Geelong Public Art Health Check (GPAC)

The artworks and monuments we place in public spaces take on new layers of debate and meaning as our values shift over time. Geelong’s public art collection, from iconic bollards to royal monuments and faux chimneys, is no exception. The Bishop & Reis Artificially Intelligent Informatics Network (BRAIIN) look to critically (and satirically) assess how these artworks shape collective memory and challenge our cultural narratives in the 2020s. Using a mix of AI and analogue technologies, BRAIIN offers CoGG a public art health check, of sorts. Over two days, BRAIIN’s technicians will examine the King Edward VII monument, assessing its artistic intent alongside more abstract waterfront artworks like ‘North’ and the treasured Bollards. The project, part of Geelong Design Week, will offer alternative 3D renderings and keyrings, critiquing the “smart city” narrative while engaging the public in conversations about the ways in which public art can offer both comfort and critique in a progressive regional metropolis.