Frontyard is a pro-active, multi-purpose space where the local arts loving community come together for practical skills-sharing, critical research, food and fun.
Frontyard is a building, a creative residency program, a library, a garden, and many other things, mostly located at 228 Illawarra Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204.
Our aim is to facilitate and nurture collaborations between people with a mix of disciplines with a passion for culture and to build a more resilient and sustainable independent arts community for the future.
The Vibe
Frontyard is a network of people that provides a pro-active, flexible space for practical skills-sharing, futuring, and critical research. We aim to be community-led in terms of content and usefulness, open and questioning of current systems and structures, and respectful and trusting of our fellow frontyarders.
The projects and research we’re interested in:
- contributing to our neighbourhoods
- agitating, facilitating, and nurturing collaborations between people
- working towards a more resilient, independent community
- creating and articulating possible futures
By taking up a residency or by hosting an event at Frontyard, you are committing to maintain “The Vibe” and caretake the space in a respectful way that make others sharing it with you feel safe. We want to create a community where people are free to be themselves without judgement or discrimination, regardless of sexuality, age, ethnicity or ability. Spaces are not safe simply because we designate them as such – it requires the combined efforts of us all. There are going to be times when each of us make mistakes. These mistakes are opportunities to learn from each other, and grow as individuals and as a community. Some things to consider:
- Respect people’s opinions, beliefs, and differing points of view
- Respect the physical and emotional boundaries of others
- Respect everyone’s right to live without intimidation, harassment, or discrimination
- Respect people’s right to privacy and self-determination
- Respect the Space itself and the fact that it is shared with many
Frontyard’s monthly open house events are where open conversation takes place with the community. If you are a resident at Frontyard and one of the open house afternoons are on during your residency period, it would be appreciated if you could be there.
In the words of others
Decommissioning and recommissioning: first day at frontyard (May 2016) By Kirsten Seale (resident at frontyard)
Frontyard is, above all, concerned with the future of the arts as grounded, emplaced practice and theory within wider communities, and part of that involves decommissioning the arts from the discursive positions into which it has been forced by neo-liberal political and cultural economies.
Article on Frontyard from The Thousands (June 2016, now-offline) By Jai Pyne (local artist/writer)
… Frontyard is less concerned with the product and more concerned with facilitating the making of art, involving the community in this process as well as reclaiming the arts back from the corner that they’ve been jammed into by our increasingly conservative government.
At the Edges of Art, Technology and Democracy (June 2016) By Alexandra Crosby (previous resident and co-founder of frontyard)
Frontyard, a starting point (October 2016) By Mapping Edges (previous residents at Frontyard)
C2O and Frontyard: hacking the archives to design community spaces in Surabaya and Sydney By Luke Bacon, Kathleen Azali, Alexandra Crosby, Benjamin Forster
Frontyard for Canvas on FBi 94.5FM By Olivia Rosenman (Frontyard kimchi leader and local journalist)
Organisation & Working Groups
Frontyard is organised around a series of working groups that cover the core activities and other projects, and by a committee known as the Janitors who are formally responsible for maintaining it.
Anyone is welcome to be involved in working groups and participate at frontyard. If you would like to get involved, joining a working group that suits your interests could be a good place to start. As we are slowly adjusting to this relatively new model, some working groups are more developed than others. If you would like to take up one of those below not yet active, get in touch.
Working groups don’t necessarily do all the work in a particular area – any special projects they take care of or initiate will usually be offered up for anyone to join in on. For example the Building Maintenance working group might make an audit of maintenance tasks needing to be done, and then do a call out for helpers or propose a working bee to get them happening.
Each working group has a person responsible for keeping it rolling along, whose job it is simply to propose the next meeting.
| Group | Responsible janitors |
|---|---|
| Building Maintenance Working Group | Tessa (Tender) |
| Library & Publications Working Group | Tessa |
| Finance & fundraising Working Group | Ju |
| Operations Working Group - Digital gardening, wiki weeding, helping things run smoothly | Luke (Gardener) |
Starting and wrangling a working group is an amazing contribution to Frontyard. You could ask some friends to gather around the Garden and do something together, and that might evolving into a working group sharing their energy to make the things they need and contribute to a beautiful space.
| Group |
|---|
| Residencies Working Group |
| Garden Working Group |
| Tea making and Foraging Working Group |
| Inner West Council Connections Working Group |
| Communications Working Group - Newsletter, Instagram, email, and so on. |
Frontyard is currently supported by a rental subsidy from Inner West Council (formerly Marrickville Council).
Independent events at Frontyard
You can use Frontyard for your events, meetings, performances etc. .
See our main article on the topic, Booking Space + Time at Frontyard.
Non-cash Assets
The non-cash assets at Frontyard include:
- a Risograph duplicator; and,
- two visual projectors (limited adapters, bring your own)
- 3 big tables
- about 20 assorted chairs
- 2 small oil heaters
- small kitchen with 2-burner electric cooktop, glassware, cutlery and flatware
- picnic blankets
- cushions
- The Frontyard Garden
- outdoor space
- The Frontyard Library
- Ambient particulate pollution, air quality monitor (see live data), connected to the https://luftdaten.info/ network. It is an implementation of their open source design.