New lease of life for World Bar, thanks to Sydney Fringe Festival organisers
Sydney’s iconic World Bar has had a new lease of life injected into it, following a $120,000 grant and takeover by the Sydney Fringe Festival.
Central Sydney
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Sydney’s iconic World Bar will be reborn as a creative space for aspiring and renowned artists under a six-month pilot program, it was revealed today.
The city mourned in November when the former Kings Cross institution — famous for its teapot cocktails and big ticket music appearances — closed down as another casualty of the controversial lockout laws.
Now, the nightclub has been taken over by organisers of the Sydney Fringe Festival, and has been dubbed Fringe HQ, following a $120,000 grant from the City of Sydney and State Government.
It will operate as a multi-level performance and arts hub, with a hospitality venture at the ground floor and three-levels of low-cost performance spaces.
It is hoped the pilot will lead the way in an effort to revitalise Kings Cross as a theatre and entertainment precinct, moving away from its history as a debaucherous party strip.
Fringe Festival chief executive Kerri Glasscock hoped the independent art scene would embrace the project, saying it would add more shows, more voices and more local stories to the scene.
“It is a unique opportunity to be part of a new narrative for the Kings Cross area as a thriving theatre precinct, amplifying and adding to the already wonderful established spaces in the area,” she said.
“Having non-curated space that is open to any and all artists to perform in is absolutely imperative to the health of the entire arts sector.
“Over the trial period, the project has the ability to double the existing current theatre activity in Sydney.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the council, which approved a $50,000 grant to the festival in March, had a responsibility to support artists accessing affordable space in the heart of Sydney.
“Supporting innovative new creative projects is one way we’re helping breathe new life into Kings Cross’ night time economy and cultural offerings,” she said.
“In our submission to the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into Sydney’s night time economy, we recommended that the NSW Government explore innovative public-private partnerships with the aim of opening up more creative spaces for artists.”
Arts Minister Don Harwin said the festival had a history of “activating underused spaces”, and praised the partnership between state and local government in making the pilot a reality.
“Strategic partnerships like these are a great way of breathing new life into adaptive spaces across the city, so I’m delighted that our investment of $70,000 can contribute to this activation that showcases our vibrant and diverse arts sector,” he said.
The program begins on Friday — the opening date of the 2019 Sydney Fringe Festival.