One of the most exciting stories in Newcastle in recent years has been the success and achievements of ‘Renew Newcastle’. What started as an off-beat idea to revitalise Hunter Street has gained international recognition and is being applied in many other cities. Enabling creative individuals and groups to work together has been shown to be an effective and successful strategy to deal with the problems of decaying business centres in modern cities.
The next public forum hosted by local think-tank the Newcastle Institute – to be held at 6pm on April 12th at South’s Leagues Club – will focus on Renew, and will look to the future of this remarkable organisation.
Why was Renew established? What have Renew achieved? Where is Renew heading now? These questions will be answered, and followed by a vibrant discussion with one of Renew Newcastle’s most experienced participants – and now an integral part of the Renew team – Edwina Richards.
For 4 years Edwina headed up the successful maker collective Make Space based at over 5 locations in the Hunter St Mall. Make Space was one of those projects that made under-utilised spaces look really appealing. They were so successful that they got moved out and relocated 5 times to allow for fully paying commercial tenants to move in.
For the last 2 years Edwina has been working as part a Project Advocate for Renew Newcastle. Her role involves facilitating professional development and business incubation opportunities for project participants. She is also the company photographer and was a board member for 3 years.
This interactive evening will provide an opportunity for participation and exchange of ideas with this extraordinary urban renewal experiment that has become Newcastle’s biggest cultural export in the last 10 years.
What? Public Forum:- Renew Newcastle:- Now and Then
When? 6.00 – 7.30pm, Wednesday 12th April 2017
Where? Souths Leagues Club, Merewether
Who? Open to the general public. Admission $5 donation
Contact: Speaker is available to the media (Contact Ross 0401 522875)