Canberra may be billboard-free, but it's still to be seen whether our national institutions could be canvasses for commercial advertising after the National Capital Authority refused to say whether it would approve a request similar to that made by the Everest horse race advertisers for the Sydney Opera House.
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The Opera House's chief executive Louise Herron last week refused to project the barrier draw for the lucrative horse race on the opera house's sails, saying it wasn't a billboard.
After political pressure to go ahead with the event, and a petition against it, the announcement is set to go ahead at 8pm on Tuesday, although the actual barrier draw was done privately on Tuesday morning.
Much of the opposition to the horse race promotion on the opera house was due to the belief it would cheapen the landmark by advertising a brand with close ties to gambling.
Canberra is full of landmarks and national institutions, that like the opera house, have proven during the Enlighten festival to be eye-catching venues for artistic projections. Could they also be home to the barrier draw for a horse race (and the accompanying political battle)?
The National Capital Authority wouldn't be drawn on the question as it's a hypothetical, referring only to the National Capital Plan - six pages of which is devoted to signage.
While the plan is proscriptive in banning signs that would change the silhouette of a building and neon lights, it leaves a lot to be interpreted about what could be rejected, but it seems unlikely the Everest or something similar would make the cut.
Signs or projections could be rejected if the authority decides it could "adversely affect ... the architectural character or appearance of a building" or "a 'place' within the meaning of and subject to the provisions of the relevant Commonwealth heritage legislation," the plan said.
While the Opera House has been used to project promotions for the Wallabies and the Ashes, no third party advertisers have ever asked to use the facades of Canberra's national institutions, so no precedent has been set on how the authority could wield its wide discretion.
That doesn't mean the logos of commercial brands haven't been seen on projections or banners on buildings such as the War Memorial, the National Gallery or Old Parliament House.
"Some of these banners include advertising commercial entities but that is in the context of a sponsorship related to an event or exhibition within the relevant institution," a National Capital Authority spokeswoman said.
"These signs are agreed as they relate to the promotion of exhibitions or events that are taking place within the building and do not promote entities with no direct association with the institution."
Projections approved in the past weren't advertising, the spokeswoman said.
"The NCA has approved specific events related promotional projections such as Enlighten and Anzac Day Commemorative projections which again are not commercial in nature."
