Pop Ups and Empty Spaces Projects
Pop Up spaces and Empty Spaces Projects seem to be taking off in Sydney. The key aim of these projects are to activate vacant spaces in the city and revitalise areas that might otherwise look empty and of course to encourage the flourishing of creative enterprise. It gives the communities a chance to engage with arts and culture, it enlivens the town centres and of course it is an affordable opportunity for the artists to display their work in places they may otherwise not have access to.
We stumbled on the Parramatta Pop Up quite by accident while enquiring about gallery spaces in the City at the Library and the Heritage Centre.
We walked over to the downtown arcade and started chatting to Lyndsey Hatchwell who had some experience running pop up spaces. She invited us to collaborate with her and offered us space to hang a couple of images and display our books. We went along to her opening and enjoyed the day, chatting to the visitors and other artist who stopped by. The space called Pop Goes the Easel, is colourful and has quite an eclectic mix of artwork including painting, sculpture, photography, and books.
I even sold a couple of books on the day. We met with Parramatta Council and have submitted an application for a space of our own. We should hear about this application in the next few weeks. This is the website for those who may be interested.
http://www.popupparramatta.com
After our author talk in Hornsby, we met a number of artists who are also collaborating in a similar pop up space in North Sydney. Their space is called Shiny 2 and is located at 53 Ridge Street. Five very diverse artist have come together in a belief that creativity and innovation are essential ingredients to all facets of our lives. They range from artists, artisans, sculptors and authors.
http://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/Community_Services/Arts_Culture/Arts_and_Creative_Spaces
Once again, we have been invited to the opening and we enjoy the wine and the ambience and connect with some interesting people. We have been invited to exhibit and do some author talks here as well…so our creative journey continues to unfold and unravel exciting opportunities.
First published by www.polisplan.com.au on 23 September 2014