Woodburn was recently a participant in Left Bank’s Making Space for Culture Incubation Program 2024 which sees a diverse group of property developers and creative and cultural organisations, representing many of the country’s leaders in their respective fields. Over six months, a series of group workshops, networking events, one-on-one mentoring sessions, and homework tasks give the participants the knowledge, tools, and relationships to implement new and strategic approaches to delivering affordable and long-term creative spaces.
We shared our experience and learnings over a series of sessions including a tour of our studios and a pitch to the group.
Our Pitch can be viewed below:
Woodburn Creatives is a creative space operator that has providing space for production and process for the last 7 years.
In total we’ve provided just under 2000 sqm of space and we’ve had 165 different creative individuals and groups use our studios from artists, designers, makers to music and film.
Our engagement with all of these types of creatives, allows us to recognise their current needs. But before we outline the values of production space we have to redefine what it means to be a creative space in today's context.
In addition to the studios, we provide short term access to space for other creative activities like workshops, showcases and shoots which bring in external users and community.
We have to consider the changing relationship between these two parts.
the built environment and creatives.
Typically creatives have adapted to spaces that were previously designed for other purposes, not for creative activity.
Meanwhile, the creative industries continue to evolve becoming more multidisciplinary, more immersed with other industries and have also become transpatial.
The irony of this statement, not only suggests that spaces are diminishing but that we have outgrown the infrastructure models.
We explore new spatial solutions for contemporary creative practices and interface the rigid structures with flexible options for creatives. We do this by applying a sharing economy model, where we manage the sharing of space and resources. This achieves greater utilisation of space and most importantly it frees up creative energy so that creatives aren’t bogged down by management responsibilities.
Instead of the space dictating the activity, the space is fluid and responsive to varying needs.
As operators, we value the creative process itself, not just the final results. Our measure of value isn’t the amount of work produced but the amount of opportunity provided to explore, practice, and develop creatively.
These experiences offer much more, alongside the impact of the finished work. They contribute to individual benefits, growth, development and mental well-being, while collectively advancing the creative industries as a whole. These are long-lasting impacts, rather than fast, fleeting experiences.
As a living and breathing space, it contributes to the representation of current perspectives by readily exploring cultural expressions.
Creatives can often feel isolated as many of them work as solo practitioners. There is a duality of individual expression while being connected to community. This is important to recognise, as we welcome the various identities while offering communal support. When it comes to placemaking, these spaces, that are tailored to their needs, provide a sense of belonging and connection to place.
Unsurprisingly, we also observe an increasing demand for one-off uses from people who don’t have ongoing creative practices. Part of our vision for space aims to reduce the barriers to entry for the broader community, by developing more options for user access. We want to encourage more people to “have a go” at being creative, rather than just being observers.
Through these qualities, the space has become a third space that attracts people with its ability to facilitate social connections, as a combat for loneliness it invites people to become a part of something bigger.
One of our biggest takeaways from this incubator is that the creative space cycle is somewhat of a linear value chain with a series of direct transactions.
To support the establishment of future spaces intermediary actions would help to exchange value back up the cycle.
For this reason, we want to collaborate in the development of intermediary functions.
The most important things that we need are;
Having support to de-risk property engagements with additional resources
A brokering service to connect the market as well as resources
Establish a centralised voice to inform and lobby the government, and liaise with larger commercial stakeholders.
Work towards standardising value metrics that could be used for incentives, mandates and regulatory changes
Act as a live resource for planning, feasibility and management
Our next steps
Explore the avenues to establish this intermediary support also looking further into what components are already out there and trying to connect these together.
We want to be involved with other projects, we recently helped another space redesign their studios and also helped to fill them.
It has been suggested that a cohort should be established so I’ve been meeting other creative space operators to gauge the interest
We’re continuing to grow our connections with creatives and with other players.
We will continue to define the relationship between contemporary practices and space
And progress response with our management models
Special thanks to: Georgia Stone for producing these slides
