Fremantle Arts Centre

Sunday Music at the Freo Arts Centre has begun again for 2015 and will continue til’ March 2016. This is hands down one of, if not THE best regular free community events in and around Perth. It showcases a great series of Aussie performers and welcomes a diverse and wonderfully happy crowd every weekend.
«If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden,» wrote Frances Frances Hodgson Burnett in The Secret Garden. And sure enough when you enter the sandstone sanctuary of the ‘secret garden’ at the front of the Arts Centre, you too will see the whole word is a garden. Each week 2−4pm, you might see families bobbing in unison to some rock beats, tiny babies snoozing to some sweet jazz, couples chilling to some reggae and groups of friends sharing beers and pizza over some funk. And if you’re up for it, there’s always a group up the front near the stage moving to the groove. Kick off your shoes and go dance on the grass.

The free Sunday music gigs are a great way to spend a summer afternoon. Family friendly and very relaxed.

Who doesn’t love music that gets you up. Dancing even if it’s in front of everyone. That just what BlueShaddy did this afternoon at freo arts centre. Free court yard music quick lively blues had the biggest crowd from little boys to grown ups moving and shakin that ass. blue Shaddy have been playing at blues festivals for years. Original songs fantastic energetic harmonica player. Young drummer killed it with perfect timing and unbelievable speed I was in awe. The court yard on Sunday 2 – 4 has great quality musicians. Take a picnic and alcohol or buy it there. A free, alcohol allowed, live music venue could be better for lazy Sunday afternoon.

This must be one of the greatest spots in Perth for taking arts and craft classes. Just started taking an evening drawing class. All the studios are set up on the second floor, so on arrival you have to make your way through the romantically lit courtyard and downstairs gallery space to get to your class. Something a wee bit special about being in a gallery at night, it’s like you’re trespassing (but in a good way).
The studios are set up for all the different genres so you get the smell of oil paints from one area, the tinkering from the jewellery making to the charcoal covered people attending the learn to draw class.
The classes are not cheap, but the environment and teaching staff are great. If you don’t have all the right supplies they also seem happy to help you out on the night with their supplies.
Don’t get freaked out by the history of the place and get spooked when using the toilets on the outside of the building. If you get spooked easily, I recommend you take someone with you.

How have I never been here before??? What a great place, if only I’d discovered it in Summer! Next year!
Sunday they had a free concert in the courtyard with the band Boom Bap Pow performing. Lots of people were up dancing near the stage.
Gorgeous, big, shady area with lots of plastic chairs available or you can bring your own chairs/​picnic rugs. They had a pop up bar and pizza stall with wood fired pizzas.
There’s also a café with a separate seating area which serve meals and hot drinks. We ordered some hot chips and they took 30 minutes to come out. When we go again we’ll take our own picnic.
The buildings surrounding the courtyard are beautiful, great for wandering around and taking photos. I’d like to have a look in the gallery next time too.

I’m a big fan of the Freo Arts Centre. My most recent visit to the venue was for their annual New Years Day gig which sees some amazing live bands playing such as Fat Freddys Drop, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and yesterday, the 24 piece Melbourne Ska Orchestra.
The courtyard where they hold the music gigs is a big shady grassed area. Lots of people spread out the picnic rug, you can buy bottles of wine from the bar (not many gigs allow this in Perth) and the crowds are amazingly chilled out, polite and happy.
It really is a beautiful setting for a sunset gig. I believe they also host free Sunday afternoon music sessions in the courtyard featuring local Perth bands. Check it out!

I love the Fremantle arts centre!
I have been here for multiple very different occasions including the blues & roots festival, an art show opening, a very intimate acoustic concert, a live rock show & most recently the Christmas markets. This old building is seriously beautiful and a perfect spot for all of the above.
The grounds are massive & when a concert is on you have the choice of being up front dancing or sitting back on the hill with a bottle of wine and a picnic.
The Gallery space is lovely and so huge.
The Christmas night markets are also massive with so many different stalls selling the coolest little crafts. If I notice that a band is playing here it is really the selling point for me.
I have enjoyed every event at this venue.
Word is, it is one of the most «haunted» buildings in Perth too. oooOOOoooOOO

I have been going to the Fremantle Arts Centre for art classes for nearly 4 years and l still get a buzz every time l go. It brings out the creative juices whether you are there for classes or just hanging out, looking at exhibitions or having a meal in the café.
Also a great place for picnics on the lawn area or taking in a concert.
The students from all classes are staging an exhibition at the Moores Building Gallery in Fremantle, ends Sunday this weekend 9 September.

