Expanded Collingwood arts precinct to provide secure creative space

Despite Victoria’s recent change of Government, redevelopment of the former Collingwood Technical School into a new arts precinct continues apace.

With a broad range of commercial galleries, Collingwood is currently one of Melbourne's best known gallery destinations.

To enhance this, former Victorian Minister for the Arts Heidi Victoria last year set out a plan to inject $4 million into the former Collingwood Technical School site which is already home to Circus Oz and the Melba Spiegeltent.

The plan, which received further funding pledged by philanthropist couple Daniel and Danielle Besen, aimed to transform the site into a creative hub for artist studios, galleries and public spaces for exhibitions, performances and events.

The precinct aimed to provide a creative space for the creative arts at a time when arts organisations increasingly driven out of the city and inner suburbs by rising rents.

Speaking to Fairfax Media, then Minister Victoria stated "this project will provide a secure space where small-to-medium arts organisations can have security of tenure.

“As a Government we did the revitalisation here for the new home for Circus Oz; this completes the dream of having a wonderful incubator, where artists can cross-collaborate."

The site opened as the Collingwood School of Design and School of Art in 1871, before becoming home to the Collingwood Technical School in 1912.

The parts to be redeveloped include three buildings with a total space of about 5000 metre², and a central courtyard.

The empty classrooms, many of them large open spaces where trades such as plumbing were taught, lend themselves perfectly to studio and exhibition spaces.

The hub will be managed under a social enterprise-style model, inspired by a Canada's ArtScape in Toronto, which would operate the site independently of the government. New charity Contemporary Arts Precincts Ltd has been set up to drive the redevelopment.

Melbourne property developer and philanthropist Daniel Besen, a former Director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival and the Heide Museum of Modern Art, described the project as an exciting part of the area's evolution.

Besen told Fairfax Media "the vision is that it will be not only arts practices happening inside but also that people can engage with it through exhibitions and performance spaces. It will be a wonderful, engaging space.

"Arts Victoria has put together some robust studies to look at how to incorporate studio spaces, dance spaces, performance spaces, exhibition spaces ... they've been engaged with the arts community comprehensively and inclusively.”

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