The City of Sydney is looking for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to transform a narrow terrace in Redfern into a living museum. The remaining end terrace on Caroline Street will display local memories, knowledge and histories shared by Aboriginal residents of The Block, from snippets of everyday life to nationally significant events.
Currently the building is adorned with the iconic Welcome to Redfern mural, completed by Reko Rennie and young local Aboriginal artists in 2013. The City of Sydney is now seeking ideas for how the inside of the building could be creatively used to showcase and collect contemporary and archival materials and stories.
?Located in the heart of Redfern, this is a significant project for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,? curator Emily McDaniel said. ?First Nations artists, architects, filmmakers and sound designers are invited to redefine the Redfern Terrace as a place for storytelling and to reimagine the building.
?It could be a museum, an artist studio or artwork, and somewhere community can share knowledge and creativity.?
Built in the 1880s, the terrace was once a shop and residence, and then used by the neighbouring sawmill as a dressing room and storage space before standing vacant.
There has long been a significant urban Aboriginal community in Redfern. As extended families moved to the area from the 1930s Great Depression onwards to live and work, Caroline Street and its surrounds, known as The Blo...