AV CLUB STUDIOS

Written by Robert Hume

AV Club, situated in Brisbane’s Albion, is a not-for-profit creative studio space that pioneers on supporting and building the creative space in Brisbane. The space caters to artists, photographers, designers, writers and anyone else who needs an affordable studio space to grow their creative projects. It’s a quirky space, oozing with nostalgia for the high school art classroom. I sat down with its founder Kyle Golly for Something Different Project, to chat about the space.

Brisbane feels like a pretty underground creative space sometimes. Do you also feel this as well?

Yeah, a lot of people say that there isn't anything happening in Brisbane. I’ve seen a lot of requests to show people that there are a lot of cool things happening. That was my goal with AV Club, to make those local projects known about and show that there’s cool people here that are building that culture. There was nothing like this when I was growing up, it's pretty cool thinking about how we have people here straight out of school. We've got people that are 17 & 18 that are working here.

What opportunities are available for young creatives here?  

The strength of the studio space here allows for a bit of everything! It’s very multimedia focused, on top of the office space, we’ve got a photo studio area with proper paper backdrops that residents can use for anything from product photography to press releases and album photos for musicians. We have desk space for writers and visual designers, as well as our own modeling agency and stockroom for merchandise.

The focus is really to allow small businesses to be able to afford to pay rent and have a professional space where they can have meetings and can make their products to be put out into the world. If you were doing this solely by yourself.

It's important for us as artists that are kind of stuck in the bedroom as it offers to take it to that next level where we're considered a company and considered a bit more professional, you need a business front and you need an office space, but that's extremely difficult when you're a young startup company.

AV Club has also worked together on different projects. We've done some cool stuff with the Brisbane City Council’s QUBE Effect, we worked with all the artists and produced all 24 music videos for them. That type of project really matches our ethos of helping established artists get a platform and do their art.

AV Club is solely independent, correct?

Yeah, we really are dependent on the support of the external community to not just keep the space alive for the residents, but also to keep the space alive for the arts in Brisbane. We survive thanks to our residents as well as public hire of the space and affordances that it has. We’re really trying to make it as cheap as possible with all the gear that you need as a creative to make anything you want.

This Saturday AV Club is holding an Open Day, can we chat about that?

Yeah. We're not really a walk-in studio, so we thought, you know, it's probably time to showcase the space off to the public. You wouldn't hear about it unless a resident invited you or from a referral, so the whole point of it is to spread awareness of the space, the people here, and the opportunities it provides.

Having more people being able to access the space goes back to the ethos of the space as well. We want to foster and create community and culture, and if there's more art in Brisbane, it's beneficial for everybody.

On the day, we’ll be running a raffle, with $1500 worth in prizes, $5 press shots for anyone who wants a photo for their project family or LinkedIn and we’re going to be working with a quick same day turn around as well as a free bbq.

I also chatted with AV Club residents Jack and Darcy about their experience

Jack - Solar Studios

Well, I joined AV Club for the first time two years ago, I was straight out of school like pretty much right as it started. One of my mates joined the club and it seemed sick. It was a great opportunity for creative freedom and being surrounded by professionals helped me find my path. I did photography, left and started doing 3D design and just recently started up a 3D motion graphic company which lead me back here. It’s such a great space.

Darcy - Ungrained MagazineI joined 5 months ago, and like, it's done the world of good for me, as a music photographer first and foremost and like this, having a studio and like a space that I can sit down and like say you know I'm in my office rather than like editing on my bed, it’s increased productivity. I've had people book press shots, the collaboration aspect is one of the best parts, you can pitch ideas to each other and get feedback from others. Honestly there are no negatives about working here. It definitely started from needing a space to go to for work, rather than just doing it at home.

Be sure to stop by on Saturday the 13th of August to meet the team and give them a follow online to keep up to date with the studio as well as getting notified about any future open days