Here Space is an artist-run initiative located in a commercial warehouse complex in East Brisbane. We provide professional & safe artists’ studios, with an onsite project space for exhibitions, workshops and events. Currently, Here Space consists of 20 studios across two spaces, with shared common areas, project space, and fabrication area. Our studio residents form a vibrant, supportive community of professional artists.
Tucked away in a quiet and secure location, the studios are surrounded by residential housing with ample on-street parking. We are located 2.5 kms from Southbank /QAGOMA/QCA, near Brisbane’s iconic Gabba stadium (Woolloongabba/East Brisbane). It is easy to access via public transport (40m to bus stop).
Features
- Clean, fully enclosed, and dust free spaces
- Freshly painted white walls and sealed concrete floors
- Well-lit with mix of natural & artificial light.
- Fully air-conditioned, so comfortable in summer
- Ground floor access from street with small incline (Studio 1 has no steps)
- Power points in every studio
- Shared common areas including kitchen, artists’ lounge, and end-of-trip facilities
- Open studios to be programmed biannually (optional participation)
- Website and social media features our studio artists
- Gallery space for testing installation of work, photo documentation, and hosting workshops. Booking system and fees may apply
- Separate workshop/fabrication area for use of power tools, i.e. sanders and power saws.
Each artist has their own separate studio of sizes ranging from 8sqm to 21sqm within this small supportive community. Pricing is all inclusive of GST, electricity, water, wifi, cleaning, maintenance, and standard rubbish removal. Spaces are available for a six- or twelve-month term, with renewals encouraged. Here Space is a stable workplace, as the head lease on the premises is for 5 years with a 5 year option.
Our mission
Our mission is to make SPACE for making art, right HERE in Brisbane.
We fulfil our mission:
- by providing affordable inclusive studio spaces to artists;
- by offering supportive resources and infrastructure to develop their practices; and
- by being an effective advocate for artist studio spaces in Brisbane;
- by enabling local communities to meaningfully access and engage with art and artists.
Our vision
Our vision is to underpin a sustainable infrastructure for artmaking and artists in the city of Brisbane, in perpetuity.
Although starting small, we will dream big and grow in ways that are ethical and sustainable.
We aim to secure further affordable, long-term, and stable places for artists to grow their practice and careers.
HERE SPACE is committed to promoting diversity, inclusion and equality of access and opportunity to artists, studio visitors, and industry partners – from all backgrounds and all sectors of society – ensuring they are part of our community, valued for their contribution and can flourish and succeed.
First Nations, LGBTIQA+, neurodivergent & disabled artists are especially welcome, and encouraged to make contact. There will be no discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or sexual preference when making decisions of any applicant for HERE SPACES’ studios.
We will be transparent by making available current information about the accessibility of the space as it evolves.
Currently, there is reasonably level access available from the street to the entrance of the studio complex, via a concrete footpath, that has a small incline. There are no steps at the entry. The external doorway and internal doorways are 83 cm wide.
As the building was build pre-1970s, it does not currently have a wheelchair accessible toilet. We aim to move towards the objective of full accessibility, subject to exceptions where the design, costs and lease conditions prohibit us from structural changes and alterations.
We recognise that the economic cost of renting a studio space is in itself a barrier to inclusion. Thus, we are committed to seeking ways, and setting up funding models, for providing equity-based subsidies in the near future, once the space is initially established. We welcome discussions with industry partners who share this goal.
Michelle Vine: co-founder, Director
Perrin Ellis: co-founder, creative director
Catherine Gunther: social media coordinator
Eliza Vine: studio administrator
Perrin Ellis and Michelle Vine live and work together in Brisbane in an art-filled library inhabited by their three cats. Ever since their previous East Brisbane studio was inundated in the February 2022 floods, they have been dreaming and working on how to create a nurturing professional working space for themselves to share with other artists.
In creating a vision for Here Space, Perrin and Michelle collectively draw from their intersecting lived experiences of disability, neurodivergence and queerness to focus on creating a supportive, stable, and inclusive space that centres the wellbeing of its artists through building community connections, practice sustainability, and economic viability.
