All seven of Sydney’s Inner West town halls have been converted to arts and cultural venues to hire free of charge with the ability to host live music, rehearsals, and exhibitions.
In terms of live music, the town halls have invested in sound systems, audio-visual equipment, performance and recording studios—amounting to a combined $800,000. The town halls that have been converted to arts and cultural venues are:
Marrickville Town Hall
Petersham Town Hall
Leichhardt Town Hall
Annandale Town Hall
St Peters Town Hall
Balmain Town Hall
Ashfield Town Hall
The Marrickville Town Hall is also set to receive additional upgrades, including a $60,000 investment in general audio, lighting, and staging, $341,000 in specific furniture fittings, including flooring and curtains, and $120,000 for the construction of three soundproofed studios.
All the town halls have received $40,000 each in investments in general audio, lighting, and mirrors, for a total of $280,000. Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne and Councillor Mat Howard have led the project.
In a statement, Byrne said, “Converting all seven of our town halls to arts venues massively expands the spaces available for our artists to display, practice and perform their work.
“Better yet, we are providing these spaces with the equipment needed for live performance and have made them available to the arts community for free.”
Adding that the converted Marrickville Town Hall would be the “flagship” of the new program, which is set to feature the basement reinvented as a major performance space, Howard said:
“This is a major investment in our local arts and creative industries that will transform the capacity of both professional and community arts organisations to rehearse, perform and attract new audiences.
“Rather than sitting empty for much of the time, our town halls will be filled with music, dance, theatre and film.
“Our town halls have always been at the heart of cultural and civic life in our communities, and now we are breathing life back into them and welcoming more and more residents back through their doors.”
The news of Sydney’s Inner West town halls being converted into arts and cultural venues follows the announcement that the city is receiving six new Special Entertainment Precincts (SEPs) after the success of the Enmore Road SEP.
