Brand X, known for making affordable spaces for Sydney creatives since 2005, has announced that they will be operating a brand-new creative studio, set to open early next year.
The facility was born from a voluntary planning agreement between the City of Sydney and developer Greenland Australia, where the City of Sydney signed a 99-year lease for the studios and agreed for Brand X to operate it for three years.
After a difficult lockdown where many artists were affected, the studios are a shining light in the dark, showing that the City hasn’t forgotten about the artists.
“It has long been a priority of the City to increase centrally located, affordable space for our artists and creatives,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said. “This five-storey venue will accommodate creatives in the heart of the city and help the sector’s recovery from the devasting effects of the pandemic.”
Brand X Director James Winter is equally excited for the opportunities the facility will provide. “We are thrilled to be appointed as operator of the City of Sydney’s state-of-the-art creative studios in the heart of the CBD. These subsidised purpose-built spaces directly address the needs of independent artists impacted by Sydney’s gentrification and affordability crisis.”
All artists will be welcome, regardless of their discipline, background, or stage of development. There is an aim for artists to be supported, with two of Brand X’s advisory panels to help oversee and encourage the projects undertaken at the facility. Many artists find it difficult to get started in the industry, which is why there will be a specific “focus on developing new voices from a diverse range of disciplines and backgrounds,” Winter noted.
The five-storey City of Sydney Creative Studios will be located on Bathurst Street and will include everything an artist could need, from rehearsal spaces to workshops to editing suites. There’s even a café and an artist in residence apartment available.
Let’s get into more specifics. The 2000 square metre facility features:
- Administration and meeting spaces, equipped with dressing rooms and storerooms.
- Production and editing suites, ideal for filmmakers and new media artists.
- Five soundproof recording and rehearsal studios musicians will love.
- Two double-height rehearsal spaces with sprung timber floors, which dancers, actors and other performers can take advantage of.
- Wet-dry creative studios for visual artists.
Ultimately, the spaces have been designed to assist artists at all stages of their careers with their work, to support them post-lockdown and provide them with new, accessible opportunities to experiment and produce new work.
If you’re an interested artist, creative practitioner, or organisation, you can register interest in using the new facility.
Photo: City of Sydney / Paul Patterson
