Never mind the “flush of ideas’’ puns, Campbelltown is seriously thinking of adding artistically decorated public buildings such as toilet facilities to its overall branding program.
It’s not official policy, but after tonight’s announcement by the mayor, Paul Lake, of the winners of the Exeloo Decal design project partnership competition, some serious discussion got under way at the Campbelltown Arts Centre about the merits of such a marketing or branding approach.
The mayor, who says he is always open to new ideas, thought public toilets whose outside walls looked like Andy Warhol, the famous New York artist of the 1960s and 70s, had painted them, could quite possibly become a feature exclusively associated with Campbelltown.
In any case, Campbelltown is in the process of tearing down old toilet blocks and replacing them with new fangled, fully automated toilet units.
So incorporating interesting design features could easily become part of the whole package over the next few years
Certainly Campbelltown Council’s decision to run a design competition so it could spruce up even the new automated toilets drew big praise tonight from the very top of TAFE.
And holding a function to both announce the winners and celebrate all the graphic design students from Campbelltown TAFE who participated got even more.
Mr Peter Roberts, TAFE and South Western Sydney Institute CEO, said Campbelltown’s initiative deserved a big pat on the back.
“It’s not often you see this sort of thing, where a council will hold a function like tonight, so congratulations Campbelltown Council,’’ Mr Roberts said.
Mayor Paul Lake presented certificates to the three winners of the competition for four sites: Kentlyn, St Helens Park, Leumeah Skate Park and Ingleburn reserve.
Three winners and four sites meant only one thing: one of the winners had won twice, and that was exactly the case for Kimberley Wearden, who won with her excellent loo designs for the skate park and Ingleburn.
Alexandra Dovnik’s design entry for Kentlyn Reserve was named the winner for that site and Bossley Park graphic designer Adrian Michetti won with his design for St Helens Park.
The artists, both the ones who won and the ones who didn’t, all tried to incorporate elements of the surroundings into the design of the public toilet.
“There were fantastic entries for this competition,’’ the mayor said in congratulating those who entered the competition and those who had won the prizes.
“There’s some seriously good art in there and may I suggest some of you may want to enter the Fisher’s Ghost art competition,’’ Councillor Lake said.
