Heliotope Studio has collaborated with Newend, artist Michael Gittings and Radiant Joinery to create a flagship store within the Collingwood Yards arts precinct on Johnston Street (Collingwood).

Collingwood Yards is managed by a not-for-profit organisation, and situated in the former Collingwood TAFE site and has been supported by philanthropy, government and commercial partners in its redevelopment. It was developed to address a crisis of affordable arts space in Australia and in Melbourne in particular. Most, if not all, of the not-for-profit tenants supported at Collingwood Yards have come under threat of having to relocate, to pay unaffordable rent or close if they are unable to secure an affordable base for their operations.

There is an emphasis on providing space to a diverse range of artists and creative communities, with the social benefits of arts participation well documented (and affordable space is a key part of supporting them). Collingwood Yards is both a transformational project for its neighbourhood and a proof of concept for the broader goal to develop a new model of providing affordable and sustainable arts space in Australia.

Photography by Cathy Tipping