Business Profile: Off the Kerb
Tuesday 12 December 2017
Off the Kerb gallery was founded in 2007 in Collingwood and supports local and international emerging artists, curators, designers and sound producers. The space is run by a small group of dedicated creative minds and features supportive professional development to artists.
We talk to founder Shini Pararajasingham about how it all started. She found galleries could provide spaces but there was no nurturing or development of new artists. She was inspired to start Off the Kerb to change things. She says, "I found the process daunting and somewhat cold. I wanted to create a gallery that did things differently. The focus had to be on supporting artists and being instrumental in their professional development." Off the Kerb not only provides a place to exhibit, but has a large hand in the set up design of the exhibits, and overall, Shini says, "creates a warm, open environment of sharing and growth."
Being in Yarra for a decade, she remembers how it all started, "Yarra and Collingwood specifically in 2007 was edgy, underground and avant garde. Inspiration is uninterrupted with live music venues, artist studios, pop-up spaces, shared spaces, street art, a burger joint in a train carriage up on the top of a building! This is the creative hub. This is where innovative business models were born. Work – Life balance is in harmony in Yarra."
But there were also practical considerations. "Importantly, the rent in this area was affordable for an artists-run-initiative like Off the Kerb. Additionally, there were a number of artists studios in the vicinity which made it accessible to reach the groups we targeted. Some of my favourite galleries were in the neighbourhood which was a bonus – Gertrude Contemporary Artspaces, Seventh and CCP."
This profile is part of a series of local business profiles. Subscribe to the business e-bulletin for opportunities to be profiled.
Shini Recommends:
Nighthawks
Wabi Sabi Salon
Every Day Coffee
Charcoal Lane
The Cutting Table Cafe
Off the Kerb gallery was founded in 2007 in Collingwood and supports local and international emerging artists, curators, designers and sound producers. The space is run by a small group of dedicated creative minds and features supportive professional development to artists.
We talk to founder Shini Pararajasingham about how it all started. She found galleries could provide spaces but there was no nurturing or development of new artists. She was inspired to start Off the Kerb to change things. She says, "I found the process daunting and somewhat cold. I wanted to create a gallery that did things differently. The focus had to be on supporting artists and being instrumental in their professional development." Off the Kerb not only provides a place to exhibit, but has a large hand in the set up design of the exhibits, and overall, Shini says, "creates a warm, open environment of sharing and growth."
Being in Yarra for a decade, she remembers how it all started, "Yarra and Collingwood specifically in 2007 was edgy, underground and avant garde. Inspiration is uninterrupted with live music venues, artist studios, pop-up spaces, shared spaces, street art, a burger joint in a train carriage up on the top of a building! This is the creative hub. This is where innovative business models were born. Work – Life balance is in harmony in Yarra."
But there were also practical considerations. "Importantly, the rent in this area was affordable for an artists-run-initiative like Off the Kerb. Additionally, there were a number of artists studios in the vicinity which made it accessible to reach the groups we targeted. Some of my favourite galleries were in the neighbourhood which was a bonus – Gertrude Contemporary Artspaces, Seventh and CCP."
This profile is part of a series of local business profiles. Subscribe to the business e-bulletin for opportunities to be profiled.
Shini Recommends:
Nighthawks
Wabi Sabi Salon
Every Day Coffee
Charcoal Lane
The Cutting Table Cafe
