Sydney Fish Market Public Art Program – Cultural Capital

Sydney Fish Market Public Art Program

Great market precincts intensify urban density and compress human activity around their richness of sensory experiences. They vibrate with a vitality of trade and exchange. The expression of it becomes their identity. It is their narrative.

At the new Sydney Fish Market, some of those stories reach back into deep time, long predating the Sydney Fish Market precinct as we now understand it. Others stem directly from its activities, both those that take place within the natural world and those ritualised through human activity. Together, interpreted and expressed with art practice, they form the narrative that will characterise the identity of the new Sydney Fish Market precinct.

Curatorial Introduction, New Sydney Fish Market Public Art Plan

Cultural Capital prepared the SSDA Public Art Plan for the new Sydney Fish Market and curated and delivered the program. The plan was developed in consultation with Infrastructure NSW, project architects, the City of Sydney Public Art Unit, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and Multiplex, supported by a rigorous engagement process with local Aboriginal stakeholders.

As a condition of SSDA approval, the plan established a clear curatorial framework, procurement and delivery methodology, governance structure and artist selection process, with input from an Art Advisory Panel and council stakeholders.

Cultural Capital led artist selection, brief development and the design, integration and delivery of the program. The works include a major adaptive heritage outcome and a series of Saltwater Stories commissions that reflect the ongoing cultural significance of Blackwattle Bay.

Works by Alison Page, Mike Hewson, Uncle Steven Russell, Nadeena Dixon and Leanne Tobin celebrate the site as a place of gathering, culture and connection. Cultural Capital partnered with TILT Industrial Design and worked closely with the artists from concept through to delivery, ensuring cultural integrity and seamless integration within the precinct.

SALTWATER PEOPLE STORIES

For tens of thousands of years, Gadigal, Bidjigal and Dharug clans have fished at the site of the new Sydney Fish Markets. To acknowledge and celebrate the continued presence of First Nations peoples and their fishing traditions on this important site, artists, Uncle Steven Russell, Nadeena Dixon, and Leanne Tobin were commissioned to create artworks which reference traditional cultural practices of the saltwater people.

The Nawi, a traditional bark canoe by Bidjigal Elder Uncle Steven Russell, evokes the waterways that sustained local Aboriginal communities for generations. Birrang Narrami (Star Net), created by Wiradjuri, Yuin, and Gadigal master weaver Nadeena Dixon, celebrates ancestral fishing practices and the intricate knowledge embedded in First Nations craft. The Call of Ngura (Country) by Buruberong and Wumali (Dharug) artist Leanne Tobin features sinuous, eel-like forms referencing the Dreamtime journey of the creator Gurangady, connecting viewers to stories of creation, land, and water.

Working closely with the artists from early concept through to fabrication and installation, Tilt translated these cultural narratives into enduring bronze forms that enrich the public domain, creating layered, immersive experiences that honour the enduring presence and knowledge of local Aboriginal communities.

Land of the Giant Pippies

On the eastern promenade of the new Sydney Fish Market, Land of the Giant Pippies by Dharawal and Yuin artist and designer Alison Page transforms the space into an interactive water play zone, inviting families to engage with Country through movement, touch, and imagination. The artwork draws inspiration from local coastal ecosystems and Aboriginal cultural stories, creating a playful yet meaningful connection to the land and waters of Sydney Harbour.

Led by Cultural Capital, Tilt Industrial Design collaborated closely with Alison Page to develop the concept, ensuring the work’s form and functionality responded to both artistic intent and public interaction. Urban Art Projects managed the project’s technical integration and delivery, translating the design into a safe, durable, and fully immersive experience for visitors of all ages.

Coal Loader Palm Grove

Coal Loader Palm Grove by Mike Hewson reimagines the 1926 Blackwattle Bay coal loader as a contemporary sculptural work. Set within a grove of endemic Daranggara palms, the installation evokes the native vegetation that once lined Sydney Harbour’s inner shores, creating a dialogue between the site’s industrial past and its natural heritage. Hewson’s work transforms the historic structure into a contemplative landscape, inviting visitors to reflect on the intersection of industry, ecology, and culture, while highlighting the ongoing story of place through both memory and imagination.

Blackwattle Bay, NSW

Infrastructure for NSW

Sydney Fish Market

Uncle Steven Russell, Nadeena Dixon, Leanne Tobin, Mike Hewson, Alison Page

2026

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