In Public: 30 Years of Commissions

What does it mean for art to belong to place?

Reflecting on more than 30 years of public art commissions in Moonee Valley, In Public explores the legacy of painted murals, sculptures, photography, play spaces and site-specific installations to examine our sense of place.

Public art is never neutral. As society changes, so do our expectations of public space. It can preserve our past or imagine our future. It can challenge our expectations and sensibilities. It can ask us to reconsider what belongs in public, whose stories are told, and how we relate to our neighbourhood.

Moonee Valley's Public Art Collection showcases indoor and outdoor artworks commissioned from the 1990s to the present, featuring a diverse range of local and national artists. Over more than 30 years of commissioning art, the Collection has undergone significant change. Works by Moonee Valley artists telling stories of the region remain central to it, while works by Victorian-based First Nations artists, women, and gender-diverse artists are increasingly priortised.

Art in public space tells stories of place, reflecting on what has been and imagining what could be. In Public invites us to look again at the art around us, and consider the role it plays in shaping how we experience public space.