Best Urban or Public Art/Activity Collaboration

This award recognises public art or activity collaborations between an individual or organisation and one or more creatives. Judges looked for collaborations where art has contributed to an improved urban or city experience for the community, including contributions to environmentally sustainability practice.

WINNER: The Big Hose, nominated by UAP | Urban Art Projects in collaboration with Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art and artists Tony Albert and Nell.

The Big Hose is a transformative public artwork by Sydney artists Tony Albert and Nell, commissioned by Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art and project managed by UAP I Urban Art Projects.

Completed in late 2025, this first interactive public artwork within Brisbane’s cultural precinct is sited along the edge of Maiwar (the Brisbane River) on QAGOMA’s Bistro Lawn on Kurilpa Point - a significant place for the Turrbal and Yaggera peoples.

Marking the artists’ first creative partnership, the artwork exemplifies how meaningful collaboration can benefit communities of interest.

The multi-million dollar permanent artwork involved a multidisciplinary team including the artists, QAGOMA, UAP, Playforce, Brisbane Softfall, Cox Architecture and First Nations community consultations and has already directly engaged more than 80,000 children.

The Big Hose’s impacts were conceived to extend beyond the traditional space of the art museum and directly engage communities of interest via participatory play-based learning, improved amenity at river’s edge, and with meaningful cross-cultural and interdisciplinary artistic professional development opportunities.

It was also QAGOMA’s first and most significant philanthropic project successfully dedicated to raising 100% of costs from private donors.

Since opening, the work has generated unprecedented social media traffic at QAGOMA, stimulated further philanthropic support and added to the reputational value and credentials of the artists and partners.

At an impressive 119 metres in length, The Big Hose lives up to its name and generosity of spirit and has become part of Aussie “big thing” folklore, adding a civic pride dimension and new cultural tourism landmark.

The judges said that the combination of artistic ambition, community impact, the philanthropic funding model, and the permanent First Nations cultural welcome made The Big Hose exceptional across all judging criteria.

They said it is a playful and nostalgic interpretation of Australian culture that rekindles the childhood spirit, connects the community to the outdoors and contributes to Brisbane’s cultural narrative.