Efflor Artist-Run Centre aims to be hub of music and arts on the Northside
by Inspiring Communities staff
Efflor ARC, an artist run studio in North Sydney is collaborating with the Five Eleven Youth and Family Center, to make artistry accessible in the Northside.
Mable Wheeler, Founder of Efflor ARC and Art and Tech Director of Five Eleven describes their vision. “We want to see everything that the community has to offer to come through the doors, including workshops, lessons, recitals, art battles, theatre and more. In order for this to happen, a certain level of ownership needs to be given to our community. That’s why members of the Efflor ARC in good standing will often be approached to become program coordinators, so that they can plan events and make the space their own.”
Northside Rising was pleased to offer a Rising Tide grant towards the purchase of equipment for EfflorARC. Mable indicated that one of the biggest barriers that the arts community faces is a lack of resources to see their ideas come to fruition. They are working to combat that by growing its pool of resources available to the community. “We believe that though gear is often a necessary tool in the creation of art, it should be a source of inspiration and comfort.”
Their Rising Tide Project grant helped to build their resources through the purchase of a PA system. These purchases affected both artists and community members alike in the area, as EfflorARC became more accessible for patrons of the arts.
“By making music and arts equipment more accessible to people on the Northside, we were able to provide opportunities for artistic voices to be heard that might not have otherwise. For us, this has included emerging youth artists, cancer survivors, and artists in support of substance users,” explained Mable. The team at EfflorARC aim to diversify artistic voices to create awareness and opportunities – by increasing the understanding and empathy of community members through a range of topics covered by the artists.
EfflorARC’s Rising Tide Project greatly improved accessibility to the arts for North Sydney and beyond, as well as offer the community with lots of free entertainment.
There’s really been an abundance of moments that something as simple as a P.A system enabled for us that had us stepping back and saying, “Wow, this is a really special moment.”
Northside Rising’s vision is to collaboratively build a vibrant, healthy Northside community. It’s purpose is to bring together a wide range of community stakeholders – residents, community organizations, business and government – to find new ways of working to address important issues of community concern. Rising Tide Projects are generating early impacts that drive us towards positive change in our community.
As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. This is the hope for the Rising Tide projects, that they will raise awareness, build capacity, encourage our spirit of community, and provide front-end, immediate community impact for those living on the Northside.
Learn more about Northside Rising.
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