West Space Studio

West Space provides a fully subsidised studio above our gallery and office, alongside the intergenerational cohort of artists in Collingwood Yards.

Established in 2023, the program offers two artists a six-month residency each year, with mentorship from the West Space team and new opportunities for peer exchange.

Now

Edwin Devril

Edwin Devril is an emerging artist working across illustration, collage and textiles to explore themes of the body, class, gender and craft.

"Working with West Space has impacted my life as an artist, especially after graduating and now trying to navigate the sector independently.
The residency has provided me with the guidance and confidence to establish a sustainable practice and reach an audience and community that I can engage with in a meaningful way.”

Previous

Aarti Jadu & Claire de Carteret, 2024 → 2025

From a background of group devotional singing and folk tradition, Aarti Jadu seeks to integrate participatory work into contemporary composition and interactive works of art. Claire de Carteret is a ceramicist exploring clay chemistry, technologies, and resonating sculptural form.

Their residency saw the beginning of a process of collaboration for the artists, emerging from a shared interest in participatory ceramic and sound, and the way listening, rather than hearing, can cultivate intimacy, subjective interpretation and reflection.

As a result, Aarti and Claire presented Attending To, and participated in The place we do not know is the place we are looking for.

"West Space is one-of-a-kind. A crucial platform for experimental artists.
During my time in the West Space Studio, I felt valued as a peer and friend. The team dedicated unlimited time and attention to our development — encouraging us, identifying opportunities, and sharing resources and industry connections. Their hands-on approach and overall ethos are something I hadn't experienced before." — Aarti Jadu
Aarti Jadu and Claire de Carteret sitting on their sound and installation work
Aarti Jadu and Claire de Carteret, 'Attending To', installation view, Melbourne Art Fair 2025, West Space PROJECT ROOM. Photography by Dimitra Koriozos.

Andrea Illés, 2024

Andrea Illés was awarded a residency as part of our partnership with the Melbourne University's Victorian College of the Arts Honours Program.

Andrea Illés is a performance artist whose auto portraits explore the relational chasm between self and other. Merging dance, text, sound, and video, her enquiry emerges from the agony and bliss she feels being perceived and with an interest in the possibilities found when bodies fail.

During her residency, Andrea undertook mentorship with West Space to develop a multi-part project. The first iteration was a durational live-streamed performance performed in her studio and viewable in-person and on screens in the gallery, our computers and phones.

In September 2025, Andrea presents no rock no flower, consolidating her growing reputation as an important new media and performance artist in this country’s cultural landscape.

A person with dark curly hair and a knitted jumper stands in a room with a red hue, they rest their forearm across their head.
Andrea Illés, 'sorry I was so hungry', 2024, West Space Studio, Collingwood Yards. Photography by Kenneth Suico.

Tintin Cooper, 2024

Tintin Cooper was on residency at West Space as part of Creative Australia's international program, the Debra Porch Visual Arts Residency.

Based between Bangkok, Thailand and Berlin, Germany, Tintin has shown across the Tate Britain and the Sydney and Bangkok Biennales. Across video, painting and sculpture, Tintin uses humour to explore sport, nationhood, internet culture, and pseudo-spirituality.

Tintin presented Black Magic in the West Space Window and an artist talk on meme culture as it appears in her practice.

"The West Space residency was one of the best professional experiences I’ve had. The team went above and beyond in their support. They introduced me to galleries, artists, academics, and curators, and provided a space to create and show work in an intellectually and artistically stimulating environment.
They cared deeply not just for me as an artist, but for the local community, wider society, and the issues facing them. The insights and relationships I gained at West Space will shape my future creative projects, and grow connections between Thailand and Australia."
The artist smiles in front of two yellow fabric-cut figures with faintly drawn outlines on a larger green and blue cut cloth. The artist is crouching.
Tintin Cooper with her work in the West Space Studio, 2024. Photography by Kenneth Suico.

Melissa Nguyen, 2023

Melissa Nguyen was the inaugural West Space artist in residence, awarded a studio in partnership with Melbourne University's Victorian College of the Arts Honours Program.

Working in painting and print-based media, Melissa explores translation and artifice as creative methodology.

Melissa's residency culminated with the presentation of Water Street by Night in the West Space Window. This new work was accompanied by an essay by Annabel Brown on Offsite, a paid opportunity for Annabel during her time as a West Space Volunteer.

A smiling woman stands in front of her artwork on display in the West Space window. The artwork is a pink faded ink transfer of a woman in many scenes. The artist is smiling and looking at the camera
Melissa Nguyen with her work 'Water Street by Night', West Space Window, Collingwood Yards, 2023. Photography by Janelle Low.

West Spaces wishes to thank the inaugural West Space Studio Patrons, Melissa Loughnan & Simon Griffiths for their generous support.