The 'before' shot.Photos throughout by Tom Ross, courtesy of Activity Club
If you have a sledgehammer and a few friends, it turns out that a rundown old building can be transformed into a creative HQ in no time at all. In a few months designer Andrew Hamilton and photographer Tom Ross managed to turn a crumbling Collingwood shop front into Activity Club, a multifaceted studio that’s part gallery, part office.The mantra of Activity Club is really all in the name. “It’s about action,” Tom tells The Creators Project. “You’re only allowed in the door if you are going to do something, and not complain about the crappy kitchen. Activity is paramount.”
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The space operates according to the needs of those who use it. It serves not only as a base of sorts for Andrew and Tom, but also as an informal venue for friends and colleagues in need of a desk. “We need a place to work, so we work here. I had photos to show, so we had an exhibition,” Tom tells The Creators Project. Currently showing is an exhibition of work he shot in Doha last year, called Idols. Andrew also has plans for his own show, and there are several others in the works. “We’d like to hold talks, screenings and other useful things too,” Tom says.
The building that houses Activity Club has a colourful local history; it had a long life as an accounting practice, followed by a brief stint as a daycare center. “We still get walk-ins for both businesses,” Tom says. “It’s not the sturdiest of buildings, and its days are numbered so the landlord gave us carte blanche with the sledgehammer,” Tom tells The Creators Project. “Over the next few months we gutted it and painted the floor blue. It was a lot more work than we had anticipated but we were so lucky and amazed at how keen people were to pitch in and help get it going. Some days we had a crew of six friends volunteering to do even the worst jobs.”
Unfortunately, the six month lease means that the current incarnation of Activity Club is only temporary—the area is changing, and someday soon the land will be developed into an apartment complex. But Tom and Andrew assure us that when that time comes, Activity Club will live on in a new home.
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