To restore our economy, Australian cities should embrace culture and imagination / by Tom Oliver Payne

Covid-19 has sent Australia’s creative industries into distress, and the damage has been severe. More than half of the jobs (53%) in this sector ceased to function during lockdowns, resulting in hundreds of thousands of job losses across Australian cities. But what if we actively invest in making places more unique, exciting and creative? Could we make domestic travel more appealing – or even – make Australian cities the envy of the world?

Thought-piece I’ve written for RobertsDay - you can read online here.

Perth artist Matt Adnate’s work of celebrates Aboriginal culture. Photo courtesy Juddy Roller/Nicole Reed.

Perth artist Matt Adnate’s work of celebrates Aboriginal culture. Photo courtesy Juddy Roller/Nicole Reed.

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Great time helping launch The Place Economy III with the rest of the @hoynedesign team. 800+ pages of case studies and interviews on best practice placemaking projects. When Andy asked me to write for the book, I wanted to cover projects that better
Back in London last year I visited Battersea Power Station. Bricks and mortar that honour history and with a chimney lift-shaft, encircling shared street and basketball courts engage with the city in a new way. We’re lucky in Sydney that we can
Hong Kong, Mar 2023 _____________ . . . . . _____________ #hongkong #hk
_____________ . . . . . _____________ #berrynsw #bnw
Awesome experience speaking for @hoynedesign at a few events recently on the need for bold visions to bring life and culture into city centres. Some shots from the UDIA National Summit talk and q&a w Ticky Fullerton. 🤘🏼 _____________ . . . . .
A few photos from one of my favourite tall buildings in Sydney. Designed by Seidler, the MLC Tower (now 25 Martin Place) has definitely stood the test of time. Australia wasn’t a pioneer of modernism, but we did a good job of it. ____________
Featured
Talking Place Visioning on The Placemakers Podcast
Talking Place Visioning on The Placemakers Podcast
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Reinterpret and reimagine through adaptive reuse
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Re-imagining Glebe Island Bridge
Re-imagining Glebe Island Bridge
To restore our economy, Australian cities should embrace culture and imagination
To restore our economy, Australian cities should embrace culture and imagination
Sydney's summer spaces
Sydney's summer spaces
Autopsy on a Dream
Autopsy on a Dream
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Launch of a Copenhagen street with Mikael Colville-Andersen
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East London's Fredd Wigg and John Walsh Towers
In the south of Sri Lanka
In the south of Sri Lanka
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Demolition has begun: photos from Robin Hood Gardens
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Kensington and Chelsea: a microcosm of divided London
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SMH Article: What Sydney can learn from London's approach to brutalist architecture
'In Drowned Concrete': photobook with Saal Digital
'In Drowned Concrete': photobook with Saal Digital
Conversation with London artist Lorna May Wadsworth
Conversation with London artist Lorna May Wadsworth
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From screen to street: the photography project putting imagery in the public eye
Branded Kings Cross
Branded Kings Cross
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Cycling from London to Paris
Photographing for Sydney's Neighbourhood Paper
Photographing for Sydney's Neighbourhood Paper
London calling
London calling
Photographing for #WeLiveHere2017
Photographing for #WeLiveHere2017
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Sydney, it's time to face your addiction
A conversation with Jess Cook of Sydney's 107 Projects
A conversation with Jess Cook of Sydney's 107 Projects
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Reminding Sydney of Seidler
Interview with Sydney busker, Kane Muir
Interview with Sydney busker, Kane Muir
Photographing Sydney's innerwest
Photographing Sydney's innerwest
'Rom': Europe's first heritage listed skatepark
'Rom': Europe's first heritage listed skatepark
Toronto from above: views from the CN Tower
Toronto from above: views from the CN Tower
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What would Ernő Goldfinger think of Balfron Tower today?