More funding for Collingwood’s newest creative space

As rents rise in the inner north the Yarra community is continuously changing.

According to Marcus Westbury, Contemporary Arts Precinct (CAP) CEO, Collingwood was once a thriving and unique space for individual creatives who are increasingly being priced out of the area.

Which is why Westbury is thrilled at the State Government allocating a further $3 million into the Collingwood Arts precinct; the future creative hub in the heart of the Yarra.

“A lot of the creative community are being displaced, and [the precinct] will secure the creative diversity of the community,” says Westbury.

The new space will be located at the former Collingwood Technical School on Johnston Street in a bid to keep our most inspired artists around for the long haul.

More corridor #CAPCollingwood

A photo posted by Marcus Westbury (@unsungsongs) on Feb 3, 2016 at 3:08am PST

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“[The project] has been a while coming,” says Westbury. “Everything could happen quicker… but I think things are progressing really well.”

The Collingwood Arts Precinct is set to open in 2018. While CAP is still in the process of handpicking Yarra’s best artists for the prized location, no tenants have been finalised for residencies as yet.

The site will be completely revamped; the three long-standing, near-derelict buildings are to be revived, including a bright, leafy courtyard for those whose inspiration comes from the outdoors.

“The courtyard will be a new public open space [as] Collingwood doesn’t really have many parks.” Westbury says.

In a statement to Creative Victoria Westbury describes the potential of the project to “embrace the life cycle of creativity, so not just a place for established organisations, but a place where people can start things, come together on short term projects or long term projects, providing flexibility for creative projects that don’t even know what they are yet.”

Escape #CAPCollingwood

A photo posted by Marcus Westbury (@unsungsongs) on Feb 3, 2016 at 2:47am PST

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With recent cuts to the arts sector, the creative hub is a welcome initiative. Along with Creative Victoria, several Yarra institutions strongly supported the project, including Gertrude Contemporary gallery, the Centre for Contemporary Photography and Lucy Guerin Inc.  

Last week Creative Victoria announced a further $3 million investment  in the project after an initial injection of $4 million. With the additional $4 million raised in donations, a total of $11 million has so far been committed to the precinct.

True to form, The City of Yarra has enthusiastically backed the project, working with CAP to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.

“Our creative industries and artistic communities are integral to our city’s identity, not just in Yarra but across greater Melbourne,” says Yarra City Council Mayor, Cr Robert Colanzi. “We are delighted that our local arts scene is being recognized and supported by the Government in this way.”

Far from being artistically barren, Collingwood is still abundant in its creative arts culture. 

For those looking for inspiration, galleries such as the The Collingwood Art Gallery and Lindberg galleries are both worth a visit with new exhibitions starting early August. In addition the James Makin Gallery on Cambridge street, which showcases contemporary pieces by up-an-coming artists and well-known artists alike, are this year celebrating their 10-year anniversary with an exhibition opening on the 18th of August that is sure to impress.

Feature image courtesy of Marcus Westbury.

By Kathryn Lewis

Political debates, portraits and hot topics. Refugees are in the Spotlight this weekend.

It’s been a big week for asylum seekers in the Australian media. After Dutton’s much talked about comments earlier this week, the timing for the opening night of the I Came By Boat exhibition couldn’t be better.

On display are 13 portraits of Australians who happened to have arrived here by boat.

Each portrait is accompanied by a story; a personal journey of uncertainty, poverty, war and detention. Each story told willingly in a bid to highlight the contribution of refugees in Australia.

Photographer Lucas Allen manages to capture distinctions in ethnicities and cultural diversity in the minimalist portraits. The one consistent feature being the ‘everyday Australian’ aspect of each photograph.

The unspeakable words ‘boat people’ hardly come to mind when walking through the gallery. In fact, it looks like they might have stepped off a plane much like the other one in four migrants who now call Australia home.

Blanka Dudas & photographer, Lucas Allen

John Gulzari, an Afghani Hazara, was one of the participants in the campaign.

“I think that refugee and asylum seekers have been let down, by the minister [Peter Dutton] and by politicians [in general]. They have always been demonized.” Says John.

Left to Right: John Gulzari and Dr Munjed Al Muderis

John Fled Afghanistan as a teenager in 1999. He first traveled to Pakistan, then on to Indonesia where he boarded a boat heading for Australia.

His story is all too familiar, one which combines the best and the worst of humanity. In 2007 John became a fully-fledged Australian citizen and active participant in Victorian politics.

“[The campaign] will raise the profile of asylum seekers and refugees, especially as it becomes a hot debate in politics.”

Opening Night of the I Came By Boat Exhibition

And a hot debate it is indeed. Although the campaign serves to disprove Dutton’s statement that asylum seekers are all illiterate, it does highlight the fact that they are actually employable.

But let’s be honest, if you had choose between Dr.Munjed Al Muderis and myself to perform life-saving surgery on a loved one, you’d be pretty thankful he stole that job away from me.

So let’s not delve too deep into the statement that illiterate beings, who speak no English, are stealing our jobs, whilst simultaneously sapping your tax dollars because they’re on the dole. The memes circulating Facebook are doing a rather good job of breaking down that argument on their own.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Friday the 20^th of May to Sunday the 22^nd of May from 11am-5pm.

It’s a highly regarded campaign Australia wide, with talks it may venture interstate.

Eva Orner, director of recently released documentary film Chasing Asylum attended the opening. In a joint event with I Came By Boat, Orner will take part in a Q&A session following the screening of her film next Sunday the 29^th of May at Cinema Nova.

Thanks to Blanka Dudas, the driving force behind the campaign, you can expect to see the posters popping up around Melbourne sometime in June, just in time for the federal election.

If you can, get down to 9 Glasshouse Road in Collingwood over the weekend, it’s a great exhibit and an accurate reflection of how we need to view refugees and asylum seekers, just like anyone else.

To donate you can visit the I Came By Boat website here. Tickets are also still available to the Q&A screening of Chasing Asylum.