Explore how artists engage with spatial design and respond to the sites in which artworks are created and experienced. Through site-specific and site-responsive practices, students can examine relationships between artwork, audience and space. Consider how artists use architectural, environmental and social elements to reveal connections between people and their surroundings. Build awareness of both natural and built environments, and the systems, values and histories embedded within them. Aligning with Sustainability and Design and Technologies, the exhibitions demonstrate how design thinking and spatial principles can be applied to solutions for community needs.
Learning Opportunities: World Water Day (22 March); National Science Week (16- 22 August); National Water Week (20-26 October)
Soft Grates is a new sculptural installation by Jen Berean and James Carey, created for the 2026 Judy Wheeler Commission. Using sound and movement, the work responds directly to PICA’s site to reveal hidden water systems—from internal plumbing and water consumption in the building to city-wide water sources. Prompting students to consider sustainability and natural resource management, the work shows how site-specific art encourages audiences to critically reflect upon institutions and the systems and power structures they embody.
Term: 1 to 4 | Year level: 4-12 | Learning area: The Arts (Visual Arts, Media Arts), HASS (Geography), Technologies (Design), Science (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Exhibition Details
Soft Grates 2026 Judy Wheeler Commission supported by the Simpson Family
Artists: Jen Berean and James Carey
Location: Stairwell and First Floor Mezzanine
Dates: 6 February – 20 December 2026
Café coming soon presents the work of WA artist Shannon Lyons, whose sculptural installations respond to sites and spaces with humour and insight. Students can explore how the artist experiments with materials, spatial design and architectural elements to express ideas about social connection, labour and service within the hospitality industry. The exhibition invites reflection on how artworks relate to the spaces they inhabit and the audiences who experience them. By examining how artists reimagine everyday environments and transform familiar experiences, students are encouraged to question the hidden social systems, rituals and values embedded in the places where we live and work.
Term: 1, Week 1-8 | Year level: 7-12 | Learning area: The Arts (Visual Arts), Design and Technologies, Economics & Business
Exhibition Details
Café coming soon Supported by Creative Australia’s Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy (VACS) Major Commissioning Projects Fund and PICA’s Art Commissioners
Artist: Shannon Lyons (WA)
Location: West End Galley
Dates: 17 October – 20 December 2026
