ROOM TO CREATE 560 CHURCH STREET POP UP SPACE LAUNCH

The Room to Create 560 Church Street Pop up Studio artists and partners came together late June for a celebration of the new pop up studio space, courtesy of the Alfasi Property Group. Through a public call out for Expressions of Interest, the Room to Create Panel selected five artists and artist collectives to takeover a whole floor of high quality spaces at the historic Bryant and May building, 560 Church Street, Cremorne.

The studio creatives will commence their six-month rent-free studio residency from 1 July, made possible with support from the Alfasi Group and Hamilton family. These artists and creatives include:

Gala Jane

Gala Jane is a research based mixed-media artist who uses text to create a social commentary around women's safety and mental health through the use of found objects and textiles.

Jason Penfold

Jason Penfold is a visual artist with a focus on the natural world and sharing it with others through the art of entomology.

Read the Room

Read the Room is an expanded literary practice space that encourages experimental writing, both on and off the page. Functioning as a liaising hub for varying practitioners interested in pursuing the literary form in any capacity Read the Room has an emphasis on the interdisciplinary.

Soft Meadow Collective

The Soft Meadow Collective consists of Adele Daniele, Sarah Lynch and Daniella Ruffino who share and interest in plants, pollinators and the urban environment. The collective has a specific passion for generating new perspectives on urban ecologies and collaborate with fellow artists, urban ecologists and landscape architects to look at ecosystems that exist in the built environment.

World’s Worst Wagga Collective

World’s Worst Wagga Collective are a quilters guild formed by three multidisciplinary textile artists Stevie Martin, Ruby Hoppen and Fiona Waters. WWW Collective will create a collaborative space for scrap quilters to make quilts and share their skills, stories and memories.

Room to Create is a dedicated program in support of affordable spaces for creatives by providing grants for infrastructure related works and providing long term housing for creative organisations. In 2018 it expanded to include an Artist-in-Residency Program and from 2020-2023 the Room to Create Fund partnered with Collingwood Yards to run a subsidised studio at the Collingwood Arts Precinct.

560 Church Street Pop-up Studio has been made possible through the generosity of Alfasi Property and the Hamilton family, and supported through the City of Yarra Room to Create program.

To find out more about future spaces through the Room to Create Program Subscribe to Yarra City Arts e-newsletter and follow the @yarracityarts Instagram.