Regenerative creative-led urban development: Danks Street south precinct visit

Date: Sunday, 14th September 2025

Time: 11:00am - 12:30pm

Location: Waterloo, NSW, 2017.

Danks Street south precinct is an area of Sydney’s inner suburb Waterloo. Bordered by Danks, Young, McEvoy and Bourke Streets, the precinct includes the Sydney Water Pumping Station and Valve House. In a pioneering project, the City of Sydney in 2016 commissioned an arts lead strategy for creative engagement with the surrounding community so that their stories, values and ideas could help shape the design of the public domain. This process, led by MAPA Art and Architecture, led to the ‘Open Field Agency’, which offers artist residencies to support regenerative creative practice. The OFA positions artists not as beautifiers in urban change, but as vital agents in reshaping the systems, structures, and futures of our cities.  Join us for a special preview tour of the OFA before its official launch to hear about the origins of the project, learn about the history of the precinct and view the site’s innovative pre-fabricated and self-build structures.

Note: Numbers are strictly limited, so book early to avoid disappointment. Meeting point to be confirmed closer to the date.

Tour Leads

Heidi Axelsen, MAPA Art and Architecture

Dr Hugo Moline, The University of Newcastle

MAPA Art  and  Architecture is an art and architecture practice founded by Heidi Axelsen and Hugo Moline, which works between the social and the spatial.

Heidi Axelsen is co-director of MAPA with extensive experience working as an artist, curator and planner on public art and cultural projects. She has held numerous roles within local government in community cultural development and in creative industries in Sydney and Newcastle. She is a and PhD candidate at MADA, Monash University.

Dr Hugo Moline is an architect, artist, urbanist and researcher, focusing on socially engaged practice. He is a lecturer in Architecture, University of Newcastle and co-directs the MAPA.