Hobsons Bay City Council 12 July 2016

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

Appendix 2

Woods Street Arts Space Progress Report

WOODS STREET ARTS SPACELAVERTON

PROGRESS REPORT2015/2016

In 2012, Hobsons Bay City Council supported its arts and culture unit to lease a former post office building, located prominently in the Lohse and Woods Street shopping strip in Laverton.

After housing various tenants, the building had been neglected, left empty in a dilapidated state.

The primary goal of taking over the lease of 44 Woods Street was to try to activate the street in a positive way through the arts, to bring about a new community vitality that would contribute to economic growth, a sense of feeling safe, promote community wellbeing, provide access to cultural experience and to create new arts infrastructure in the west of the city.

In April 2016 Woods Street Arts Space celebrated its fourth year of operation.

It is home to a diverse program scheduled seven days a week. It includes Polynesian dance, arts and crafts workshops for children and for adults including pottery and Little Big Art, African drumming and dance. Programs for young people include Youth Services open mic sessions with Laverton P-12 College, where amazing local talent has the opportunity to perform for their families. Social enterprise has been seeded through Mesh Mash which provides a resident studio. New and emerging partnerships with Laverton Youth Foundations have been created.

Data indicates that participants and audience are drawn primarily from the western suburbs, with the majority being from Hobsons Bay.

When Woods Street Arts Space started, it was hard to identify and build an audience, with locals not generally thinking that they were allowed to experience the arts, and it being difficult to encourage our wider arts community to travel to Laverton to take advantage of, and help build the opportunities the space afforded. These are really positive trends now emerging.

To give a snapshop of success: the last Little B ig Art workshop, held in June 2016, attracted 76 children and 48 parents on a Saturday afternoon, many of whom buy coffees or lunch from the local shops, supporting the local economy.

The operational model for Woods Street Arts Space is an inclusive approach allowing opportunities for people to bring their own ideas and develop new programs. Many new ideas have been tested along the way, with some going on to be permanent program features, while for others the timing may not have been right, and ideas are parked for further development in the future. The arts and culture staff offer considerable support to the community user groups in establishing new partnerships. A new development is that casual staff now enable the space to be open on Fridays. The consistency contributes to the community relationship building, which is critical for success.

Alistair Hendrikze, Storm Trooper(Regularly paints in the backyard at Woods Street)

WOODS STREET ARTS SPACELAVERTON

PROGRESS REPORT2015/2016

In 2014 Council realised that in order to achieve a deeper community connection Woods Street Arts Space needed to open the doors more for locals and enable a drop in space for them to enjoy a cuppa and explore their creative side. From this the Artists In Residence program was established as a platform to attract more visitors, presenting accessible forms of participatory art that included sharing stories to break down the barriers ‘art’ can sometimes present.

The extended opening hours attracted many new people (mostly locals) just wanting to come in and paint. Staying true to the ethos, Woods Street Arts Space has remained a creative space ‘bringing art ideas to life’. Through opening the doors regularly on a Friday the richness of community connection has begun to reveal itself and the changes to the social fabric of Laverton is becoming more visible. Woods Street Arts Space has diversified to the extent that an 85-year-old local dropped in just to play the piano and ukelele.

This hybrid model of an artist run sanctum/ Council programmed arts space is unique; and it has its own set of challenges. Council has developed a formula that is incubating social cohesion and community connectedness.

Urban renewal was the initial goal and over the four years in trialing various methodologies, Council are setting up a strong foundation for a new sense of place, activating and changing the social and urban landscape of Laverton.

Alistair Hendrikze, Storm Trooper(Regularly paints in the backyard at Woods Street)

Mrs Luby Pello (who was rapt that we had musical instruments, Luby is 85)

Opening night of the Local Art Show 2016

“We are open to the public on Fridays at Woods Street Arts Space. I have had the pleasure of

meeting many interesting characters who have dropped in for a chat. Quite a few of the people

popping in have been artists of all types musicians, poets, painters, and jewellery makers.

The Woods Street Arts Space has become an ark for some of these artists and a beacon for others.

Laverton is proving to be an area rich in artistic talent with a raw undertone as people’s lives are

tough; but through thick and thin our local artists have

persevered with their art practice.

We have been proud to support our local artists to exhibit, paint amazing pictures in our backyard and

hang out in a warm inviting and beautiful place”.

Sandy Cook Community engagement and caretaker at Woods Street Arts Space, June2016

Opening night of the Local Art Show 2016

Ceramic work created during the workshops and exhibited at the Local Art exhibition.

Lion Taming For Artists with Donna Jackson

Davey's tea house, from the 'Davey and The Fish' story decorated with the king of the fish and the home made tea bags branded with the devils cloven hoof.

