Creative Placemaking Artist

Overview

This pathway trains you to find and transform underused or historic places—from churches, band rotundas, silos, and footpaths to skate parks and main-street frontages—into vibrant hubs for culture, commerce, and connection. You’ll learn how to map candidate sites, build cases for adaptive reuse, navigate council processes, and lead supported Urban Canvas programs that give aerosol and street artists legitimate walls, resources, and mentorship (including in schools and TAFEs). The focus is practical: identify, negotiate, activate, and measure the uplift for people and local economies.

Why Choose This Pathway?

• Place-first approach: Start with real sites and bring them back to life.
• Council-ready: Learn approvals, permits, and stakeholder engagement that unlock action.
• Cultural & economic uplift: Design activations that boost footfall, trade, tourism, and pride.
• Supported street art: Create sanctioned, high-standard Urban Canvas programs with proper governance.

What You Will Learn

• Site audits & asset mapping to identify high-potential spaces (faith sites, rotundas, silos, footpaths, skate parks).
• Adaptive reuse & feasibility: safety, access, heritage, utilities, and budget frameworks.
• Planning & permits: council processes, compliance, risk and insurance basics.
• Urban Canvas program design: sanctioned walls, artist selection, mentorship, school/TAFE partnerships.
• Partnerships & funding: working with councils, developers, chambers of commerce, tourism boards, and sponsors.
• Activation playbooks: pop-ups, markets, music stages, night-time economy pilots.
• Impact measurement: footfall, dwell time, trader uplift, community use, and sentiment tracking..

Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

1. Identify and triage sites for transformation and write compelling activation briefs.

2. Negotiate & coordinate with councils, asset owners, faith/heritage leaders, and local traders.

3. Design and deliver sanctioned street-art and mural programs with education links.

4. Activate safely and legally, managing risk, compliance, and amenity.

5. Demonstrate outcomes using simple metrics that matter to communities and funders.

Career Pathways

• Adaptive Reuse & Activation Lead for councils, developers, and main-street programs.

• Urban Canvas Program Curator (schools, TAFEs, precincts) establishing sanctioned aerosol/mural initiatives.

• Silo & Landmark Art Trail Director for regional tourism boards and destination marketing.

• Retail & Night-time Economy Activation Consultant for BIDs, traders’ associations, and centres.
• Faith & Heritage Site Reimagination Advisor (churches, rotundas, civic landmarks).
• Skate Park Culture Producer integrating art, music, and youth programs.
• Public Realm Producer for festivals, pop-ups, markets, and seasonal activations.

Program Format

Duration: 10 months, part-time

Mode: Online and in-person learning

Assessment: Project work and portfolio submission

Certification: : Graduates receive the Certified Creative Practitioner™ credential from the Creative Women’s Authority™

Entry Requirements

Applicants should have:

• An interest in art, design, and the transformation of spaces
• Openness to community collaboration and multi-stakeholder projects
• A commitment to building vibrant, inclusive, and economically viable places
• English proficiency suitable for professional practice