Freeing creative change

The economic downturn has ruptured more than just financial fairy tales, with the idea of change, investment and stimulation being similarly picked apart and rebuilt around the world. As parts of Sydney begin to crack under the financial strain, creative reinvention is being pitched as the key to recovery.

Art is commonly seen as a side note to, rather than catalyst of, economic progress. Today however, as traditional business models are sinking, forcing retailers across the city to turn out their lights indefinitely, creativity is raising its hand to help.

Andrew Woodhouse, president of the Kings Cross and Potts Point Heritage Conservation Society, is campaigning for Sydney’s vacant shops to be converted to rent-free temporary artistic and cultural spaces, as Newcastle has done through the not-for-profit Renew Newcastle program.

“We hope this council, currently suffering a credibility crisis, will adopt this scheme for heritage streetscapes such as Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross and Oxford Street Darlinghurst, to keep areas vibrant and commercially successful during times of economic recession and higher shop front vacancies,” said Woodhouse.

The Renew Newcastle scheme was established last year as a way to revitalise the city and ensure that an increasing number of empty spaces in the CBD weren’t left to decay, by filling them with temporary tenants from the creative industries.

“While the long term prospects for the redevelopment of Newcastle’s CBD are good, in the meantime many sites are boarded up, falling apart, vandalised or decaying because there is no short term for use them and no one taking responsibility,” said a Renew Newcastle spokesperson.

So far, Renew Newcastle has allocated unused space to a new photography gallery, an animation studio, a shop front for children’s art and craft classes, an online magazine and design hub and more, with new spaces opening regularly throughout the city.

Benefits of the scheme include reduced graffiti, increased commercial success for artists, higher passing retail trade for adjacent shops and reduction in unattractive ‘blank-face’ roller shutter doors.

Several people from Sydney’s creative industries have expressed their support for a similar scheme to be established in the parts of Sydney experiencing high rates of retail closures.

Wendy McCaffley of Wrought Artworks supports the concept, and thinks the need for such a scheme is only going to intensify. “Only on Sunday I was looking at all the soon-to-be-empty shops in Oxford St with their for lease signs. You’d have to be mad to lease a shop at this spiralling downward retail time. Oxford St is starting to look shabby,” she said.

John Boers, professional town planner and heritage consultant, said “I think this is a terrific idea,” when presented with the proposal. He claims that the opportunities to promote free creativity in the city are endless, for example replacing the fountain in Taylor Square and all of its associated maintenance fees with rotating displays from the local art colleges.