“Rule no.04 - Don’t make it for a community. Create a community”.

“Sometimes the strongest single importance of a work of art is the

celebration of some kind of temporary community”. Brian Eno

(New Rules for Public Art, Situations Trust and Claire Doherty, 2013)

The Faraway Tree and the beautiful hand drawn postcard from one of the students at Laverton College P- 12

Sarayphim Lothian “ Tales From the Woods” Artist in Residence

In 2012, Hobsons Bay City Council supported its arts and culture unit to lease a former post office building, located prominently in the Lohse and Woods Street shopping strip in Laverton.

After housing various tenants, the building had been neglected, left empty in a dilapidated state.

The primary goal of taking over the lease of 44 Woods Street was to try to activate the street in a positive way through the arts, to bring about a new community vitality that would contribute to economic growth, a sense of feeling safe and to promote community wellbeing and to provide access to cultural experience and to create new arts infrastructure in the west of the city.

In April 2016 Woods Street Arts Space celebrated its fourth year of operation.

It is home to a diverse program scheduled seven days a week. It includes Polynesian dance, arts and crafts workshops for children and for adults including pottery and Little Big Art, African drumming and dance. Programs for young people include Youth Services open mic sessions with Laverton P-12 College, where amazing local talent has the opportunity to perform for their families. Social enterprise has been seeded through Mesh Mash which provides a resident studio. New and emerging partnerships with Laverton Youth Foundations have been created.

Data indicates that participants and audience are drawn primarily from the western suburbs, with the majority being from Hobsons Bay.

When we started, it was hard to identify and build an audience for Woods Street Arts Space, with locals not generally thinking that they were allowed to experience the arts, and it being difficult to encourage our wider arts community to travel to Laverton to take advantage of, and help build the opportunities the space afforded. There are really positives trends now emerging

To give a snapshop of success: the last Little Big Art workshop, held in June 2016, attracted 76 children and 48 parents on a Saturday afternoon, many of whom buy coffees or lunch from the local shops, supporting our local economy.

The operational model for Woods Street Arts Space is an inclusive approach allowing opportunities for people to bring their own ideas in and to develop new programs. Many new ideas have been tested along the way, with some going on to be permanent program features, while for others the timing may not have been right, and we park these ideas for further development in the future. The arts and culture staff offer considerable support to the community user groups in establishing new partnerships. A new development is that casual staff now enable the space to be open on Fridays. The consistency contributes to the community relationship building, which is critical for our success.

Alistair Hendrikze, Storm Trooper(Regularly paints in the backyard at Woods Street)

Experimental area at the rear of Woods Street Arts SpaceSarayphim Lothian “ Tales From the Woods” Artist in Residence

2015 – 2016 Program Snapshot

Kids Pottery Presented by Karen SteenbergenThese classes offer an ideal environment for children to explore their creativity while learning the craft of ceramics. Clay is a wonderful tactile medium that many kids have never experienced before. Its three dimensional nature encourages them to think about structure, shapes and forms. Kids classes are for children aged 6 to 11 years.

Art Sauce for Kids with Little Big ArtArt Sauce for Kids is presented by Rachael Smart from Little Art Big Art for a family friendly, hands on creative art session suitable for families and kids aged 0 to 12 years.

“I have found the free works shops run by Little Art Big Art at Woods Street Art Space are a wonderful opportunity for kids to engage in a variety of mediums, styles, processes and themes. My 3yr old despite doing lots of art is always fascinated by the options presented and thrives under the instruction of Rachael. She completed her first ever 'real' drawing (not meaningless scribbles) at the Warhol inspired class, creating a wonderful and colourful Cat. The opportunity to come to Woods Street for these classes has been fantastic for my daughter and I, providing a quiet, engaging and

flexible space for us to spend time together away from her siblings that she really looks forward to”

Kate (Newport) June 2016

For Children

Alistair Hendrikze, Storm Trooper(Regularly paints in the backyard at Woods Street)

Experimental area at the rear of Woods Street Arts Space

CAPACITY Is identified as part of the Council's Arts and Culture Plan commitment to professional development and mentoring. The program encourages the sharing of ideas, networking collaboration and the sharing of resources. As part of the CAPACITY mentorship scheme, eligible artists can also have the opportunity to take out subsidised Public Liability Insurance for low impact arts and culture activity affiliated with Hobsons Bay City Council.

Sessions at Woods Street Arts Space included:

Networking Night With artists and creative producers; Donna Jackson, Jeminah Alli Reidy and Sayraphim Lothian to hear more about creative opportunites in the west.

