In 2023 the Room to Create Program will support two innovative and emerging projects with access to free studio space for 12 months. Room to Create’s Artists In Residence stream supports artists and arts organisations to keep working and thriving in Yarra.

STUDIO is the collaborative practice of Tamsen Hopkinson and Woody McDonald, producing video interviews, live music events, contemporary art exhibitions, radio and print resources. At the Florence Peel Centre in Fitzroy, STUDIO will utilise the 12 month residency to create pre and post video, audio production and studio visits with collaborators, artists and arts organisations in Yarra.

At North Carlton Children’s Centre in Carlton North, Lucy Beattie Hughes will focus on the artists’ emerging creative studio that provides functional design, art and aesthetic interventions in public care spaces. At the NCCC over 12 months, Hughes’ research will explore the purpose of art in today's society, its social impact and the role art can play for our health and wellbeing in lived environments.

The Room to Create Artist in Residence Program provides short term studio opportunities by activating underutilised spaces within Council buildings, providing workspaces for artists, free of charge. Following a call out in 2022, Expressions of Interest were assessed by a panel of internal and external assessors, including two Room to Create Panel members. The panel were impressed with the artistic rigour of all the applications. Head to the Room to Create page to find out more about the program.