Studio Visit – Cocoa Jackson Studio – Melbourne

Not too long ago we took ourselves out to Cocoa Jackson Studios to have a bit of a look around, visit Junky Projects and to see first hand what him and his crew have been up to in the past few months with their new studio space. Somehow we hadn’t quite been able to get out there since they opened their doors late last year, and we were pretty amped for our visit.

The building itself is located just off Lygon Street in Brunswick, nestled in the historic Cocoa Jackson laneway, named after a local boxing legend. As we walked up the laneway, we were impressed by an already great array of artwork on its external doors. As we arrived, Junky Projects greeted us from a roller door on the second floor of the building and we headed up.

The main ground level floor is pretty expansive – well and truly enough room for all kinds of functions, events and workshops. Bits and pieces of artwork adorned the walls, as well as several privately owned  pieces and others still up from their opening show.

The second floor, where the studio spaces themselves are, was even more impressive. You can tell that these guys have put a lot of work in bringing an old, dilapidated industrial warehouse up to scratch. The second floor has some great studio spaces, nicely partitioned and clean, some with views out over Brunswick towards the city. As an added bonus, there are also several large storage spaces.

Beyond the studio spaces there is the private office and kitchen areas – it’s all been ingeniously put together with recycled materials. For all of that though, it doesn’t feel like some kind of throw-together, there has been a bit of thought put into it – hell, one of the walls is even made out of an array of timber beams, giving it a beautifully rustic appearance.

After a couple of beers, we headed back downstairs to take a look at the walls outside – some really impressive work, and its nowhere near done yet, "plenty of space for more art" Junky remarked.

Cocoa Jackson is still a relatively new space, but its brimming with potential – having heard some of the plans for its future, we’re pretty excited. As it is, it stands several artists have already moved in, or and the studio areas are all ready to rumble. We absolutely loved this place, and having heard so much about it even before they opened their doors, it was a great feeling to see it at what is only the start.

Studios are available at Cocoa Jackson and if you’re looking for some space in that area, then this new hub for street art and creative practices in Brunswick could be a perfect spot. We really can’t wait to see what shows, events and artists Cocoa Jackson has in store for us.

Thanks muchly to Junky Projects for having us over, we had a great day. You can find out more by checking out the Cocoa Jackson studios blog, and their facebook page, as well as the Cocoa Jackson profile at Creative Spaces for all the info you need on what studios and amenities they have available.

You can check out all of the photos from our visit below – enjoy!

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