Creative PlacemakingWith guest speakers Joseph Norster (These are the Projects) and Lucinda Hartley (CoDesign) on place making strategies for communities.

Lion Taming for Artists Presented by Donna Jackson in November 2015.Woods Street Arts Space proudly hosted the first of the series of workshops which has enabled emerging arts producers to gain invaluable skills and insight into developing projects for the upcoming Art and Industry Festival.

Professional Development Opportunities

Joseph Norster and Lucinda Hartley at CAPACITY 2015

Polynesian Dance with Nesian Pearl Every Tuesday night offering a meeting place for the Samoan community in Laverton to celebrate their culture through dance.

“Laverton has provided a safe and beautiful space for our students to flourish, our choreographers to create, our children to grow.

We have loved and enjoyed every moment we spend at the space. Shops are busy, and pizza is a new thing for our parents to get dinner.

We thank you so much for allowing our team to utilise the space. It is definitely helping our own people to come together, celebrating our culture through the art of dance.

Truly grateful”.

Filomena Wairasi Director of Nesian Pearl (June 2016)

One Spirit African Drumming and Dance Classes With Fred Kpakpo Addo on Monday NightsOne Spirit African Drumming and Dance Classes offer people of all ages and abilities to join in weekly drumming circles. Drums can be hired on the night. Drumming classes will be followed by weekly African dance sessions incorporating contemporary and current styling;

Karen Community Art and Craft Workshops Faciliated by Anuradha Patel - to develop work for the upcoming Multicultural exhibition to be held as part of Council’s biennial arts and culture exhibition in partnership with the Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre (Joel Gallery)

Multicultural Programs

Nesian Pearl performers at Woods Street Arts Space

Sarayphim Lothian “ Tales From the Woods” Artist in Residence

Arts and Crafts Workshops

Body Works Life Drawing Presented by Leonie Kervin in a casual, relaxed environment. Every Thursday night.

Adult Pottery: Hand building and Beginners Wheel Throwing With Karen Steenbergen

Electric Moon workshops in 2015Future Creation Workshop (FCW) is a local Hobsons Bay maker group with projects related to art, technology, and up-cycling. FCW worked on Electronic Moon, a large outdoor electronic light sculpture made from up-cycled parts, which was showcased as a feature during Art in Public Places 2015.

Polymer Clay Jewellery With Chelsea Hatherall.Chelsea introduced the world of polymer clay jewellery, how to blend colours, carve shapes, create metallic effects and be introduced to other tips and tricks.

Art Sauce – Resin Jewellery with Lana Schwarcz who ran a master class on how to create your own smallresin item or piece of jewellery.

Screen Printing with Elise Roberts enabling skills development from basic paper stencils to multicolourdesigns and also experimenting with the use of inks and dyes to create a range of different effects.

“When I started running pottery clases at Woods St Art Space over three years ago, I never imagined where I would be now. The Arts and Culture team offered me space at Woods St Art Space, and

encouraged me to start running pottery classes. They also helped with marketing and promotion and sponsored the initial hiring of 4 pottery wheels. I had thought about running classes, but did not have the appropriate space

or equipment to do it professionally. I could not have started without this amazing opportunity. From there, interest in the classes has gradually grown and grown. This has enabled me to slowly build my business skills and

knowledge and purchase my own equipment.

I have learnt how to organise and facilitate classes for people of different cultural backgrounds, ages and experience. I enjoy sharing my love of clay and creativity with people. Over the years, it have been a joy to watch

some of my beginners students get their own pottery wheels, studio space and even exhibit their work. I started out running one class a week at Woods St, to now running an average of 4-5 classes a

week in various locations across the West.

I'd like to thank HBCC for supporting emerging artists to share their skills and giving me the opportunity to start to believe that I might be able to make a living out of my passion. I have a long way to go, but I am loving

the journey!”. Karen Steenbergen

Balit Gulinya Planned Activity Group creating works for Orbital in August 2016(Council’s exhibition space at Central Square, Altona Meadows)

Experimental area at the rear of Woods Street Arts SpaceSarayphim Lothian “ Tales From the Woods” Artist in Residence

POP UP Garage SaleIn 2015 we hosted our final POP UP Garage Sale as we transitioned to the Block Party event, as a place activation strategy, to build an audience base and activate the entire Lohse and Woods Street precinct. The POP UP event included a market selling adult and kids clothing, artisan products, vintage items, cakes, vinyl, books and more as well as coffee and food trucks throughout the day.

The park and road upgrade did have some impacts to the success of this event as expected. However now that the works have finished we are able to plan for further activations into the future.

