Le Catedral's fuchsia pink door stands out like a ray of light in the midst of the more cheerless, industrialized looking exteriors on St. Augustine Street. This intriguing mode of entry really roused my interest. Upon entry, ascend the white-washed walls laden with a whole conglomerate of paintings and photographs old and new. The Back Loft is a bright and roomy multi-disciplinary loft located at the back of La Catedral Studios. It is a multi-purpose space for the arts in a reclaimed Victorian industrial loft. Refurbished to a bare minimum to preserve the raw fabric of its past time charm, this inspired space is an unconventional artists' playground which embraces any art related project.
The space may be hired for art exhibitions, live art events, theatre plays and rehearsals, workshops, intimate music gigs, dance, life drawing, photo shoots, film location and functions, to mention a few. The Back Loft is particularly open to experimentations and to adventurous site-specific work, to individual and collectives' curated projects and is an ideal springboard for emerging artists.
I recently attended a photo exhibition here organized by a college friend who was able to get her hands on the venue relatively easily. Since its establishment in 2005, the Back Loft has played host to a great array of events independently curated by individuals and collectives. From what she said the studios offered a nurturing and supportive environment with 24 hr/7 day access, wi-fi, visibility on the studios' blog, kitchen and chill out space, free attendance at the back loft events, participation in an open studio event at Culture Night, negotiable rates for hire of the Back Loft and free access to the Back Loft for private use.
I have attended a separate function here where I witnessed the use of one projector, one sound system (mixing desk and two speakers), two microphone stands, one microphone, one upright acoustic piano and a rack of gallery spotlights to further emphasise it's unique resourcefulness. From a punter's point of view the space's great natural light as a result of sky-lights running the length of the space and original pine timber flooring provide the ideal backdrop to witness pioneering artwork like no other. read more