HIGH STREET BEAUTIFICATION A DELIGHT

 

 

A lot of people have commented to me on how good Fremantle’s historic High Street is starting to look now that the City of Fremantle is in the process of removing the yellow foil of the Felice Varini Arcs D’Ellipse artwork and partly or totally paint the facades of the gorgeous buildings.

The building at 10 High Street still does have the yellow foil attached but that is because architect Michael Patroni, who owns the building, wants to take it all the way back to the original tuckpointed facade, and no worries, the City won’t pay for that.

It’s great to see heritage building beautified, but that does not mean I condone the mess  the city administration made out of the fantastic public artwork and not doing their homework about how to safely remove the foil. That should not have happened.

I hear that the City also wants to install more seating along High Street and that no doubt will be welcomed by tourists, locals and Notre Dame university students

Roel Loopers

FREO.SOCIAL MURAL ART WORK IN PROGRESS

 

 

Fremantle is getting another good mural public art work on the new FREO.SOCIAL music venue building at Parry Street. The aerial perspective of the painting is fascinating.

Work is still continuing in and around the former Drillhall, but Sunset Events have scheduled many concerts in, starting with An Intimate Evening With John Butler on April 3.

Roel Loopers

CAN FREMANTLE INDUSTRIAL ARTS PRECINCT BECOME A REALITY?

 

 

A community working group came together at Stackwood on Monday afternoon to discuss if the dream of a Knutsford Industrial Arts Precinct can become a reality or if  the challenges are too daunting.

Architects, artists, planners and three Fremantle Councillors attended the meeting, as did Freo Mayor Brad Pettitt and CUSP Professor Peter Newman, and chair of the City’s Design Advisory Panel Geoffrey London.

The Mayor said the Knutsford Street area was an amazing precinct with amazing opportunities, but the question was what we want to create here and how do you compliment ‘making things’ work with the rest of the community?

Participants said a Fremantle Industrial Arts Quarter was all about place, people, creativity, resilience, community, heritage and innovation. It would be funky, green, amazing, economic, vibrant and sustainable.

Geoffrey London said it would need water-sensitive outcomes for infill developments and asked how can we make it into a sustainable precinct. He suggested to narrow the very wide roads which would create lots of recreational opportunities on the verges.

Participants suggested that housing that related to the industrial area with distinctive architecture should be considered, as is storm/grey and black water management solutions. There should be housing typologies for sustainability and density.

Peter Newman said the examples shown from European developments looked all the same, and I agree that many of these sustainable developments look monotonous. It is probably a challenge to create innovative and attractive buildings when one needs density to make it sustainable and affordable, so that would be a major challenge.

One huge challenge is the soil contamination of the area and how to remedy that, and also how to combine noisy industrial art studios next to residential housing. It is also important to combine living and working environment, so that artists can live where they work.

But how do we do it? A planning framework would be required, and community input, and State Government changing some of the suffocating planning rules.

People want bigger visions, and we need new governance and investment structures for these innovative ideas. Who has got the power to change the dynamics and create a culture of innovation?

Many of the warehouses are probably not worth saving but we should retain a warehouse typology in the precinct, and we need to be clear about the minimum standards we want to achieve and develop visual guidelines. What is the Knutsford style?

And the last speaker of the workshop said it would take five people who are willing to make less money to want to make a difference, to get it started.

It is a very challenging project and it will need a Heart of Beaconsfield style of approach to start finding practical, innovative and creative solutions. There is no doubt in my mind that the area has huge potential to become something special!

Roel Loopers

 

 

 

PROMOTING ARTHUR’S HEAD SHOULD BE FREO CITY PRIORITY

 

When the J Shed artists present their case at the City of Fremantle on Monday officers and elected members should first decide if they want a visual art precinct or activate the area, because the latter has been the buzzword for years at Fremantle Council.

The reality is that a visual art centre is great and will attract a certain type of visitors, but it will not create mass activation of Arthur’s Head. Even if the City were prepared to invest money and build a cafe at the number one studio, with an outdoor deck from which to watch the Indian Ocean and the setting sun, the area won’t suddenly get a huge number of people, but as the boardwalk and Bathers Beach House have shown at the southern part of Bathers Beach visitors’ numbers will increase and so will the use of the beach.

What also needs to happen with some urgency is making the Whalers Tunnel more attractive and re-installing the displays which were removed from the nooks by the Maritime Museum. There is also a sign in the tunnel that claims that convict labour was used to build it, but convicts arrived in Fremantle well after the tunnel was built.

And signage all over the area needs to be improved. Why for example is there no sign at the bottom of the steps to point out that the Roundhouse is the oldest public building in Western Australia and where is the sign near the tunnel entrance to point to the J Shed art studios?

It is naive from Fremantle Council to believe that artist studios will create significant activation, but the Roundhouse is doing that without much support from the City’s marketing department, so stepping up the promotion  for the area should be the very first step for the City to undertake. There is not much value in constantly talking about activating the West End of our city when nothing is done to significantly promote it. Walk the walk, Fremantle Council and don’t expect the artists and Roundhouse volunteers to do the job your marketing department and the Tourism Commission should be doing.

Roel Loopers

 

 

COSMIC COLLISION AT FREMANTLE CIRCUS

 

 

It is promoted as a cosmic collision between circus and science, so CRITICAL at Fremantle’s Big Top in Princess May Park might well be a fascinating experience.

It is all part of this year’s FRINGE WORLD so check out http://www.fringeworld.com.au for more information.

