Ross Scotland. Photo: Jon Hewson d486545. communitypix.com.au.
Camera IconRoss Scotland. Photo: Jon Hewson d486545. communitypix.com.au. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Level Up studio to breath creative life into the McDonald-Smith Building

Leah RobertsFremantle Gazette

The 1897 McDonald-Smith Building is getting a new lease of life with the opening of the Level Up Studio.

One of the creative directors, Aidan Garnett said they were looking for a new space and when they realised the building was vacant they went for it.

“It was the perfect mix between spacious and dilapidation,” he said.

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“It has a classic charm to it, the street is amazing, the architecture down here it really inspired us.

“The idea of making the west end of Freo a creative hub has been floated and now we’ve moved in, it’s taken another leap forward.”

Fellow creative director Jackson Harvey said they want to turn it into a co-working space for all artists.

“We wanted a space that was independently run by artists for artists,” he said.

“We want to give artists a chance to make their own space.

“We also want to make it more accessible to the public, art can get pretentious and scare people off by it, we want to bridge that gap.”

The studio will open with an exhibition featuring the works of well known names in the Australian and international street art landscape including Amok Island, Straker, Ayres and Yok & Sheryo.

Around 30 artists have graced the rooms of the building with full sized wall murals, with part proceeds from artwork sales going towards children’s cancer research charity CanTeen.

The opening night will include food trucks, Bright Tank brewery selling local beers and entertainment.

THE ESSENTIALS:

WHAT: Opening of Live up Studio

WHEN: Saturday September 8 from 7pm

WHERE: 24 Cliff Street.