An under-utilised hall in Melbourne’s south east has been given a new lease of life as a vibrant home for the area’s artists and creatives to work, collaborate, and host exhibitions and performances.
The City of Casey has transformed the Narre Warren Mechanics Institute Hall into a creative hub for emerging artists and creativity enterprises in the area.
The City of Casey Emerging Artists Hub was developed with the support of the Victorian Government through the Creative Neighbourhood Infrastructure Support Program.
Informed by the needs of local artists, Victorian firm Sibling Architecture co-designed the space, which includes workspaces, dry and wet areas for making work, and shared presentation and workshop spaces.
In addition to creating the Hub, the City of Casey will activate the new spaces through a pilot creative residency program for local creatives. In its first year, this will see the Hub come alive with Japanese inspired jewellery, football photography, DJ workshops and much more.
The first cohort of residents include two creative collectives and four artists:
- Way Over There Collective, which works with arts organisations and community to create opportunities events and programs that prioritise Black, Indigenous, and POC artists.
- RIDDIM, a community-driven events organisation that represents and showcases diverse cultures through music, events and design.
- Individual artists - photographer Navaal Saeed, henna artist and art therapy student Fathiah Raihan, visual artist Fausto Gallego, and jeweller and artist Anna Konecny.
Find out more about the City of Casey’s Emerging Artist Creative Hub.
The Creative Neighbourhood Infrastructure Support Program is part of the Victorian Government’s $6 million Creative Spaces and Places program. An initiative of the Creative State 2025 strategy, the program is supported by the Community Support Fund.