About West Space
West Space is an independent, non-profit contemporary arts organisation.
West Space is responsive to the evolving needs of artists, with rigorous year-round programming that reflects the breadth of artistic practice in Australia and the complexities of our times.
West Space cultivates a personalised approach to the experience of contemporary art. This is where enduring relationships to people, art and ideas can begin.
Programs
West Space Gallery
Our main space, showcasing experimental solo, collaborative and curatorial projects.
West Space Window
Our micro-project space, on the facade of the gallery.
West Space Offsite
Our digital platform, publishing artist-led content and writing in support of our artistic program.
West Space Studio
Our fully subsidised studio, offering residencies above our gallery and office.
Values
First Nations First
West Space operates on Wurundjeri Country, in a nation with an Aboriginal past, present, and future. First Nations voices are embedded across our organisation, from our governance to our program.
Creativity
West Space empowers underrepresented artists, encouraging experimentation, risk-taking and growth. We support practice that is conceptually rigorous, socially engaged, introduces new ideas and ways of thinking, and is self-reflexive about the role of art in society.
Advocacy
West Space creates space for voices across culture, class, gender, and ability. We connect across the nation and beyond. We advocate for artists and arts professionals, mentor early career creatives and lead conversations.
Hospitality & Accessibility
West Space strives to be open and welcoming. With an understanding that art is for everyone, we contextualise works of art, and communicate complex ideas clearly, and create opportunities for people to gather around art and ideas.
West Space, 1993 → 2025
West Space was founded by artists Brett Jones and Sarah Stubbs, in the western suburb of Footscray.
In the 1990s, West Space was of the few artist-run spaces in Naarm/Melbourne presenting a critically engaged, multidisciplinary program, accessible through peer-assessed applications.
In 2000, West Space relocated to Anthony Street in the CBD, and in 2005, formed a Board with the strategic skills to steer and grow the organisation.
In 2011, West Space moved to a site spanning five exhibition spaces on Bourke Street. In 2014, we began actively commissioning new work, and in 2017, introduced NAVA-rated fees for all exhibiting artists. As one of the few organisations our size to take this landmark and critical step, West Space is recognised as an exemplary model for best practice. West Space presented major commissions by Lisa Radford, Lou Hubbard, and Jason Phu spanning the entirety of West Space's galleries.
In 2020, West Space moved to the inner-north, to a single space in multi-arts precinct Collingwood Yards, alongside fellow creatives, not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises.
Here, our focus is on ambitious projects with long incubation periods by artists at all stages in their careers. This is exemplified by the West Space Commission, offering 12-18 months of support across the development, delivery, and communication of new work. Previous recipients of the Commission include Abdul-Rahman Abdullah & Anna Richardson, Joel Sherwood Spring & Victoria Pham, HOSSEI, Gabi Briggs and Akil Ahamat.
In 2023, West Space launched our Studio program, offering short-term residencies for local artists and international visiting artists among the cohort of studio artists in Collingwood Yards.
West Space's current program involves five major projects in our main space each year, activated by performances, discussion and smaller-scale works in-person and online. We largely program by invitation, with Commissions, Windows and Studio residencies accessible via open-call.
Today, West Space combines the flexibility and creative freedom of an artist-run initiative, with the professional infrastructure and curatorial support of a larger public institution. This affords us a unique position - with the ability to act as a conduit across the arts ecology, connecting national and intergenerational peers and concerns.
