So often the artist studio space is something squirreled away upstairs, away from the mill and squawk of the sidewalk. You see, rents are typically cheaper if you take out a studio space one level up and such, particularly in areas like Northbridge where the recent rash of gentrification has seen shop front costs slowly skyrocket. But there are still some glimmers of hope in our fair ghetto, such as Last Chance Studios.
Located at the very top end of William Street – virtually on the corner of Brisbane and William – Last Chance seems to have defied all odds to appear as a studio space which is garnering an all round great reputation. The charm of this space is it has shop frontage, two huge windows perfect for exhibiting art in. Which is exactly what street-artists-in-residence Daek, Creepy and Timothy Rollin aka Troll, plus renowned illustrator Sean Morris, have been doing since they took over the space three months ago. And the results have been very rewarding… literally.
‘We basically have frontage on to William Street so we can show our work everyday of the week’, explained studio director Daek. ‘We get a lot of people just popping their head in or stopping by to look at the art, which is really cool. The response has largely been really positive. It’s opened us up to the general public more. Plus it’s made it easier for us to get commission jobs, primarily because people don’t really know where to go for them.
‘Before having this space it was a case of doing heaps of council jobs. But since opening up this place it’s been a case of being able to quit my other job because this place seems to be attracting so much work. I think it has to do a lot with its location and word of mouth, plus there’s a lot more immediate attention on our work because of the window space.
The main shop space is essentially halved, the front section being retail and the other dedicated to the studio space, which is shared between the four artists. ‘It’s different to most studios where you have your own room. It’s an open plan studio where we all share one room, which is really cool: we just hang out, chat and do our work. It’s better than sitting in a room by yourself all day.
‘It’s also meant we’ve opened up a little retail section at the front of the shop so we can have a mix up of our stuff and imported work from other artists who are located interstate and internationally. We’ve done it like that so Perth gets a chance to see the best of the best.’
This is exactly what will happen Last Chance hold their first major exhibition at the end of June: Overgrowth 2. Yes, Creepy has brought his most excellent exhibition to Northbridge and it features 24 of the best street artists and visual artists from around Australia and two from the United Kingdom. On the bill are the likes of Beastman, Drewfunk, Kid Zoom, Sam DeSouza, Sleep, Twenty Eleven and many, many more. It kicks off on June 27 from 7pm until late.
But you don’t need to wait until then to check out some great art – the Last Chance boys have a selection of pieces on display and for sale, with works suited to every taste and every price range. It’s also a perfect opportunity to connect with a burgeoning street art scene, Last Chance playing host to some of the best this city has to offer.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
