Friends Desi Litis and Jade Rubino share a strong vision to showcase contemporary artists in a creative space in the heart of the city.
PERTH’S creative profile is squarely in the frame with a bold new commercial gallery complex on Queen Street that will showcase some of Australia’s most exciting contemporary artists.
Venn founders and friends Desi Litis (pictured left) and Jade Rubino (right) hail from different artistic backgrounds but they found common ground in a shared vision for a creative space in the heart of the city.
This $1.7 million project was as much an investment in Perth’s waxing cultural profile as it was a transformation of a turn-of-the-century flour mill factory into an interconnected, creative complex housing a gallery, retail outlet, cafe-bar and working studio space.
Ms Litis and Ms Rubino met while studying fine arts at Curtin University and shared a mutual despair for the steady migration of talented creatives away from Perth.
But in the eight years since they met Perth had fostered its own creative identity, and in 2008 the women realised there was an opportunity to build something that could support artists working in WA.
“We both saw the need for something like this in WA, it was a matter of maybe looking to move interstate or taking a leap of faith and trying to create something in Perth that would inspire other creative people stay here,” Ms Rubino says.
This dream of a development to showcase and inspire Perth’s creative sector brought together two very different, passionate young women who have followed markedly different career paths.
Ms Rubino honed her design and commercial acumen with her accessory label The Rubi House. Founded in 2001, the label’s contemporary collections were sold around Australia as well as in Hong Kong, New Zealand and exclusive UK department store Harvey Nichols.
A move to London to expand The Rubi House landed Ms Rubino in the middle of global fashion phenomenon Burberry, where she worked as a designer in the label’s house and gift department before moving into women’s accessories.
On her return to Perth Ms Rubino found herself at a crossroad. Perth had plenty of potential and, with the closure of Greenhill Galleries in King Street, there was no longer a major commercial art gallery in the city.
Ms Litis’ career took her into the realm of community art. Working closely with young and emerging artists, she heard story after story of how big rent rises were forcing practitioners out of the city.
While Ms Rubino was busy with Burberry, Ms Litis set up The Ballroom on Murray Street.
This experimental artists’ collective provided space for about 15 practitioners in the heart of the city.
It quickly developed into a vital hub, but skyrocketing rents meant the collective was no longer able to afford its city premises and The Ballroom closed its doors.
Harnessing Ms Rubino’s commercial experience and Ms Litis’ work in galleries and community art, the pair came up with the idea of an integrated creative space, featuring a gallery, studio, retail outlet and cafe space – Venn.
The three studio spaces at Venn attracted applications from more than 100 artists, including prominent local artist Jon Tarry.
Mr Tarry will work alongside painter Caitlin Yardley and installation artist Amber Harries in Venn studios for the next 12 months.
The studios operate independently of the upstairs gallery space but Ms Litis says the opportunities for the cross-pollination of ideas between the studio and the gallery are vital to the success of Venn.
Matthews Architecture’s design has created visual connections between the three storeys of the historic building that entice visitors to move from the familiarity of the retail outlet and cafe-bar to what for many people is the unknown of the gallery space.
Ms Rubino is using her extensive knowledge of fashion and retail to drive the design shop on Queen Street and its impressive collection of contemporary design ware from around the world.
The collection will change regularly and Ms Rubino says she has worked hard to stock labels not found in any other Perth outlets.
It has been a tough few years for Perth’s commercial galleries but Ms Litis is confident Venn can capitalise on the gallery’s city site to nurture new art lovers and collectors.
“Over east, private collectors are more inclined to purchase work from emerging artists but here collectors feel like they need to purchase work from artists that are already well known,” Ms Litis says.
“There is no commercial gallery in our CBD so we really want to educate people and maybe people who aren’t so interested in contemporary art.”
To celebrate the launch of Venn, the gallery unveiled a solo show from talented Perth artist Matt Doust.
Most of his portrait works have already sold in what Ms Litis hopes is a pointer to an improving art market.
But Ms Rubino and Ms Litis hope the trickle-down effect of Venn reaches beyond the cultural sector and art sales to support a vision of Perth as a vibrant, creative city.
Once the Raine Square development is completed, Venn will link back to Murray Street, providing a new laneway for the CBD.
“So many people have said to me this is fantastic and told me about their plans to open places in the city, I think it just gives them confidence when they see something like this happening,” Ms Litis says.