CO-WORKING WednesdaysIn 2015 we trialled a co- working model for a 3 month period at Woods Street Arts Space. It was difficult to identify the people who would find the space the right fit on an ongoing basis. We see co-working models as an opportunity and will continue to test this again in the future as Laverton continues to evolve.

(Neighborhood) Block Party April 2016The inaugural Block Party featured market stalls with artisan and handmade products, street food from the local Lohse and Woods Street shops (which hadn’t been available previously validating the changes occurring) We did not need to bring in outside food vendors to cater for our visitors anymore. This was such a positive sign for our local economy. The event included music and entertainment by Crashendo children’s orchestra and choir from Laverton P-12 and Nesian Pearl Polynesian Dancers as well as a special impromptu Bollywood performance from a young girl that lives locally. Young DJ Nathan McCarter played chilled out beats on a warm Sunday afternoon in the newly upgraded Lohse Street Reserve. There were art workshops and kids activities including free face painting and the Hobsons Bay Youth Services Art Prize. It is planned that this event will feature each April and continue to enable us to engage and partner with the local traders and arts space user groups in particular, embracing the cultural diversity of our local area.

'The (Woods Street) Arts Space has helped the area. It has given people a place to go, and the Art Space makes a difference to people'.

Lesley from the Lighthouse Op Shop, Woods Street, April 2016

Local Art Workshops/ Local Art Show April 2016Many locals started dropping into the arts space once we started to open regularly on Fridays. Some wanted to have an exhibition. This included Apple from the milk bar next door, Glen a resident from a few doors up and Alistair, a street artist who has been in the space painting every Friday. In preparation for the art show we also facilitated workshops, led by Anuradha Patel, in the park by taking art workshops directly to the Salvation Army Friday night group that are located there. Many works were sold at the Local Art Show which has contributed to building confidence in our local arts community. This has been a very positive and new experience for some of our local people.

Precinct Based Place Making

Experimental area at the rear of Woods Street Arts Space

Mesh Mash Mesh Mash was seeded with the support from the Hobsons Bay City Council’s Mayoral program; under the name ‘I am a Local’ to engage with young people in Hobsons Bay. Mesh Mash invites 14 to 25 year olds living in the west to collaborate with guest artists and learn creative design technique to print on products to sell. Now outgrowing its humble beginning from upstairs (which is not accessible) at Woods Street Arts Space, we are preparing a proposal for Council to relocate Mesh Mash to 54 Woods Street, Laverton. This would continue the shop front activation model and build on the work we have already done, and continue to regenerate the shopping strip. The close proximity to Woods Street Arts Space would enable sharing of resources and further collaborations across the two spaces.

Experimental Street Art SpaceThe rear courtyard at Woods Street Arts Space is an experimental space providing opportunities for young people to paint and express themselves in a controlled environment.

Hobsons Bay City Council Youth Services and Laverton Youth FoundationsNow as regular users on Friday for open mic and creative workshops in partnership with Laverton P-12 College.

The Point Blank Magazine team at Woods Street Arts Space brainstorming and workshopping ideas for their exhibition at 'Orbital', Central Square in Altona Meadows during 2015

Programs for Young People

Bez - A member of the Mesh Mash Foundation Crew

Tales from the Woods featuring Sayraphim Lothian August– November 2015Using recycled materials mostly collected from the Lighthouse Op Shop in Woods Street, Sayraphim created soft sculptures and other crafted objects based on stories and fairy tales submitted from Laverton ‘s diverse communities including many from Laverton P-12 students. This residency included a special guest appearance from renowned Sydney based street artist, Barek with his beautiful drawings that now adorn the walls of Woods Street Arts Space in the form of paste ups.

Memory Mapping - Lohse and Woods Streets Laverton with Heather Van HeerwaardenFebruary - Onwards 2016

We invited the community to share their stories on what it was like living in Laverton in the 1960s for example? Or the 70s? Or the 80s? What shops were there? What buildings? What entertainment? Maybe you have an old photo and one of the shops is in the background?

With our aim to retrace the history of the shops and the local people - to hear stories about Laverton as a bustling activity centre. We will continue the Memory Mapping journey into 2016 and 2017 with an expected outcome with Projector Bike for Art in Public Places 2017.

Balit Gulinya Planned Activity Group creating works for Orbital in August 2016(Council’s exhibition space at Central Square, Altona Meadows)

The Artist In Residency program was initiated in 2015 inviting a new guest artist for the residency twice a year. Artists are asked to respond to their local environment or work with local community as part of their term. The residencies are not always outcome based, as sometimes the community connection and participation has creative validity in itself as a form of creative practice which we nurture at Woods Street Arts Space.

Artist in Residency Program