By George! Hidden Networks
Background to the Project
The By George! temporary public art program brings together the City of Sydney's commitment to nurturing creativity in Sydney and to providing programs to enliven the City's laneways and forgotten spaces.
The program was first initiated in response to recommendations made in two reports commissioned by the City:
Jan Gehl's Sydney Public Space Public Life
(pdf 1845 KB)
and The Fine Grain: Revitalising Sydney's Lanes (pdf 1000 KB) by Six Degrees Architects.
In 2007 the Art&About program included Live Lanes, a series of installations, performances and events in a number of CBD laneways.
In 2008 the City invited local artist-run organisations to develop concepts for temporary installations which were launched during Art&About. The By George! 2008 projects animated the laneways with thought-provoking and engaging installations.
In 2009, the City is working with curator and urban designer Dr Steffen Lehmann to develop the next stage of this exciting program.
Dr. Steffen Lehmann is a curator, urban designer, author and educator. Since 1993, Steffen has been regularly organizing and initiating exhibition projects at the intersection between art and architecture, and has been engaged in the 'contemporary city' debate. Over the last 6 years, he has been working in Australia. Steffen holds the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Urban Development for Asia and the Pacific, and the Chair in Architectural Design at the School of Architecture and Built Environment; he is Founding Director of the s_Lab Space Laboratory for Architectural Research and Design (founded in 1993).
Over the last 18 years, Steffen has presented his work at more than 220 conferences in 22 countries. He has researched, built and taught on informal urban design, urban renewal and collaboration between artists and architects since the early 1990s. He is the editor of the US-based Journal of Green Building and an advisor to government, city councils and industry. He holds three post-graduate degrees. After graduating from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London he worked with James Stirling in London and with Arata Isozaki in Tokyo. Before being appointed to a Professorial Chair in December 2002 in Brisbane, he ran his own ideas-driven practice in Berlin, for more than 10 years, where he designed numerous award-winning buildings.
Steffen's teaching, research and curatorial practice demonstrate an enduring commitment to involving the local community in collaborative, interdisciplinary projects about the contemporary city and its public space. Good examples for this are the 'Back to the City' project (Newcastle 2008) and the 'Absolutely Public' project (Brisbane 2005), both published in book publications.
Steffen has a particular interest in sustainable strategies for urban regeneration of the post-industrial city and creative re-use of existing structures. During the 1990s, he was instrumental in the urban re-development of Berlin's city centre and has built buildings in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz, Hackescher Markt and Pariser Platz. In recognition of the international significance of his work, he has been invited as Visiting Professor to lead design studios at leading universities in six countries. In 2008, he received a Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence.
