Leading a people-first and place-led approach to the development of a world class arts hub in the ACT.
The Kingston Arts Precinct is a project that has been more than 20 years in the making. The ACT Government is undertaking the project to create a home for the visual arts community of the ACT and the wider region. Communication Link has been a key partner in shaping the vision for the precinct since 2021, providing comprehensive community and stakeholder engagement across two key stages for the ACT Government and Suburban Land Agency.
The first stage focused on developing a Place Brief for the precinct design. We re-established the Kingston Arts Precinct Community Panel (formed in 2019) to lead discussions and gather diverse community input through community panel meetings, co-design workshops and pop-up sessions. These activities, alongside ‘walkshops’, a creative panel, and an online survey, were enriched by collaboration with Aboriginal Consultants, Curijo, ensuring strong First Nations voices. The resulting community insights directly shaped design principles, guiding the Place Brief.
The Place Brief then informed our second engagement stage, as part of the Lead Design team with NH Architecture. Continuing our collaboration with Curijo, we gathered feedback on design concepts, assessing their alignment with the Place Brief principles through further workshops, pop-ups, and targeted stakeholder sessions. This iterative feedback process ensured community input directly influenced the evolving design, realising the Place Brief vision.
This unique project requires careful integration of the site's industrial and Ngunnawal heritage, the needs of arts organisations, and community aspirations. The precinct's significance lies in its connection to Canberra’s early industrial history and proximity to the Molonglo flood plains, an important Ngunnawal meeting place, also encompassing historic buildings like the Canberra Glassworks (Kingston Powerhouse). The people-first approach ensures the future precinct respects this cultural significance and meets diverse community needs.
The feedback received has informed the next design phase, which includes the Subdivision Design Application Precinct Plan and the Public Realm Design for the Precinct.