Help Joe Swepson & Gala Jane Rebuild their Studio

Hi, we are local Lismore artists Joe Swepson and Gala Jane.

 

We created Duet Collective in 2020 as studio spaces on Magellan St, Lismore for us to create and run our art practice out of. We have spent the last year and a half in the space where we create art, run our businesses and are a place for artists to connect.

 

The recent Northern Rivers floods have ravaged our studio space, the water level reached the roof of the second floor of the space. We spent hours enacting our flood plan on the Saturday (26 Feb) and moved all of our beloved artworks and items of value to the upper floors early, well above the level of the 2017 flood level, to then move on to helping other businesses in town. Unfortunately, these floods were nothing we could have expected and floodwater forced its way into the second floor, leaving nothing untouched. We gained access to the building on Thursday (3 Mar) to find the front door was gone, and the inside was the most devastating sight.

 

We have lost everything in our space, years of hard work put into our art, tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, tools, materials and artwork are lost. The cleanup effort is mammoth, with a thick layer of mud over all of our belongings. Even after the cleanup, will likely be unable to re-inhabit the space for a long time as the building gets assessed and fixed.

 

We are in great need of financial assistance to help rebuild our studios and replace all we have lost to begin creating art for our community again. We cannot replace many items, including our art, but we would be able to purchase new desks, chairs, tools, and materials to try and rebuild our art practice.

 

If you can assist in any way, we would be forever grateful and thank you for helping to keep Lismore's vibrant art community alive.

 

Love Joe Swepson & Gala Jane