Yesterday we were privileged to hear Marcus Westbury speak about creative enterprise hubs, and how he has created precisely that in Newcastle with the Renew Newcastle Project. Such is his success that The Lonely Planet named Newcastle number NINE of the top ten cities IN THE WORLD to visit in 2010.
If you see this man, anywhere in your travels, you must buy him a beer.
Why? First he had an idea about regenerating the town centre of Newcastle.
Then he got out of bed, got fired up, and got others fired up. Then he set about brokering deals in which owners of disused and empty buildings in the CBD granted access rights to 'initiativists' - budding artists, craftsmen and people with projects but no place to put those plans in to practice.
Each initiativist that was linked with a space went in, overhauled it in the cheapest, simplest manner possible - Claiming items from hard rubbish, mixing paint remnants in to crazy custom shades, and generally championing REUSE. And then they used that space to work, dream, sell, network and ultimately build their careers.
(Image from Renew project Make-Space - click for more info)
At The Bower we see a lot of you picking up odds and sods for ingenious and inventive artworks, DIY projects and shoestring makeovers, and we know all too well that lack of space is what prevents a lot of people from making their projects bigger and more challenging.
Many of our consignees work out of their loungeroom or in the open air (challenged by this wet wet spring!), so it was more than inspiring to hear Marcus talk about just what is possible when you give a red hot go. Renew projects are popping up around australia, and the model built by Marcus has been adapted by Arts NSW - you can read more here.
So, as I said - Buy this man a beer.
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