The thriving art space hidden in suburban Brisbane

Tucked away in a corner of suburban Brisbane, a seemingly empty old factory precinct has quietly become an artistic powerhouse, producing work shown around the world.

The Paint Factory is the current identity of what for decades was the Taubmans paint manufacturing plant at Yeronga in Brisbane’s inner south.

Renowned Brisbane artist Gordon Hookey was one of the first artists to take up residence in the Paint Factory site.Credit: Thomas Oliver

Located in a bend of the Brisbane River, the suburb has a large industrial precinct in its heart which has been transitioning to mixed-use developments.

One of those was the Paint Factory site, taking up about 34,000 square metres of old factories and offices, which was bought by a private owner via Brisbane-based Montague Developments in 2015.

At that time, the owner allowed artists into the space while plans were being drawn up for further development of the site.

One of the first of that initial wave of artists was Gordon Hookey, an acclaimed Indigenous artist who often produces large art pieces.

An artist’s impression of what the multi-use site would eventually look like.

Hookey said his style meant that previously he never really had the room to see his own artworks until they were on display.

“I was working in a space about four metres by four metres, and I was working on this major work, and I had to roll it up like an old film camera roll - I’d unroll a bit, paint it, let it dry, then roll that bit up and unroll the next bit,” he said.

“They came to me and said they had a space where I could stretch out a bit, and that’s been an absolute godsend, because I like working large-scale, so now I just staple the canvas to this massive wall and work on it.”

Hookey was part of an initial group of about 10 artists who were invited to take up residence in the space, which also included figures such as Richard Bell and Judy Watson.

Almost all that initial group was still at the paint factory, and more had arrived, with about 20 artists now based in the space, which Hookey said gave it a fantastic sense of community.

“There’s actually quite a bit of activity here now, it’s not just the resident artists, but photographers come here, and filmmakers, there’s lots of music videos shot here, so it’s a really thriving space.”

Some work produced at the site has made waves around the world, with Hookey’s work set to be displayed in New York, and other artists’ work going to galleries in London, Chicago and Toronto as well as around Australia, while London’s Tate Modern gallery commissioned videos to be shot at the site.

One of the more recent artists to take up residence at the Paint Factory is Sancintya Mohini Simpson, a multidisciplinary artist whose work explored notions of personal identity and migratory experiences.

Sancintya Mohini Simpson only recently started working out of the Paint Factory, but says it has been a very positive change.Credit: Savannah van der Niet

Her pieces have been displayed in galleries across Australia, and some would be included in an exhibition in Sydney this month.

Simpson said coming to the Paint Factory about six months ago was a huge change from her previous working environments.

“I’m very fortunate to have the other artists there in that community who are of a very high calibre, to be around them, to learn from them,” she said.

“It’s been lovely to be in that artistic community space, and not just be alone at home in my studio, to have that community aspect where you can have a cuppa and a chat with other artists.”

Paint Factory project manager Paul Hey says the proposed development will be unique.

The site has started to become a focal point for the community, with impromptu markets springing up as well as school tours and other community events.

Paul Hey, the project manager for Montague Developments, said it was a far cry from the initial proposal for the site, which was to turn the area into new houses.

“The artists were invited initially because the owner has a history of offering artists space in their developments in between planning applications,” Mr Hey said.

“We’ve since realised that as the artists have come in and the space has been utilised more fully, that what we could do here is something really exciting - a genuine mixed-use art space, something Brisbane hasn’t really seen before.”

Instead of rows of houses, the vision for the site is to keep the warehouses and offices intact, and construct buildings around them, resulting in a place where people can live but that will continue to foster new artistic work.

Brisbane City Council did not offer a specific comment on the site, because it was yet to receive the new development application.

Mr Hey said they would make the new application in the next few months, and hoped they could convince the council of the value of the proposal.

“I think artists are tired of being taken advantage of. Everyone likes nice art, and then everyone moves to the artistic precinct and the rent goes up and artists are forced out,” he said.

“We’ve seen that happen across the world, in New York, London, but we wanted to make sure that didn’t happen here, we wanted to make a space that was sustainable to the creative community.”

For his part, Hookey said that commitment to maintain the artistic community was why he had stayed at the Paint Factory.

“The artists bring a heartbeat to an area, a pulse, and then all of a sudden the money men move in and the artists get moved out,” he said.

“I joke that developers should have a team of artists to go and work in abandoned places and give it a jump-start. But artists need to be valued, not just visual artists, but across the board, and the hope is that will happen here.”