Is a building worth more or less with public art?

The City of Sydney has announced that it plans to paint over Reko Rennie’s iconic Indigenous design on a city asset that is soon to go up for sale.
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Image courtesy the artist and City of Sydney; Photo Paul Patterson

It has become a signature of Sydney’s iconic Taylor’s Square at the heart of Oxford Street, the hot candy pink, black and blue stripped T2 building.

The striking patterns are those of Aboriginal artist Reko Rennie, celebrated nationally in recent exhibitions, such as the Tarnanthi Festival at the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Indigenous Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia, the new Australian Collection rehang at the Queensland Art Gallery, and also this year at 57th Venice Biennale.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina