Western Sydney artists now have a new dedicated space to create and collaborate in Granville, with a new Parramatta Artists Studios (PAS) site officially open.
The Granville venue, which joins Council’s Parramatta Artists Studios in Rydalmere, offers one-year studio tenancies for new artists with callouts for interested artists made annually.
As the largest council-led artist studio initiative in Sydney, PAS has supported hundreds of artists to hone their craft and create contemporary art since its opening in 2006.
It’s a full circle moment for PAS artist Serwah Attafuh, whose mum was among the first artists at the Hunt Street Parramatta Artists Studio back in 2007.
“I remember running around the studio as a kid and having fun and just seeing her make stuff, and now, 15 years later, I’m an artist at Parramatta Rydalmere,” she said.
“I create digital art predominantly but now that I have the space to work on a bigger scale I’m working on sculptures and oil paintings and doing my music which I really love, so there’s a lot of space to experiment.”
The new creative hub in Granville offers studios for 12 artists for a 12-month residency.
It also includes a dedicated space for the First Nations community to collaborate, a space for regional, interstate and international creators to use, and event spaces for special workshops, community programs and talks.
Attafuh said it’s so important for artists to have a space like PAS to create art.
“I think what makes PAS unique is that I don’t see a lot of local Councils or Government, or many institutions really, create a really holistic space for artists to work and to grow and to make things,” she added.
“I just don’t see local Councils doing this sort of stuff and I think it’s really important, not only for artists but for the community.
“It feels like something really important is going to be kicking off here pretty soon.”
City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Pierre Esber said the investment in Parramatta Artists Studios reflected Council’s commitment to making the city a major arts and cultural precinct.
“We want Parramatta to be a magnet for creatives and Parramatta Artists Studios is a key part of that, providing a space to support artists at all stages of their career to develop new works and forge new connections across the creative community,” Esber said.
“There is nothing of this scale run by a local council anywhere else in Sydney – I’m in awe at the work that has been produced by PAS in the past and can’t wait to see what the future brings.
“The studios are now home to 12 new artists who have a space of their own for 12 months and I look forward to seeing the works they produce.”
This project has been jointly funded by the NSW Government and City of Parramatta with Council contributing $250,000.
To find out more about the Parramatta Artists Studios go to http://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/pas.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.