Scholar Seats

Working with Urban Art Projects Australia, Council commissioned Inner West Artist Louise Zhang to design a sculptural seat for Luke Avenue Reserve. A previous judge for the 2021 Burwood Art Prize, Louise Zhang is a Chinese-Australian multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture and installation.

Louise’s piece for Luke Avenue Reserve, Scholar Seats, is influenced by architectural elements found in traditional Chinese gardens. Dramatic landscaping features such as large stones with unusual shapes, known as scholar rocks, were often used in these gardens. Smaller version of scholar rocks were also traditionally found on the table of Chinese poets and scholars, to inspire their connection to nature. In this artwork, Louise has taken inspiration from these scholar rocks to form two sculptural seats. The colour red on the bench seating signifies the continuous thread of connection to traditional Chinese culture while the ethereal blues and purples of the scholar rock elements speak to their conceptual origin as otherworldly objects.

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Louise Zhang 1.jpg

This project was funded through the Parramatta Rd Urban Amenity Improvement Program (PRUAIP) from the NSW Government.  PRUAIP is a $198 million initiative to improve open space and active transport links along the Parramatta Road corridor. Burwood Council is one of six Councils including Strathfield, Inner West, Canada Bay, Parramatta and Cumberland delivering a total of 32 projects in and around Parramatta Road. This is part of the government’s commitment to revitalising precincts between the Inner west and Parramatta.

For more information on the Parramatta Road Urban Amenity Improvement Program click here.

As a part of this program Burwood Council has delivered a series of cycle paths which link key recreational sites from Canada Bay to Burwood through Parramatta Road. These cycle paths will also improve connection between Burwood’s local parks and facilities.

Public art also has a key role to play in supporting the growth of The Corridor and establishing a sense of place for the community. Through PRUAIP and with the support of Create NSW, Burwood Council has received funding for a series of six public art commissions. The program of works is guided by the PRUAIP Public Art Framework developed by Create NSW and the Burwood Council Public Art Policy.

 

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Proudly Funded by the NSW Government

 

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