Abstract
Within the context of Art Built-in, the Queensland Government’s integrated public art policy from 1999 to 2007, public art has been seen to be ‘dumbed down’ with a preference for art in the public domain that is not critically engaged. The government client-commissioner within the purported democratic ‘art-by-committee’ process often expects the artwork to represent Government values and to be content-free and risk-free with the intention of avoiding controversy. Now that AB-i is defunct, with the benefit of hindsight, the central question is: how could critically engaged practice have been better embraced within AB-i? Topics covered to clarify the context of the question include comparative contextual analysis surrounding AB-i, confused assumptions and expectations of public art, the philosophies of public space and their impact on public art, and the limitations of public art in the practical context. Selected curatorial projects—Brisbane Powerhouse, Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Art, and Brisbane Magistrates Courts—have been used to practically test the hypothesis of integrating critically engaged art in the context of permanent public art in Queensland, and a curatorial methodology that intends to promote critically engaged public art is provided.