Yarra City Council’s Room to Create Program, in partnership with the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, with support from Collingwood Yards, has supported artists with affordable studio spaces.

The Room to Create Studio was launched in July 2020 as a new purpose-built studio at Collingwood Yards. With the aim of providing artists with more affordable and sustainable creative spaces in Yarra, the 12-month lease (which was subsequently extended to 18-months due to lockdown interruptions) was offered to the eligible artists and heavily subsidised at a 70% discount from the commercial rents charged. The studio was partitioned into six spaces to accommodate six artists.

With their residency beginning in 2020, we welcomed six incredible artists into the space where they developed both their practise and their community.

To find out more about the artists who call the Room to Create Studio home, click the links below to see their stories, work and more.

Ayman Kaake
Scotty So 
Hayley van Ree
Josephine Mead
Guy Grabowsky
Michelle Mantsio

We’ve loved hearing all about the exciting creative projects from the artists themselves. You can listen to our interviews with our six Room to Create resident artists here.

Yarra City Council values our creative sector as it is an important and innovative industry that facilitates economic growth. Room to Create is a program available to all artists in need of an affordable creative space in Yarra; it’s a program for anyone and everyone, so keep an eye on our website for future opportunities.