Inner West town halls to be transformed into arts and culture hubs

By JACOB DE NOBREGA

Eight town halls in the Inner West are being transformed into arts and culture venues in an initiative by the Inner West Council to bring the arts back to life.

After an arts recovery summit was held in June, a report with ideas to support the recovery of the arts sector was put together. The summit, hosted by council, was in partnership with the largest independent arts festival in NSW, the Sydney Fringe Festival.

Inner West Councillor Chloe Smith said that council “have heard loud and clear from artists, musicians, and creative venues that they need support right now.” The initiative ensures maximum use of local artist venues, and also includes plans to conduct a creative spaces audit to identify more appropriate arts venues.  

The town halls are expected to open for arts and culture use early neat year.

Artist weighs in

Tim Stackpool, an independent artist from the Inner West said it’s good to see that council is dedicating resources to the arts, but warned that smaller organisations and artists shouldn’t be left behind. 

“Well-oiled and well-established arts groups with the ability to speak with a loud voice will find much comfort in such announcements from Council … but individual artists need to also be heard and serviced” Stackpool said. 

Stackpool stated that there’s always more that can be done, but it’s a welcome change to see existing and under-used Council assets being assigned to the arts. 

“It’s good to see existing and perhaps currently underutilised Council assets being particularly singled out to assist the arts, but there has to be assurances that the access remains equitable.”

The issue of underused council spaces is a prevalent issue throughout the inner-city suburbs. Randwick Deputy Mayor Rafaela Pandolfini passed a motion to reduce the costs of hiring council venues. 

“One of the biggest issues for artists is income and the lack of spaces – especially in Sydney where rental costs are ridiculous” Cr Pandolfini said. 

Inner West Council Mayor, Darcy Byrne, has written to the NSW Arts Minister and Federal Art Minister about the results and findings from the arts summit.

“The diversity of the arts in the Inner West … make the Inner West of Sydney the most entertaining, vibrant, colourful, and incredible place to call home,” Stackpool said. 

“We’re most certainly excited to hear Council speak of the Inner West as an arts powerhouse.”