Arts Hub for Chippendale as Warehouses Idle

Owners of the site, Frasers Property, has a development application on display at Sydney Council.

The application states warehouse buildings at 2-14 Kensington St would be accessible for up to two years when construction starts on the CUB site, to make it a sustainable residential and commercial area. James Winter of the Queen Street Artists Studio, which provides space to artists working in the Chippendale area, said that the plan would improve the surrounding area.

"The concept sounds fantastic - as artists need space in which to contribute to the community," Mr Winter said.

"One thing Sydney lacks is space for artists to practise their craft."Chippendale has a huge community of cultural industries. All these businesses bring artists into Chippendale and this has started to impact on business being developed - new cafes, bars, restaurants." Mr Winter said he would be interested to see what sort of studios Frasers had in mind and if it would cater to performing artists as well as fine arts practitioners.

"In our business [for performing arts] we turn more artists away than we can accommodate," he said. "We are constantly at 70 per cent capacity and all the artists we turn away ask where they can go instead - and apart from a few suggestions, there really isn't anywhere else." Lord Mayor Clover Moore had indicated she approved of the proposal. "I am pleased to see Frasers Property is supporting the arts community with these new studios," Cr Moore said.

"The city provides a platform for creative expression and has a concentration of world-class cultural destinations and a growing cluster of businesses engaged in creative industries. These new studios will be part of that dynamic mix."

Submissions close on June 11.

Photo: Frasers' CUB site has temporary art spaces being made available to artists in the Chippendale area.