It comes ahead of a controversial decision on Monday night which could see public art works compete for funding alongside other community works.

Wagga artist Arthur Wicks, whose own ratepayer-funded public works have been the subject of removal, said the value of public art lay in its ability to evoke a reaction.

The purpose of public art was not to be looked at and liked, he said. 

“One element of art is to generate some kind of response, intellectual and emotional,  in the people who look at it,” Mr Wicks said.

“It needs to embrace an element of risk-taking in the construction of it.” 

Mr Wicks also said council should endeavor to incorporate more art, such as a mural, into new public works like playgrounds. 

“There has to be better awareness and consciousness from the council that art has a very specific role in the development of a city with some kind of soul,” he said. 

“Art exists as a statement about who we are.” 

Wagga photographer and fine arts academic Jamie Holcombe supported the need for public art, however, he said improvements could be made to make the process of selection more transparent to the community. 

“If what is driving this is a disapproval of the type of works that have been chosen, then I think that is a completely different matter,” Dr Holcombe said. 

For eight years, one per cent of all ratepayer money slated for public works projects must go into an untouched reserve for public art.

The reserve has attracted controversy in the past due to the works selected and their cost. 

Councillor Paul Funnell is behind a push to see the reserve opened up to include other community projects, such as a skate park in Uranquinty. 

A green light for a report looking into Cr Funnell’s suggestion will go before councillors on Monday night. 

Wagga City Mayor Rod Kendall said Cr Funnell’s motion was unnecessary as a review into the art reserve program was already due to take place next year.

But Cr Kendall was in favour of  the program continuing to operate in its current function. 

“I support the public arts program, but I also support that wide-ranging programs that we have in the community,” he said.