Thursday 1 August, 2024

The Renew Adelaide team. Photo: Jack Fenby. Click image to download high-res version.

Renew Adelaide, the pioneering not-for-profit initiative and Australia’s only rent-free lease program of its kind, proudly announces a monumental milestone: the launch of its 300th business venture. This unique initiative continues to transform vacant spaces into vibrant hubs, with its latest project being an artist-run gallery and studio space on Hindley Street in Adelaide’s iconic West End precinct.

 

 

Founded in 2010 by a visionary group of young South Australian creatives, Renew Adelaide was born out of a need to address the high vacancy rates of commercial spaces in Adelaide’s CBD following the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis, coupled with the mass exodus of the city’s younger population.

 

Renew Adelaide is essentially a start-up incubator for bricks-and-mortar businesses and many of the most successful have since converted to paid tenants for progressive landlords and property owners.  This pioneering initiative offers rent-free property opportunities to entrepreneurs, artists, and innovators. It effectively revitalises underutilised spaces, creating positive economic, cultural, and community impacts on the surrounding areas of the businesses and ventures it supports.
 

 

Over the past fourteen years, Renew Adelaide has played a pivotal role in the revitalisation of Adelaide’s cityscape. By matching emerging businesses with vacant commercial properties, the program has incubated entrepreneurial talent and has additionally contributed significantly to South Australia’s post-pandemic recovery.

 

Since its inception, Renew Adelaide has helped some of Adelaide’s most iconic institutions get off the ground and many attribute Renew Adelaide’s efforts as a key factor in Adelaide being named the World’s Most Beautiful City in 2024 and the Third Most Liveable City in 2021.

 

Check out some of Renew’s most recent ventures here.

Lili Harrison's exhibition ‘Skin’. Photo: Elle Dawson-Scott. Click image to download high-res version.

 

Renew Adelaide’s 300th venture, aptly named ‘Household’, is an ode to Renew’s unwavering commitment to revitalising unique spaces, fostering artistic talent, and enhancing community engagement.

 

Located within the iconic "blue building" on Hindley Street in Adelaide’s West End precinct, this artist-run space will offer gallery and studio spaces, monthly exhibitions, an artist-in-residence program, artisan markets, photography studios, retail spaces, and workshops, ultimately facilitating day-to-night activity along the late-night strip.

 

The multifaceted space will be spearheaded by emerging artist Lili Harrison, who previously received support from Renew Adelaide for an acclaimed visual art exhibition in Adelaide Arcade. On the announcement of Household, she states:

 

“Household was born from a desire to create a non-traditional gateway into the arts community for young people. We aim to invest in local artists and help propel their careers. Our goal is to bridge the gap between early-career artists and established institutions, fostering a vibrant creative community.”

 

Household will open its doors on Friday September 6, with a dynamic exhibition that promises to push the boundaries of artistic expression. Household’s studio residency program will operate on a 3-month cycle, offering workspace and an opportunity to exhibit. Applications open Thursday, 1 August. For more information about the launch, Household’s residency program and events, head to renewadelaide.com.au.

Frida Las Vegas' flagship store opened in late 2023. Photo: Morgan Sette. Click image to download high-res version.

 

Reflecting on the not-for-profit’s remarkable journey, Renew Adelaide co-founder Dr. Ianto Ware recalls the initiative’s origins amidst the financial turmoil of the late 2000s.

 

“Lots of people had left the state, and the places for those remaining to come together and feel part of a community started disappearing. There was a sense that there just wasn't anything to do, and we saw the social and cultural need for this to be addressed… It's wonderful to see that Renew Adelaide transcended beyond the people who initially set it up and that it’s gone on to support 300 ventures – it’s unfathomable.”

 

Renew Adelaide’s CEO Gianna Murphy, who has been a part of the Renew team since 2016, emphasises the ongoing need for creative spaces in Adelaide’s West End. Proud to support a venture that will breathe vibrancy and day-to-night activity into this precinct, she states:

 

"I’ve seen a really necessary evolution take place over my time at Renew. The organisation has matured with the community’s needs, with our focus now on creating a diverse mix of well-designed, long and short-term activations that promote economic benefit through social vibrancy.”

 

“When I think about the level of skill, knowledge, team dedication and community support required to do our work, I’m astonished by how a group of young locals were able to enact such monumental change within their community in Renew’s early days."

 

"That love for our city, and determination, has been a driving force for how we approach our work fourteen years on, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with West End lessors again for our 300th venture. We look forward to the next 300!”

LOC Bottle Bar. Click image to download high-res version.

 

Taren Hocking, President of the Adelaide West End Association, highlights the significance of Renew Adelaide’s milestone.

 

“The Adelaide West End Association was delighted to support Renew Adelaide in locating its first two spaces on Hindley Street, at a time when the precinct was in dire need of bright new ideas. These small creative venues (before the time of small bars) demonstrated that small businesses run by imaginative people can have a genuine transformative effect on a precinct as a whole. The street is once more in need of creative new enterprises.”

 

Steve Maras, CEO of Maras Group and Deputy Chair of the Adelaide Economic Development Agency, acknowledges the transformative impact of Renew Adelaide.

 

“Renew Adelaide is one of the biggest game-changers the city has experienced in the last decade,” Maras says. “The program gives security to the building, a sense that someone's on the street, and a business owner – who would otherwise not have had the opportunity – an opportunity to do something worthwhile and give something a go.”

 

Household officially opens on Friday, 6 September, with a launch event set to take over the space. For more details, visit renewadelaide.com.au. Their studio residency program will operate on a 3-month cycle, offering workspace and an opportunity to exhibit. Applications open Thursday, 1 August.

 

For more information, visit renewadelaide.com.au