The Thousands

There are only so many discordant renditions of ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ that even the most persevering of souls can endure. So after sharing a home for three years with the infamous, and slightly bedraggled, Ding Dong Dang karaoke parlour, innovative art space Gaffa has moved to the big end of town.

The new premises on Clarence Street in the CBD will house four galleries, Australia’s largest jewellery studio, an industrial design project space and a café, spread over three levels in a 19th Century police station.

In conjunction with its inaugural exhibition FIDELITY, Gaffa will launch The Arcade Project, a revolving series of pop-up shops/installations (which are actually former holding cells). Here emerging designers will have the chance to showcase their work in a shop context for a three-month block. **First up will be the industrial expressions of Emma Elizabeth, Vert Design will flaunt their ability to fuse the technical and the beautiful and stylist duo bams & ted will present a fictional offering of objects from the non-fictional tale Picnic at Hanging Rock.

The transformation of a building once used to police and penalise those on the margins of society into a space that celebrates creativity is a remarkable feat in itself but also serves as a valuable resource to chart the continual evolution of the urban landscape