Hobsons Bay City Council and project partners are inviting artists to develop temporary public artworks for the triennial ‘Dear Agnes’ contemporary public art program to be held at Truganina Explosives Reserve in Altona during March 2026.
Up to twelve artists or collectives will be commissioned to create temporary site-specific artworks that respond to the work ‘A Forest for Australia’ (1998) by Agnes Denes and the surrounding landscapes of Altona and Altona Meadows.
Works must be one of the following:
- A physical presence in the public realm
- A process-based artwork that directly engages the local community
- A performance work that is activated during exhibition opening hours
Note: All selected artists will be required to manage artworks when on site. Successful applicants will be required to attend a site induction to scope sites and/or refine their proposals in greater detail prior to creating works.
The ‘Dear Agnes’ contemporary public art program site will be activated for nine days over three weeks in March 2026. A series of public programs will be presented alongside the exhibition.
Prospective artists will be able to visit the exhibition site on Sunday 3 August 2025 prior to completing an application.
Applications will be reviewed and selected by the partnership consortia.
A payment of up to $5,000.00 + GST will be paid to participating artists/arts collectives per project. This payment is to fund artists fees and all associated costs in developing and delivering a site-specific temporary public artwork.
Expressions of Interest (EOI) can be submitted via Smarty Grants between Wednesday 2 July and Friday 8 August 2025.
Prior to submitting an EOI, applicants must read the Artist Brief before submitting their application. Access the Artist Brief via the Hobsons Bay City Council website –> Creative Opportunities – Hobsons Bay
For more information click here
