Carclew

Beautifully well kept building.
I was here for a wedding just last weekend, and wow — this place is gorgeous. To think that once this belonged to a family living inside, within the vast walled yard. In comparison to the tiny homes we are many of us cramp into with our tiny yards, this place is vast. I personally wouldn’t love to mow that much lawn, but to have that much lawn to do life on would certainly make me happy.
If you get a chance to visit Carclew, please please do!

Carclew is in an absolutely stunning building, built in 1897 and owned by the Bonython family for most of it’s early history.
Now it is a youth arts centre, and it was in that capacity that I arrived here — I was invited to teach a cross stitch workshop yesterday — 45 kids over the whole day in 3 separate workshops — PHEW!
The staff here really know what they are doing — they are organised, very good at handling kids and keeping them interested, and very good to work with. There are a lot of activities to keep your kids occupied, and to teach them very important artistic and lateral thinking skills.
School holidays they have programs — yesterday I was part of the 3-​in-​1 Workshop day, where your kids get to do 3 different workshops from 9.00 to 5.00, in groups of 15. All tutors and assistants must have a current police check for working with children, and there are staff on hand all day to make sure everything is running smoothly. Kids are not allowed to wander around by themselves — it’s a very tightly-​run ship!
We will definitely be taking my partner’s daughter to the next one of these, as the staff are very trustworthy, and the workshops are of a high standard.

I’m sure most Adelaide residence know of the Carclew House. In fact even if you don’t think you do, I can almost guarantee that most Adelaidians are at least aware of its location. Heritage and ghost listed, this antique castle of sorts is beyond an architects dream.
Carclew’s main purpose is to facilitate education of the arts for Adelaide youth. With various initiatives always in place, I believe that Carclew is a splendid example of community. It supports young people under the age of 26 to not only unleash their creative selves but to also find their place in this world, and even the right career suited to them.
I undertook a placement here during the COME OUT Festival, and let me tell you the entire community are lovely, and Carclew really does facilitate support to a number of projects, people and initiatives.
There is also a ballroom busting with character that is available for hire, whether it be for a masquerade ball or an intimate wedding. Surrounded by luminous gardens, this would be a magnificent venue for your guests to enjoy.

As well as their excellent programs for school children, Carclew administers state and federal government grants and scholarships for young artists. The money for these grants and scholarships aren’t for beer money — every time a young artist receives money they have to prove they are using it for a professional creative project. To qualify for these awards, you need to be able to prove you have already started on a professional creative pathway — so the money goes to hard-​working artists who are likely to be already self-​funding their projects.
The relatively small amounts of money you can get through Carclew are the kind of help that makes sure talented, motivated artists are able to keep making work — working a day job and making art in a professional capacity is pretty difficult. For the first time this year, I have applied for a small amount of money for an exhibition I am doing in Sydney next year. It’s my first solo show interstate, so it’s a pretty big step. I don’t know if I got the money yet, but I do know the staff here were extremely helpful when I was writing my application. They went out of their way to read over my application, give me advice on how to pitch it to the panel of judges and how to write a professional budget.
As well as this, they also run a number of other programs — stuff for school-​aged children, youth events and artist workshops. Plus they make good use of their beautiful old building by hosting exhibitions in the foyer and a resident artist each year. If you are a young artist, or have school aged children who like making, performing or writing, I would really recommend looking into Carclew.

Carclew is a magnificent landmark building in North Adelaide, prominently standing in pride of place on the corners of Jeffcott Street, Montefiore Hill and Strangways Tce and to think this was once a private residence up until 1965 is amazing!
It has since emerged as South Australia’s only youth arts establishment for the under 26 age group, providing many arts and recreation programs to help our youth gain experience whilst embracing multi culuralism in the community. This is all possible due to South Australian government initiatives. During the year there are many events, exhibitions and workshops taking place, so have a look online or go for a impromptu visit as staff are more than happy to answer any queries.
During the school holidays is a great time to take your kids to any one of the great programs run by SA artists and tutors at reasonable prices, age groups are divided to cater to their capabilities. Have a look online and book as places are filled quickly.