Parra News May 28 2024

LOCAL NEWS
Arts in the spotlight at Granville
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The opening ceremony of the new Parramatta Artists Studios in Granville.
Photo: Jacquie Manning.
ELLIE BUSBY
Western Sydney artists now have
a new dedicated space to create
and collaborate in Granville,
with a new Parramatta Artists Studios
(PAS) site officially open.
The Granville venue, which joins Council’s
Parramatta Artists Studios in Rydalmere,
offers one-year studio tenancies for new
artists with callouts for interested artists
made annually.
As the largest council-led artist studio
initiative in Sydney, PAS has supported
hundreds of artists to hone their craft and
create contemporary art since its opening
in 2006.
It’s a full circle moment for PAS artist
Serwah Attafuh, whose mum was among
the first artists at the Hunt Street Parramatta
Artists Studio back in 2007.
“I remember running around the studio
as a kid and having fun and just seeing her
make stuff, and now, 15 years later, I’m an
artist at Parramatta Rydalmere,” she said.
“I create digital art predominantly but
now that I have the space to work on a bigger
scale I’m working on sculptures and oil
paintings and doing my music which I really
love, so there’s a lot of space to experiment.”
The new creative hub in Granville offers
studios for 12 artists for a 12-month residency.
It also includes a dedicated space for the
First Nations community to collaborate, a
space for regional, interstate and international
creators to use, and event spaces for
special workshops, community
programs and talks.
Attafuh said it’s so important for artists to
have a space like PAS to create art.
“I think what makes PAS unique is that I
don’t see a lot of local Councils or Government,
or many institutions really, create a
really holistic space for artists to work and to
grow and to make things,” she added.
“I just don’t see local Councils doing this
sort of stuff and I think it’s really important,
not only for artists but for the community.
“It feels like something really important is
going to be kicking off here pretty soon.”
City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Pierre
Esber said the investment in Parramatta
Artists Studios reflected Council’s commitment
to making the city a major arts and
cultural precinct.
“We want Parramatta to be a magnet for
creatives and Parramatta Artists Studios is a
key part of that, providing a space to support
artists at all stages of their career to develop
new works and forge new connections
across the creative community,” Esber said.
“There is nothing of this scale run by a
local council anywhere else in Sydney – I’m
in awe at the work that has been produced
by PAS in the past and can’t wait to see what
the future brings.
“The studios are now home to 12 new
artists who have a space of their own for
12 months and I look forward to seeing the
works they produce.”
This project has been jointly funded by the
NSW Government and City of Parramatta
with Council contributing $250,000.
To find out more about the Parramatta
Artists Studios go to www.cityofparramatta.
nsw.gov.au/pas
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PAS artist Serwah Attafuh at the opening of the new Granville studio.
Photo: Jacquie Manning.
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Tuesday, May 28, 2024 « parra news 11