Arts & Culture
Addi Road runs arts & culture programs and events throughout the year and also provides:
- Low-cost studios at our community centre for dozens of artists
- A professional gallery space for artists to exhibit
- A large-capacity hall fully equipped to host live music, performances and conferences
Addi Road Writers’ Festival combines everything from spoken word performances to journalists, authors, poets, filmmakers, songwriters, sculptors and graphic novelists to “reboot the idea of what a literary event can be” (City Hub, 5 May 2022).
The Festival was launched in 2021 during a pause in the pandemic and its lockdowns. We recognised a profound need for the community to come together, hearing stories and poetry, music and conversations that brought new light to a difficult time.
Ideas, heart, soul, song, and literature
In our third year of the Festival we continue to offer independence of content and innovative vision as window on to the world, and a much-need open one at that. It is a vital part of our Addi Road “think global, act local” sensibility as a community centre in the heart of Sydney’s Inner West, supporting our creative commitment in every way.
Addi Road created the Public Schools Arts Festival as part of our commitment to supporting public education and creativity. Held each year in November, the Arts Festival is an opportunity for budding artists and musicians in public schools across Sydney to develop, design, and showcase their work in our StirrUp Gallery professional exhibition space and perform in our hall.
If you’re a teacher or student at a Sydney public school and you’d like to be involved, please register your interest.
StirrUp is our affordable and accessible community gallery featuring varied and engaging exhibits and events.
We created Addi Road StirrUp Gallery to provide a spaces for artists and activists to showcase their work in a professional setting at very affordable rates.
Gallery available for hire
If you are an artist or collective looking for a space to showcase your next exhibition or creative body of work, please enquire for rates and availability.
Our 3.6 hectare heritage site is a Living Museum where the buildings of the former army depot are in active use today. We document and share our site’s rich history in many ways: a self-guided Heritage Trail, guided tours, school excursions, exhibitions and a growing history collection.
The stories of this special place reflect the major events of our nation – from the appropriation of Aboriginal land, through several wars to the birth of multiculturalism.
The history of Addison Road Community Centre itself is highly significant. It is one of the oldest and largest community centres in Australia, founded in 1976 thanks to the efforts of local advocates and activists, ethnic welfare groups, childcare, arts and social workers, performers and environmentalists.
More than 40 years on, the vision of a place of opportunity for multicultural communities to thrive and find voice continues to develop at Addi Road.
The Addi Road Heritage Trail is a self-guided journey through the history of our very special site. The trail, created in 2015, takes you on a wheelchair-accessible loop through our locally-listed heritage site, passing seven information panels and three audio listening-posts featuring excerpts from our oral history collection. The panels cover the most significant stories and historical periods in the life of Addison Road: the freshwater creek; the Purdy family’s farm; the World War One army depot; the horses of Addi Road; the Leave and Transit Depot; the Save Our Sons anti-conscription movement; and the vibrant community centre of today.
The Australian Research Council investigated a range of ‘Creative Hotspots’ nationally including Marrickville. Their report, Australian Cultural and Creative Activity: A Population and Hotspot Analysis: Marrickville (2021), includes Addi Road in it’s creative services analysis. It notes creative industries are one of the largest industries in the Inner West LGA (7.9% creative employment in Marrickville), but is losing light-industrial space due to gentrification. This highlights the importance of the creative spaces and programs we offer at Addi Road.