Planning Cultural Creation and Production in Sydney A venue and infrastructure needs analysis April 2018 Ien Ang, David Rowe, Deborah Stevenson, Liam Magee, Alexandra Wong, Teresa Swist, Andrea Pollio WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY Institute for Culture and Society The Project Team Distinguished Professor Ien Ang Emeritus Professor David Rowe Professor Deborah Stevenson Dr. Liam Magee Dr. Alexandra Wong Dr. Teresa Swist Mr. Andrea Pollio ISBN 978-1-74108-463-4 DOI 10.4225/35/5b05edd7b57b6 URL http://doi.org/10.4225/35/5b05edd7b57b6 Cover photo credit: City of Sydney Referencing guide: Ang, I., Rowe, D., Stevenson, D., Magee, L., Wong, A., Swist, T. & Pollio, A. (2018). Planning cultural creation and production in Sydney: A venue and infrastructure needs analysis. Penrith, N.S.W.: Western Sydney University. This is an independent report produced by Western Sydney University for the City of Sydney. The accuracy and content of the report are the sole responsibility of the project team and its views do not necessarily represent those of the City of Sydney. 2 Acknowledgements This project was commissioned by the City of Sydney Council and conducted by a research team from Western Sydney University’s Institute for Culture and Society (ICS). The project team would like to acknowledge Lisa Colley’s and Ianto Ware’s contribution of their expertise and support for this project on behalf of the City of Sydney. We also extend our gratitude to the other City of Sydney Council officers, cultural venue operators, individual artists, creative enterprises, and cultural organisations who participated in and shared their experiences in our interviews. Without their insights and informative responses, we would not have achieved our research outcomes. 3 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................... 3 Executive Summary ..........................................7 Introduction ..................................................... 9 Background ................................................................................................ 9 Objectives ................................................................................................. 10 Methods .................................................................................................... 11 About the Case Study Areas ................................................................... 11 About the Interviews .............................................................................. 14 Creative Space in Context ...............................15 Artists’ Studios: London .......................................................................... 15 Artscape: Toronto .................................................................................... 16 Arts Precincts: Melbourne ...................................................................... 17 Implications for Creative Space in Sydney .......................................... 18 Case Studies ....................................................19 Redfern Village Case Studies .................................................................. 19 107 PROJECTS ....................................................................................21 THE CLOTHING STORE ......................................................................23 PERFORMANCE SPACE ......................................................................25 MOOGAHLIN PERFORMING ARTS INC ............................................27 DUCKRABBIT ......................................................................................29 WORK-SHOP .......................................................................................31 SEMI-PERMANENT .............................................................................33 FBi RADIO ...........................................................................................35 STUDIO DAMIEN BUTLER .................................................................38 GALERIE POMPOM - FORMER MOP PROJECTS ..............................40 GRUMPY SAILOR ............................................................................... 43 5 Green Square Village Case Studies ........................................................ 46 SQUARE ONE STUDIOS ....................................................................48 aMBUSH GALLERY .............................................................................50 THE NEST CREATIVE SPACE ..............................................................53 STUDIOS 301 ......................................................................................55 STABLES STUDIOS .............................................................................57 Creative Space Located Elsewhere in the City ..................................... 59 MATCHBOX PICTURES .....................................................................60 CLAYPOOL ..........................................................................................63 Discussion ...................................................... 65 Emerging Trends ...................................................................................... 65 Trend 1 - Commercialisation of cultural production and space ............65 Trend 2 - Gentrification of the inner city ..................................................66 Trend 3 - Privatisation of cultural infrastructure .....................................67 Trend 4 - Casualisation of cultural workers and ‘flexibilisation’ of workspace ....................................................................................................68 Trend 5 - Diversification of creative space needs ...................................71 Major Issues ............................................................................................. 73 Issue 1- Availability of affordable creative space in the City ..................73 Issue 2 - Suitability of creative space and suitability of tenure .............73 Issue 3 - Disappearance of industrial buildings.......................................74 Issue 4 - Diminishing creative clusters in the City ...................................75 Issue 5 - The need for targeted support and funding programs ..........75 Issue 6 - Planning issues and building controls .......................................76 Issue 7 - Unsuitability of a ‘one size fit all’ approach to creative space planning .......................................................................................................77 Issue 8 - Limited space availability in outer metropolitan Sydney ........78 Considerations and Conclusions ....................79 References ...................................................... 83 Photo Credits ........................................................................................... 86 Appendices..................................................... 87 Appendix 1 - List of Interviewees ................................................................ 87 Appendix 2 - Outline of Interview Questions ............................................ 89 Appendix 3 - Profile of Case Studies Venues .............................................. 92 Appendix 4 - Summary of Trends, Issues and Considerations. ............... 96 Researcher Biographies ..................................97 6 Executive Summary This report was commissioned interviews with key stakeholders industrial buildings for potential to assist the City of Sydney across Sydney’s cultural sector cultural investment). We suggest in developing a greater and the creative space data that these mechanisms, combined understanding of the nature and assembled for the Mapping Culture with our other recommendations, extent of future needs for creative (2016) report and database can contribute to expanding space in the city, especially which laid the foundation for this the availability of suitable spaces for cultural creation and project, and other available data. creative spaces in the City of production. The research focuses Sydney. Such an approach help Based on these case studies, on the relationships between ameliorate the encroachment of we distil five emerging trends cultural creators, activities and commercialisation, privatisation and eight major issues related spaces with the potential for and gentrification identified in the to current and future creative nurturing cultural life and practice report. in Sydney. The objectives of the space needs in Sydney. The research were to: report concludes with a series of recommendations. Succinctly, INCREASING SUPPORT • Provide detailed knowledge the emerging trends, major MECHANISMS SO AS TO about the workspaces within issues and recommendations can PROTECT AND ENHANCE which cultural and creative be summarised in terms of the CREATIVE CLUSTERS producers conduct their work following plan of action: in the City of Sydney, and The casualisation of cultural the role of such workspaces workers and the flexibilisation (commercial or otherwise) EXPANDING VISIBILITY AND of creative workspaces were within wider cultural value AVAILABILITY OF SUITABLE identified as other significant chains. SPACES FOR CULTURAL and emerging trends. Pressure on creative clusters located in • Gain understanding of CREATION AND PRODUCTION the City of Sydney is combined the social and economic Some of the emerging trends with the diminishing range of environment within which highlighted in the analysis creative spaces, it was often cultural and creative sector focus on the impact of believed by our informants that agents operate, and the commercialisation, gentrification