Our Approach
ART AID is founded and led by Christopher Skyner, a public art curator and creative director with more than a decade of experience across the arts and property sectors. He works directly on every engagement, from first conversation to final installation.
Every program starts with the objective. Whether a project needs to meet a planning condition, interpret a heritage site, lease a tenancy, activate a precinct or launch a brand campaign, we define what the work has to achieve before anyone is selected. The research, the brief and the consultation with clients, councils, heritage consultants and community follow from that, so the artists we choose can respond with their full practice rather than a diluted version of it.
The same thinking guides our work with brands. We pair companies with the right artists and illustrators for campaigns, products and activations, and manage the collaboration from brief to launch, with art direction and production handled within the program.
We hold the curatorial direction and the delivery program inside the same team, which means a major commission stays on schedule, on budget and creatively whole.
ART AID’s work has been built almost entirely through word of mouth. Clients recommend the practice because the practice delivers.
Social Impact
A portion of every project's profit is directed to not-for-profit and charitable organisations we believe in, locally and internationally, on the principle that a firm working in public art, culture, and community should carry a real obligation to the communities and artists its work depends on.
This shapes the projects we take on. We work with clients who give something back to the places and people they engage with, and we contribute in ways that continue long after the work is delivered. In 2023 we raised the funds to build the Bali Life Street Kids Centre in Denpasar, a school and women's workshop for 100 vulnerable children and their mothers. In 2026 we delivered a creative residency for young adults at the Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice in Sydney, in partnership with Dexus. Both partnerships continue.
Every ART AID project contributes to bettering a life, bettering the planet, and building a strong creative economy.
The Company We Keep.
From the clients and partners we work alongside.
Frequently asked questions
Who is ART AID?
ART AID is a public art and cultural consultancy with more than a decade of experience in public art commissioning. We work across the full life of a project through three services: strategy and planning, curation and delivery, and activations and programming. Our clients include developers, asset owners, councils and brands, and many of our projects begin as our own idea. Giving back is at the heart of our practice: a portion of every project's profit supports not-for-profit and charitable organisations, from the Bali Life Street Kids Centre in Denpasar to creative programs for the Fiji School for the Blind.
How do we engage ART AID?
It starts with a conversation. Reach out through our contact page and tell us about the project, whether it is a defined brief or an early idea you want to test. From there we will meet, talk through the site, the ambition, and the obligations, and shape a proposal that matches the scope. Engagements range from a single commission to a full public art strategy and multi-year program.
When should we engage ART AID?
As early as possible. For public art tied to a development, early engagement lets the plan shape approvals rather than chase them, and lets artwork be integrated into the building rather than added to it. For murals, activations and cultural programs, it allows time to develop the idea and secure the right artists and partners. That said, we regularly join projects mid-stream and can add value at any stage.
Does ART AID curate and produce mural artworks?
Yes, and it is one of the deepest parts of our track record. ART AID has curated and produced more than 100 mural artworks across Australia and New Zealand, spanning everything from single office murals to landmark building facades. Each was managed end to end, from artist selection and concept development through to fabrication, installation, and completion. It is the foundation of a broader strategic practice that now covers everything from cultural planning to program governance.
How does artist selection work?
We recommend the selection route that suits the project, whether a direct invitation, a limited competition or a public expression of interest, drawing on a network built over years of commissioning. Shortlisted artists respond to a brief we develop with our clients, concepts are reviewed together, and the final decision rests with the commissioner. We select artists rather than represent them, so our advice is not tied to any artist's representation.
Do you manage council approvals, permits and compliance?
Yes. Approvals and compliance are built into how we plan and deliver every project. We prepare public art plans and submissions for council, manage planning conditions and heritage considerations, and coordinate the permits, engineering sign-offs, and safety documentation a commission requires. Having delivered projects across many jurisdictions, we know what approving parties need to see, from council planners to the facilities managers who sign off on works, and how to keep a program moving through approval without losing time or ambition.
How are commissioning agreements and licensing handled?
We prepare and manage the agreements a public art program relies on, including commissioning contracts, licensing terms and maintenance obligations, and we work alongside our clients' legal teams where one is involved. For permanent works, artists are usually contracted directly to the commissioner, giving the clearest path to long-term ownership. Licensing is agreed at the start of a project, covering how the artwork can be reproduced, promoted, maintained and adapted, so the artist's authorship is respected and our clients have the certainty they need.
Do you manage approvals and third-party rights?
We manage the creative approvals pathway agreed for each project, and we build a rights and approvals check into concept sign-off. Where an artwork depicts a real place, building, monument, brand, person or cultural material, we flag the rights we identify and help our clients approach the people who hold them.
Our advice is based on what we identify through that process. Third-party rights are not always visible or publicly listed, so formal legal advice and consents outside the agreed approvals pathway sit with our clients and their advisers.
We are curators, commissioners and producers. We are not lawyers (including copyright and intellectual property specialists), town planners, heritage consultants, certifiers or engineers. Where a project needs that advice, we recommend the right specialists early and coordinate closely with them.
Does ART AID work with brands?
Yes. Brands are one of our core client groups, alongside developers, asset owners and councils. That work spans commissioned artworks, cultural activations, and arts programming, and it is approached with the same curatorial care as everything else we deliver. Where brand identity is integrated into an artwork, our starting point is always authenticity. The work has to be true to the artist, the context, and the audience around it, because that is what gives it lasting value. When it is done well, the result strengthens both the artist's profile and the brand story rather than competing with either.
Can you help promote the project once it is complete?
Yes. A commission's impact should extend well beyond its unveiling. We arrange professional photography and film of completed works, and can support launch events, media, and content that tells the story of the project and the artists behind it. For our clients, this documentation becomes a lasting asset for marketing, awards, and stakeholder reporting long after the project is delivered.
Does ART AID work internationally?
Yes. ART AID is an international practice. Our delivered work spans Australia and New Zealand, with an arts program created in the United States and social impact work across Indonesia and Fiji. We work with global investment managers and developers whose portfolios reach across continents, and with brands based in Europe and North America. The artists we commission are drawn from an international network built over more than a decade in the arts.
