A fresh coat of white paint has transformed Woodsons arcade from a dark and dingey space to an inviting, repurposed gallery.
The 30 meter arcade linking Adelaide and Cantonment Street has transformed into Woodsons Creative Corridor.
The project which is the latest innovative brainchild from Fremantle Street Gallery creator Rosslyn de Souza, aims to provide an exhibition space for local emerging talent to showcase their work, creating a place for the next generation of artists to be discovered.
“It’s been in my imagination for decades, but I was daunted by the task. Post Covid-19 lockdown I was driven to make a change, particularly around the Fremantle CBD”.
Rosslyn has already worked with the City, Artsource and property owners to beautify some dark and dingy windows around the city.
“Woodson’s arcade fell into that category, it was always dirty and often vandalised, there was so much potential,” she said.
“This arcade will now have a changing landscape 52 weeks a year that will keep this idea fresh”.
The concept brings together Fremantle’s The Studio School (powered by All Saints), DADAA, CBC Fremantle, Fremantle Library, John Curtin College of the Arts, Drawn Together, and the Art of Life, who will each be allocated 8 weeks per year for exclusive use of the arcade.
A piece of artwork from the first exhibition ‘Outside the Box’ from DADAA artist has already sold which paves a promising path for other artists.
The piece titled ‘Cows-Encounters of the Moo Kind’ was a digital print and augmented reality animation by Dennis Collins, an Arts practitioner from DADAA.
“It felt special to have my artwork exhibited and was such a surprise to have it sold”.
“Places like the arcade offer artists more opportunities to showcase their work and helps make art more accessible to an audience that might not go into a gallery” he said.
The creative corridor concept will also be an educational tool as it will be managed by students from The Studio School. Students will use the project as an introduction to Arts Management 101 which teaches them to liaise with curators, update information on the THIS IS FREMANTLE website, and the general running of the schedule.
Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the initiative is a welcome development that has transformed an ordinary space into an exciting opportunity for young creators.
“Fremantle is known as a city of artists, but there are limited spaces where people can show their work. It takes a special person to be able to turn a place like Woodson’s Arcade into a clean, bright showcase for the work of emerging artists. I applaud Rosslyn and her team for their efforts.”
Over the next 48 weeks, this project will offer 240 opportunities for artists to have their work seen, a remarkable outcome for growing artists.