I have only ever been to the Fremantle Art Centre for music gigs, like John Butler Trio on the main stage or Brow Horn Orchestra in the main courtyard area.
It’s a really picturesque venue and although the grass isn’t in pristine condition it is otherwise maintained well.
The old buildings provide the perfect backdrop for for the type venue it is and the acts that generally perform there.
For all the gigs they always have beers and food available. Great spot.

Located in a renovated Women’s Asylum, Fremantle Arts Centre is an atmospheric place to stop for a coffee during the day and check out their frequently high quality exhibitions. The coffee shop is a little pricey and service is often slow, but if you have time to spare, the vibe and surroundings more than make up for any delays. An alternative is to bring your own picnic and set up camp on their lawn before heading in to check out their exhibits.
The gallery’s exhibitions are diverse in nature; I’ve enjoyed exhibitions of everything from sound art to textiles. Upstairs, they run workshops on every kind of visual arts and crafts practice imaginable, and it’s worth subscribing to their brochure as there is bound to be something of interest to you.
Various areas around the venue are employed as a concert spaces and all lend an intimate, Freo party feel to performances. There are few places in this city that are more pleasant to watch a band. Their Sonic Sessions series of songwriter performances and talks are a great feature of their performance program, with songwriters talking you through the process and history of their songs.

A beautiful creative centre with a café, gift shop, art studios and gallery space, not to mention a sprawling, leafy courtyard area that’s perfect for live music. Large trees dapple the sunlight as you enter the period sandstone building. It’s peaceful during the day but can get quite busy come evenings on the weekend. The gallery space is beautiful with crisp white walls, dark timber floor boards and different corridors and nooks and crannies to explore the artwork on show. Freo Art Centre has exhibited some of the finest local, national and international artists, and stage some world-​class musicians including Damian Rice, Paul Kelly and Groove Armada.

Fremantle Arts Centre is a little bit in the middle of nowhere — I’d expect such a place to be nestled in Freo’s vibrant centre. But if you know it’s there, it’s easy to get to by a short walk or an even shorter ride on the free CAT bus. Housed in a grand Gothic building, the arts centre has an imposing historic charm which drew me to it immediately. Despite its grand exterior, once you get inside it’s welcoming and airy, with a grassy central courtyard to wander in. The gallery space, which showcases the work of local artists, is sprawling, and navigating it is a bit like finding your way through a maze — but that’s all part of the fun. The space is beautiful, with spacious, airy rooms and creaky floorboards. The exhibitions change regularly, so there’s always something new to see. The arts centre holds regular concerts and music events, and their free Sunday Courtyard sessions are brilliant. Don’t forget to check out the shop, FOUND, which sells a gorgeous range of arty gifts, homewares and clothes.

Fremantle Arts Centre is by far one of my favourite places to get my creative juices flowing. Located a little bit out of Fremantle’s centre, simply catch the CAT bus from Fremantle station and look out for the slightly unwelcoming sandstone building (after all, it was originally an asylum for women). Fortunately, the venue makes up for its foreboding exterior with a lush courtyard, perfect for concerts and their weekly Sunday music sessions in the warmer months. The place gets fairly hectic early though, so I recommend parking your picnic rug well before 2pm if you want to enjoy some music from up and coming artists and local acts. All for my favourite price — FUH-​REE! Best of all, you can choose whether to BYO or order from the café. Sweet! Be warned though, the café prices are kind of steep. I paid $ 4 for a bottle of water and other beverages are similarly priced. They do slightly redeem themselves with free wi-​fi.
Although rather small, the FAC operates as much more than a gallery space for local artists. Alongside its main exhibition with extends throughout the gallery (which in all honesty is a little bit disjointed and hard to navigate), the centre houses 8 studios for its Artists In Residence program. But if you haven’t reached Picasso-​worthy status yet, the FAC also runs a range of short courses including jewellery making, oil painting, ceramics, fashion, photography and drawing, all taught by established Australian artists, and is home to Perth’s writing group Out Of the Asylum which runs workshops on Fridays.
Make sure you also check out the shop. FOUND stocks uniquely Western Australian wares. Inside you’ll find an eclectic mix of homemade goods, stationary, bags, jewellery, paintings, and other finely crafted trinkets.