Trevor Richards: Blooming Wildflowers In Geraldton 

I would commend Arts Law for their knowledge of what was involved with setting up a contract for this project. They certainly had their heads around all of the different issues that arose, which I would never have been able to predict or anticipate. We were able to knock out a really complete agreement that covered every part of the project. I couldn’t be more happy with how things turned out.  

Trevor Richards, Arts Law client

Trevor Richards is an artist who lives and works in Fremantle, Western Australia. His practice encompasses painting, sculpture, video, photography and installation. He has exhibited extensively in Europe, and in recent years has been exploring colour, pattern and its relationship with architecture. You can see more of Trevor’s work on his website here. 

In 2019, the City of Greater Geraldton approached Trevor to commission a piece of public art for the Rocks Laneway. Trevor reached out to Arts Law because he needed some help setting up a contract for the commission based on requirements he had been provided by the City.  

Over a number of meetings with Arts Law, we were able to advise Trevor about legal documents that the City had provided him, and help him set up a contract for the commission. We worked with Trevor on a number of issues, including:  

• Ownership of copyright and the scope of a copyright licence to the City 
• The acceptance and rejection process for the design  
• Moral rights and how Trevor would be credited in promotional material 
• Responsibility for insurance  
• Maintenance of the work 

After close consultation with Arts Law, Trevor was able to sign a contract with the City and get to work on this exciting project. Trevor said that because of the scale of the project and the number of moving parts, it needed to be well managed. He was dealing with a building company and with the City. Arts Law was able to help him set up a robust process for this project.  

For this commission, The Wildflower Project, Trevor created a wildflower artwork that responded to the native flora of Geraldton, juxtaposing the hot pink of Geraldton Wax with a dark seaweed green (pictured above). The project was completed in 2019 in collaboration with UDLA, the City of Greater Geraldton and TRCB Architects. The work has been embraced by the City and the local community and has become popular on Instagram.

Need our help? 

Have you been commissioned to complete a public artwork for a local council? Arts Law has a template Commissioning Agreement for Public Artwork. We also have an Information Sheet on the topic. 

It is important to get legal advice before signing a commission agreement. You can submit a legal query with Arts Law here.