It is on at Circus WA from January 31 to February 3 and standard tickets are just $ 25.

Roel Loopers

LIFE SIZE DRAWING OF ELEPHANT TRICIA AT FREO ARTS CENTRE

 

 

It is one of the last days you can view the life-size pencil drawing of Tricia the Perth Zoo elephant at the Fremantle Arts Centre.

Artist Ross Potter is almost finished with the work and will take it down on Wednesday, so go and have a look. It is great!

Roel Loopers

HIGH STREET WILL BE EVEN MORE STUNNING

 

 

I bumped into the owner of one of the apartments at 2 High Street and had a chat with him about the removal of the yellow foil of the Felice Varini Arcs D’Ellipse artwork. He said the owners of the building are very happy with the way the work has been done professionally by the BUDO group and are delighted about the result.

The owner, a former president of FICRA, also said that we should not forget that once affected buildings along historic High Street have been repainted the street will look better than ever before, and I believe he is absolutely right.

We can forever whinge that this should not have happened, but all the negativity will make no difference at all. Solutions have been found to deal with the problems, the Heritage Council is keeping an eye on the repairs, as are the City of Fremantle heritage experts, so by the time April arrives and the work has been done Freo’s most beautiful street will look even more stunning. I reckon that’s a win and good for tourism.

Roel Loopers

FREO CITY REPLIES TO YELLOW ART CRITICISM

 

 

The City of Fremantle has reacted to the ‘exclusive’ in the West Australian earlier this week about the removal issues with the yellow artwork along High Street, so I’ll publish that unedited below:

“The work program for the removal of the artwork and its timing were developed in consultation with the building owners. Works started on 2 January at the Round House end of High Street. Works to numbers 1, 2, 4a and 4 will be complete by 23 January. We will then move to number 6 and work our way up the north side of High Street and back down the other side. Work is currently programmed until mid-March.

A photographic/measured survey has been carried out on each building and the method being applied and area of the works was agreed with each owner prior to commencement. The remediation works not only address the areas that were covered by the yellow foil, but entire ‘panels’ of buildings, so that work does not appear as ‘patching’ but a more complete remediation to ensure an acceptable blended finish.

Step 1 is removal of the yellow foil. Foil is removed by abrasive action. This is similar to normal prep work which might be carried out prior to painting. The contractor is using a couple of different methods. For painted render, painted brickwork, timber frames and metal window bars, removal is through the use of a hand-held grinder fitted with a silicon carbide stripping disk. For more intricate areas such as tuck pointed brickwork and decorative scrolls, a hand-held scraper is used.

Step 2 is preparation. In addition to removing any small remaining pieces of foil (from step 1), the team are filling, carrying out minor repairs, scraping off loose paint, sanding and washing down the building. After that, if any additional cracks are uncovered as part of the wash-down they are also filled and sanded.

Step 3 is painting. Samples of the existing paintwork are taken and matched. A high quality paint is being used.

The approved budget for the removal of the artwork project is $211,000.

The majority of owners have been entirely happy with the process. Owners and tenants are being kept well informed. City officers are on-site daily to ensure works are progressing as agreed. As each building is completed, the City will meet with the owner to ensure they are satisfied with the work that has been done.

The contractor is doing an extremely good job and is very thorough. Officers will continue to actively engage with the contractor throughout the project and are very confident the project will provide a quality outcome. Officers also continue to liaise with representatives of the Heritage Council, who are happy with both the progress, the extent and the quality of the preparation and repainting works.

One property owner has initiated legal proceedings against the City, which the City will defend vigorously.

While the difficulties with removing the artwork – and the additional costs – are unfortunate, they should not overshadow the fact that the artwork was a great success which attracted thousands of people to the West End and contributed to their favourable impression of Fremantle.”

 

In fairness I need to add that former Fremantle Mayor Peter Tagliaferri claims that he did not give the City permission to use the building he owns at 7 High Street for the public artwork, so if Tagliaferri’s claim is correct the City trespassed and engaged in property vandalism, but the court will rule no doubt on that as well in due course.

 

Roel Loopers

HUB NIGHTS ON HENRY JAM AND ART SESSIONS

 

 

HUB NIGHTS ON HENRY at Fremantle’s Moore&Moore cafe sounds like a great idea, so I hope it will get a lot of support from the local community, artists and musicians.

A great new experience where local musicians and artists showcase their talents with the community.

Unstructured jam sessions for musicians to play and a space for experts from all forms of art to share their knowledge to eager listeners. 🎤🎼

Join them on the first Thursday of every month at Moore & Moore Cafe
🕺🏼💃🏼
Want to perform or get more details? Get more info by emailing: eventmanager@mooreandmoorecafe.com

FREMANTLE J SHED ART STUDIOS FOR LEASE

 

 

The City of Fremantle is seeking applications from groups, organisations or individuals for the use of Unit 1 and 4, J Shed.

Unit 1 and 4, J Shed are located within the Bathers Beach Art Precinct (BBAP) and is ideal as an individual or shared studio space.

BBAP is a dynamic, innovative and authentic art and culture area and applicants will need to showcase how their proposal will benefit the area.

Applications close Friday 1 February 2019.

• Download the expression of interest document.

On-site viewings

By appointment only on:

• Wednesday 23 January 3–4pm.
• Tuesday 29 January 10–11am.

RSVP to mandyh@fremantle.wa.gov.au.

More information

Contact Senior Project Officer Arts & Culture, Mandy Hawkhead on mandyh@fremantle.wa.gov.au.