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Artful Dodgers Studios

Engaging young people through art and music.

Artful Dodgers Studios will be suspending operations for 3 months as of 22 December 2023.

A review of the Studios objectives, potential participant needs, services, and its ability to access sustainable funding will be undertaken in the first quarter of 2024.

We will not be accepting any referrals from Friday the 8th of December 2023

We look forward to working with you later in 2024.

Artful Dodgers Studios is a flexible and welcoming studio space in Collingwood where young people aged 15 to 27 years can create art and music with the support of experienced artists and musicians.

Ceramics studio

Artful Dodgers Studios aims to:

  • engage young people through art and music
  • increase young people’s artistic and work skills, social connections and self-esteem
  • give young people an opportunity to engage positively with learning.
Meet the Artful Dodgers Studios team

About The Studios

At Artful Dodgers Studios, you can:

  • realise your unique artistic skills and visions
  • engage in one-on-one creative mentoring
  • drop in to the open-access studios to work on individual or collaborative projects.

Established in 1996, Artful Dodgers Studios is one of Victoria’s longest-running community cultural development programs.

Artful Dodgers Studios is a safe and inclusive space where all people are free to be themselves. We celebrate diversity and include people from all genders, abilities, religions, cultural and identity backgrounds, and circumstances. We are NDIS friendly. Click here for more information about our work with NDIS participants.

Staff at the studio can also refer young people to any other support they may need, including Jesuit Social Services’ mental health, drug and alcohol, and education, training and employment programs.

See some of the programs

What can you do at Artful Dodgers Studios?

Expand each studio to see what’s on offer.

Our fully equipped music recording studio helps young people explore music.

The studio caters for:

  • traditional band set-ups
  • modern music styles, like hip-hop and beatmaking
  • one-on-one sessions with professional musicians (including instrument tuition, song-writing development, recording and live performance skills).

We also provide opportunities for young people to perform music. This enables emerging musicians to build new skills and be recognised as cultural contributors.

Opening hours

Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment.

Interested? Contact us at artful.dodgers@jss.org.au to find out more.

Our visual art studio is staffed with friendly professional practising artists.

In the studio, young people can work with a range of paints (oil, watercolour and acrylic), as well as collage, stencils, lino, and sculpture.

We also offer access to clay, wheels, firing and professional guidance.

We provide equipment for digital art forms, including photography, video, graphic design, textiles, craft and sewing.

Opening hours

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 11am – 4pm.

Little Woods Studio is a way to share our creative passion and be part of a more connected community. We offer after-hours curated ceramics workshops to people of all ages. These workshops are taught by professional practising artists and are designed to be fun, engaging and skill-building.

All profits from ceramics workshops are directed into maintaining Artful Dodgers Studios.

Contact
Book a workshop

Book a ceramics workshop with Little Woods Studio

Recent Projects

Click the arrows to see some projects from Artful Dodgers Studios.

Braided is a podcast that threads together the intimate, challenging, and triumphant stories of a group of young people from diverse cultural backgrounds who are living with difficult life circumstances.
Hosted in collaboration with M.E.S.S (Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio), I Heart Synths was an eight-week free workshop series for young people to explore and learn through one of the world’s most cherished collection of vintage and cutting-edge synthesisers.
In collaboration with Matchworks, Essential Prints was a six-month program guiding participants through the process of creating hand-printed homewares – from printing, dyeing and sewing together pillow cases, bed-throws and baby blankets.
Beatmaking Undefeated was an eight-week series of free workshops to get participants started using Ableton Live to make original compositions and beats, as well as to record and produce tracks.
Australia fashion designer and artist Linda Jackson and Indigenous artist and emerging designer Lyn-Al Young worked with young artists from the Artful Dodgers Studios, Charcoal Lane, the Social Studio and SIGNAL to create a series of silk paintings and prints.
In collaboration with Job Prospects, Digital Voices was a six-month program where participants produced a number of video, film and animation works.
Artful Dodgers Studios partnered with Signal and artist Deborah Kelly to deliver five collage-making workshops, in which young people created a large composition from vintage magazines and materials.

Who can participate?

Any young person aged 15-27 years old can go to Artful Dodgers Studios. Little Woods workshops are open to all members of the public.

Artful Dodgers Studios is a haven where I can just be myself. I’ve had help from lots of services in the past but they only looked at my problems, not at who I am as a person. The studio is a place where I can be me.

Artful Dodgers Studios participant

Where is the program offered?

Artful Dodgers Studios is based at Jesuit Community College in Collingwood, Melbourne. It is a wheelchair-accessible venue close to public transport.

Expand each menu to find out how to get here or get in touch.

Address

1 Langridge Street, Collingwood VIC 3066

Contact

Phone: (03) 9415 8700

Email: artful.dodgers@jss.org.au

Instagram: @artful_dodgers

Facebook: /artfuldodgersstudios

Art studio

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 11am – 4pm

Music studio

Tuesdays and Thursdays 11am – 4pm by appointment

Tram

Route: 86 to Bundoora

Stop: 15 (Smith Street/Gertrude Street)

Train

Closest station: Parliament or Collingwood

Bus

Stop: Smith Street/Victoria Street

Routes: 302, 303, 304, 305, 309, 318

Get involved

There are many ways to be involved with Artful Dodgers Studios. You don’t need an appointment to check out the studios – just drop in any time we’re open.

To learn more about joining, visiting or supporting Artful Dodgers Studios, please contact the team at artful.dodgers@jss.org.au or on (03) 9415 8700.

Download intake form

To sign up to start attending Artful Dodgers Studios, drop in to complete an intake form.

To express your interest in volunteering or doing a student placement at Artful Dodgers Studios, please visit our volunteering page or contact Branka at jssvolunteer@jss.org.au.

It’s not just a place where young people can play music and do art – it’s a space where they can realise their unique potential and explore who they are.

Supporting Artful Dodgers Studios

Artful Dodgers Studio thrives on community support and welcomes contributions.

Artful Dodgers Studios thrives on the support of the community. We gratefully accept donations of art and music equipment. Please email us at artful.dodgers@jss.org.au or call us on (03) 9415 8700 to discuss your contribution.

Some of the materials we often need are:

  • paints and paper
  • boards and canvas
  • ceramic equipment
  • easels
  • musical instruments

Your tax-deductible donation will go towards supporting Artful Dodgers Studios participants. Donations and funding enable us to:

  • provide a creative haven for young people
  • provide social and material support to young people, including linking to training and employment programs and mental health support services
  • provide art materials to young artists

To donate to Artful Dodgers Studios, make a donation and select ‘Artful Dodgers Studios’ as your campaign.

Artful Dodgers Studios is grateful to the wonderful organisations and individuals whose support enables us to keep our doors open.

Government supporters

Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services

City of Yarra

Philanthropic supporters

Gandel Philanthropy

Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation

The Jenkins Foundation

The Adcock Foundation

Community supporters

James Hains and Margot Hains

Andrew and MarikoFrancis

The Gertrude Players

MRecht

Nelson Alexander

Bunnings Collingwood

Arts Spectrum

 

Artful Dodgers Studios and the NDIS

Artful Dodgers Studios is open to young people ages 15-27, including NDIS participants.

Learn more about our work with NDIS participants
Logo signifying a registered NDIS provider