Words by Christopher Kevin Au
This Wednesday night, Goodspace Gallery will be serving up a whopping exhibition to celebrate its 2nd birthday.
Back in 2015, The Lord Gladstone was christened by seasoned publican Patick Coughlan, who had a firm mission for the Chippendale venue to become more than just a watering hole serving up cheap schooners. Part of that vision was the establishment of Goodspace Gallery on the second level – a place where emerging artists could show their works at weekly free exhibitions.
In those two years, Goodspace Gallery has hosted some of our favourite Australian artists under the watchful eye of curator Chris Loutfy. From the gothic-flavoured wrath of James Jirat Patradoon to the powerfully feminine pastels employed by Cherie Buttons, Goodspace has become a cornerstone of the local art scene, and a creative hub where Wednesdays are now a weekly tradition for many of the city’s brightest young talents.
On Wednesday, Goodspace will host works from Jimmy Nice, Martina Martian, Scott Marsh, Jess Cochrane and Life Without Andy’s own on-ground reporters, Chris and Andrew Yee. Ahead of the show, we caught up with Patrick and Chris to talk about the Goodspace journey thus far:
It’s been two years since Goodspace was established. Where and when did the idea for a gallery come from in the grand plan for The Lord Gladstone?
Patrick Coughlan: We’d done galleries before, and we thought it would be a good way to engage with the creative community – but more importantly, I thought it would make a statement about what type of pub we wanted to create.
Chris Loutfy: I’d worked as an intern with Paddy and Marty Routledge on our first gallery, Lo-Fi Collective, and then taken the reigns a bit more on at The Tate. So when Paddy bought The Lord it seemed like a no brainer – he asked me to do the same thing we’d been doing up to that point, and I jumped at the chance.
What were your initial goals for Goodspace? Have you achieved them in this two year time frame yet?
Paddy: Yes, absolutely. The pub is now well entrenched in Sydney’s creative community, which was one of our goals. The other main goal was to give emerging artists a commission-free space to have there first or second exhibition with no financial pressure.
Chris: Same as always. Rent-free, commission-free gallery for the artists and the local art community and we’ve delivered that week after week.
Over the past two years, you’ve managed to draw in healthy crowds each wednesday with weekly art shows. What is keeping people coming back besides the free booze?
Paddy: Free booze helps! I think just the fact that we’ve created a like-minded community of people who like hanging out here. People know that every week there’ll be something new and fresh. It might not be to your personal taste every week, but it’ll still be interesting.
Chris: Having your mate’s show, being in a show, getting some free drinks with your friends. I try to really involve kids that come to shows. If kids come up, email me their stuff, have a chat, and if they have a really good attitude, I’ll always get them involved whether it’s a group show or when they’re ready, a solo show.
The crowds at Goodspace tend to be young, inclusive and culturally aware. How do you think this demographic gels with the pub in general – especially seeing as you also have a big focus on everything from hip-hop to NRL to UFC?
Paddy: I’ve never subscribed to this theory that if you like art you can’t be into music and/or sport , I just think that’s bullshit. It’s fucking boring. We promote anything we’re into which includes hip-hop and footy and anything else that catches our attention.
Chris: Art school kids love pubs as much as anyone else (maybe more) so I think it makes sense. It also gives the gallery a more casual vibe which works with my idea of how it should be. I never want people to feel like they don’t belong or can’t engage with the gallery because it’s too fancy.
Do you have any favourite shows in particular from good space’s history?
Paddy: There haven’t been many that I haven’t liked to be honest, which is testament to Loutfy’s curatorial skills. Maybe Scott Marsh’s show, when he had beef with some other writer and head-butted him and split his head open.
Chris: It’s all been great. Halloween show was sick.
Aside from the art shows, Goodspace has also housed gigs, clothing launches and even a video premiere from 24 Karat Kev. Any plans to use this space in new ways in the future?
Paddy: I along with the rest of Sydney am waiting on 24 Karat Kev’s next single, hopefully he will reference his new facial hair.
Chris: Consistently doing whatever we can with the space. We are open about doing whatever people want to do in the space that works with our vibe!
What have you learned about art and/or life from attending Goodspace exhibitions?
Paddy: That there are so many talented people in Sydney, and sometimes all they need is a little support or just somewhere to show their work. Seeing young artists have there first show can be really inspirational to me in a weird way.
Chris: It’s a never-ending lineup of legends in Sydney. I’ve put on over 300 shows in Sydney – about 100 at Goodspace – and the talent keeps coming.
Where do you hope that good space will be in another two years time?
Paddy: Still doing what we do – providing a platform for young artists.
Chris: What he said. Same place, same thing.
