of the council’s public art programme.
But, instead, the council wanted to "incorporate creativity" in its business-as-usual work, and an entrance, a car park, or even community consultation could be improved by art.
"There’s a lot of research that shows that including creative aspects in your basic infrastructure projects helps people see that ... care is being taken," Ms Wilkie said.
"We’re trying to think about how to make this more appealing, more attractive, humanising the infrastructure that really does control a whole lot of our lives.
"It controls where we drive; it controls how we get our water; it controls where we park; it controls how we view decisions by local government.
"It helps remind people that we’re not just here on an empty spot of land — good art and infrastructure should reflect the community that’s been, and the community that’s living there, and it sort of helps tell the story of the city."
A project to build three groynes to help restore Te Rauone Beach — part of a joint multimillion-dollar project between Port Otago and the Dunedin City Council, to restore Te Rauone Beach and create a reserve area, about 2km from Taiaroa Head — would get artwork significant to the area, including its long history of settlement by mana whenua, so when people entered the reserve it would be apparent they were crossing a threshold, she said.
Art at a car park at Tomohaka-Tomahawk Beach would help make drivers aware they should not be driving on the dunes or the beach.
And the consultation for the St Clair to St Kilda coastal plan would use art to try to draw people into the conversation about what happened to the beaches.
The council issued expression-of-interest documents, seeking artists, on its website at the beginning of the month.
The St Clair to St Kilda coast consultation art proposal ($8000) submissions close on Friday and the Te Rauone Reserve ($20,000) and Tomohaka-Tomahawk Beach ($20,000) submissions close on July 31.
