Owners of the site, Frasers Property, has a development
application on display at Sydney Council.
The application states warehouse buildings at 2-14 Kensington St
would be accessible for up to two years when construction starts on the CUB
site, to make it a sustainable residential and commercial area. James Winter of
the Queen Street Artists Studio, which provides space to artists working in the
Chippendale area, said that the plan would improve the surrounding area.
“The concept sounds fantastic – as artists need space
in which to contribute to the community,” Mr Winter said.
“One thing Sydney
lacks is space for artists to practise their craft.”Chippendale has a huge
community of cultural industries. All these businesses bring artists into Chippendale
and this has started to impact on business being developed – new cafes, bars,
restaurants.” Mr Winter said he would be interested to see what sort of studios
Frasers had in mind and if it would cater to performing artists as well as fine
arts practitioners.
“In our business [for performing arts] we turn more
artists away than we can accommodate,” he said. “We are constantly at
70 per cent capacity and all the artists we turn away ask where they can go
instead – and apart from a few suggestions, there really isn’t anywhere
else.” Lord Mayor Clover Moore
had indicated she approved of the proposal. “I am pleased to see Frasers
Property is supporting the arts community with these new studios,” Cr
Moore said.
“The city provides a platform for creative expression
and has a concentration of world-class cultural destinations and a growing
cluster of businesses engaged in creative industries. These new studios will be
part of that dynamic mix.”
Submissions close on June 11.
Photo: Frasers’ CUB site has temporary art spaces being made
available to artists in the Chippendale area.
Source:
Central 4 June 2008