Sydney’s Angel Place receives a revamp with the return of Forgotten Songs.
April 5th, 2011
In 2009, an installation called Forgotten Songs appeared in Sydney’s Angel Place. The laneway was enlivened with floating birdcages and recordings of extinct or threatened bird species native to New South Wales.
The art project is now set to return to Angel Place permanently as part of a $9 million program to revitalise Sydney’s laneways.
Image courtesy of City of Sydney
“Angel Place is one of our secret gems, a laneway that’s fallen between the cracks of surrounding high rises,” said City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
“It’s a pocket with so much potential.”
Forgotten Songs includes the installation of 120 birdcages suspended to look as if they’re floating in the sky.
Originally created by Michael Thomas Hill, Dr Richard Major, Richard Wong and David Towey for the City of Sydney’s By George! laneway art initiative, the project also includes recordings of the sounds of birds that were pushed out into the fringes of suburbia as population and development in the city grew.
“People can again wander through this hidden laneway and lose themselves in its inspiring sounds,” said Moore.
“As you race along the cobblestones in search of a little place to eat or shop, you’ll hear these empty cages echoing with the sounds of the birds that once flew through Sydney’s centre.”
The Angel Place upgrade will invigorate this often overlooked part of Sydney in a creative and exciting way.
“Laneways are ideal places for small bars and cafés, pop-up outlets, galleries and retail spaces – the sort of places that make Sydney more interesting,” Moore said.
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
London-based design duo Raw Edges have joined forces with Established & Sons and Tongue & Groove to introduce Wall to Wall – a hand-stained, “living collection” that transforms parquet flooring into a canvas of colour, pattern, and possibility.
A longstanding partnership turns a historic city into a hub for emerging talent
For Aidan Mawhinney, the secret ingredient to Living Edge’s success “comes down to people, product and place.” As the brand celebrates a significant 25-year milestone, it’s that commitment to authentic, sustainable design – and the people behind it all – that continues to anchor its legacy.
Global design fairs usually occupy dull exhibition halls, where besuited visitors trudge down rows of same-same stands. SO. BORING. This is why every year at Sydney Indesign, we turned things up a notch at The Venue: one location with one enormous lineup! And it was truly stellar…
The new ABW range from CSM offers a versatile range of fixed and mobile storage solutions
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
The Standard, Singapore by Ministry of Design has been crowned winner of The Social Space at the INDE.Awards 2025. Redefining hospitality with a lush and immersive experience, The Standard celebrates both community and connection.
Merging residential living with the retail experience, the latest project from In Addition breathes new life into shopping for the home.