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Public Art Strategy & Outcome
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Lisa Waup (Mixed Cultural First Nations artist)
Fitzroy North, a suburb know for its leafy green streets, mix of old brick buildings and modern development, ‘Convergence’ a mural by mixed cultural First Nations artist Lisa Waup forms a powerful visual anchor to the public realm of Fitzroy & Co.
As the appointed public art consultants for the Fitzroy & Co., WRAP led an end-to-end approach spanning art strategy, artist curation, delivery and installation.
We began with an art strategy framework designed to embed cultural integrity, local connection and meaningful collaboration at the heart of this residential build-to-rent project in the inner north.
Following the strategy’s endorsement, we worked closely with the Est. team, managing the project, concept development, installation, documentation, and the municipal approvals process, including detailed submissions to Yarra City Council’s Arts and Cultural Advisory Committee and the Planning Department and consultation with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation.
About the artist
Lisa Waup, a mixed cultural First Nations artist and maker renowned for her layered visual language of weaving, mapping and cultural storytelling was nominated through a competitive concepting round.
Responding to Waup’s deeply personal practice rooted in identity, Country and storytelling, the mural expands on themes of connection, Country and community. Here, circular forms speak to histories of family and community, connective linework symbolising pathways of connection and gathering, not only in terms of the area’s significant for First Peoples but within the broader context of the Est. development.
Waup’s mural unfolds across the building’s western façade, its circular forms and interwoven motifs offering a contemporary expression of deep time — tracking movement, memory and belonging across generations.
This project reflects our studio’s belief that public art should be more than a decorative gesture — it should be a site of exchange, anchored in care, context, and community. Through this work, Fitzroy & Co. is gifted with a powerful cultural marker — one that honours the ongoing presence of First Peoples and uplifts the voices of contemporary First Nations artists.
It acts not only as a cultural marker but also a gentle beacon — reminding passersby of the layers of belonging embedded in Country and our shared responsibility to our communities and one another.
Lisa Waup — Convergence. Photography Nicole Reed.
Lisa Waup — Convergence. Photography Nicole Reed.
Lisa Waup — Convergence. Photography Nicole Reed.
Lisa Waup on site.
Lisa Waup — Convergence. Photography Nicole Reed.
Lisa Waup — Convergence. Photography Nicole Reed.