space
In 2014, Firstdraft commenced a new chapter, relocating to the Firstdraft Depot, the organisation’s former studio complex. The redevelopment of the Depot saw the distinct flatiron building transformed from a studio facility into a comprehensive emerging and experimental arts centre with four purpose built galleries, two discrete studios and a creative office space. A second stage of redevelopment in 2015 will see a City of Sydney funded project to landscape the private outdoor courtyard into a shared community garden and event area for our stakeholders and the greater Woolloomooloo community.
Firstdraft is positioned within the Woolloomooloo creative precinct alongside collegiate bodies such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Chalk Horse, Alaska Projects, Artspace and Minerva and essential community services like the PCYC and Catholic Care.
The efforts of past and present Firstdraft board members, volunteers and the continual generous support from the City of Sydney, Arts NSW and the Australia Council for the Arts have enabled Firstdraft to enter this new phase of broader public engagement and further our aim of being one of Australia’s premier platforms for the support and professional development of artists, writers, curators and cultural producers.
Firstdraft acknowledges and respects the traditional owners of the land on which the organisation is located, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. It is upon their ancestral lands that the Riley Street Depot is built. As we share our own knowledge, teaching, learning and cultural practices within this community may we also pay respect to the knowledge embedded forever within the Aboriginal Custodianship of Country.