Northern Grampians Shire Council is seeking quotations from appropriately qualified and experienced artists to deliver community engagement, design and installation of Public Art (Sculpture) at Queen Mary Botanic Gardens in St Arnaud.
Key Dates
Closing time: this RFQ closes at 2pm AEDT on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Submissions must be fully received by this time to be considered. Late, verbal or emailed proposals will not be accepted.
Submissions: Completed responses must be submitted via the community@ngshire.vic.gov.au email address.
Successful applicant advised: By March 30, 2026.
Creative workshop: By April 16, 2026.
Final design: By May 16, 2026.
Completion: Project to be complete by June 30, 2026.
St Arnaud
As a midpoint between many Victorian destinations, St Arnaud is a popular stopping point for travellers with caravans and camping trailers. In the holiday season there is often a relatively heavy flow of traffic through St Arnaud, typically involving visitors first having a stop at the information centre in the Historic precinct, grabbing a snack or coffee at the nearby café, and a walk around the Queen Mary Botanic Gardens.
The Queen Mary Botanic Gardens are located near the centre of St. Arnaud, which is an important landscape landmark in the town. The importance of the gardens is further enhanced by the close proximity and visual connections of the early substantial public and civic buildings in the area, notably the St Arnaud Court House, old post office, fire station, former Kara Kara Shire Offices and the former Crown Lands Office.
The Artwork
The sculpture will be located within the garden bed the new buddleia garden and viewed from the existing gravel paths of the gardens. It is required to be sympathetic to the historical context of the gardens.
The theme ‘of the natural world, relevant to regional Victoria’, will be refined through the engagement workshop with key stakeholders.
The overall size of the artwork is to be no larger than 1000mmW x 1000mmL x 1600mmH with consideration given to the visibility of the main elements of the sculpture to be located above a height of 600mm. This is to ensure the sculpture is visible above the line of the buddleia plants located within the garden bed.
The artwork is to be a permanent sculpture with a lifespan between 10 - 15 years.
Suitable materials must be selected and maintenance requirements provided to council as part of this submission and bronze will not be considered.