payneham road precinct
We’ve been at the Yellow Door Studio on Payneham Road for about a year. Artists are always looking for cheap rent – a place to be safe and dry and practice their artIt would be good to have gallery space that supported emerging and more experienced artists; something that could act as a space to meet other artists, build community, network and promote work. That would be great for the area.
yellow door artists
I would like to improve our sense of community and increase networking opportunities for the businesses and communities along the road, to swap ideas and be more aware of each other. It is not only a good idea for businesses to connect, it’s the way of future – if you want something it makes more sense to get it next door than go looking for it somewhere else.
Danny Beger, Berger& CO Lawyers, Payneham Precinct Committee
soft voices in quiet corners: other cities #2
I have lived in Adelaide all my life, spent most of my holidays on the south and eastern coasts; love the dry hot summer and fresh winter chills (not so much, the droughts)… my first trip to Far North Queensland some five or six years ago was a moist, dripping green culture shock. The visit was a quick one: Sasha Grbich had invited me to run a two-day workshop with her for the Tanks Art Centre as part of ANAT’s Portable World’s education program. I remember the plane trip was frustrating – cloud cover the whole way – no view, no physical sense of the place I was approaching… remember the song playing as it tipped into descent (I think it’s from Sarah Blasko’s Planet New Year) ‘Waking with the birds, they’re falling from the sky’ causing some subtle anxiety that fell away as the clouds broke and the plane sank into colour: turquoise blue/green sea deep green blanketed mountain fringe; remember the heart-dropping/breath-held moments as the plane banked the bay: the beautiful liquid shock of it.
Art on the Street
I believe that the debate about street art is unnecessarily combative. It’s just paint on a wall- it doesn’t hurt anyone. Funnily enough I think that the people who clean the walls and the artists who paint them have the same intention, to contribute to and beautify public space. The two sides just have different aesthetic values. Generally we are becoming more accustomed to street art and its not as scary as it was a while ago, and that’s a good thing. Some artists have an elitist approach, they want street art to remain intimidating and edgy. I think that’s important too but there’s plenty of room for both approaches. When I started making street art it was ridden with angst. I soon realised that doesn’t draw anybody in. Angst only attracts more angst. The best thing about this art form is that it makes you observe the public space differently. Through a dialogue between the audience and the artists you begin to realise that public space belongs to all of us. It’s ours to play with and, above all, have fun!
Peter Drew Street Artist
Art in Payneham
As I walk from the city through Kent Town and down Payneham road towards my rented working space, I pass by many houses and commercial buildings from long ago. Some are much loved and cared for. Others are neglected. But they are all precious. They are probably not so appreciated by the many commuters in cars, trucks and vans that whoosh by, in the race for time + money. One old building intrigues me. The faded grey sign indicates it had something to do with plumbing – probably before the petrochemical industry provided plastic wares. But it is derelict. The open doorway reveals a chaotic interior and there is a gaping hole on an exterior wall that acts like a floodlight on the tangled mess. I am told that it is heritage listed, that the owner wanted to bulldoze the thing and that a bomb had caused the gaping hole. I think “poor Adelaide”.
My move to Yellow Door Studios was prompted by a lack of affordable rental space in the city precinct, where older buildings here are making way for boring but functional apartments. I am very happy with my move. The Kent Town and St Peters area is blessed with many older buildings that give a unique atmosphere of past existence in the inner suburbs. The challenge is for government to promote this, and for architects, designers, developers and retailers to use their creativity to incorporate this rich history into their practices. The older commercial buildings on Payneham Road can come to life again in a unique way.
Adrian Caon Artist
soft voices in quiet corners: other cities #1
I remember coming across the website for a project called [murmur] toronto some five years ago while Sasha (Grbich) and I were researching participatory art projects as part of the development of a project up in Cairns that we completed early this year… (more…)
Public Spaces – Just add Arts
There seems to be a growing acknowledgment that the arts reflect our identity, our social conscience, our human lens on the world.
It’s an organic ‘thinker in residence’.
Integrating diverse forms of arts (performance, film, visual and music), organically throughout our City and our society, ensures that our human condition is fully expressed – irrepressibly. It’s our insurance towards creating a rich, vibrant, diverse and fulfilling life. (more…)
small gestures in public places: other cities
As both an art maker and an art lover, I am often moved more by the underlying motivations and processes: the difficulties and desires of the artist as embodied in the art work, than by the polished spectacle of singular finished pieces…
often these motivations and processes; the narratives that link art and life are somewhat lost-in-translation between studio and gallery. (more…)
