Tucked away above William Street in Darlinghurst, 6 artists are busy creating.
They’re all part of an 18-month creative live/work spaces program that provides below-market rentals to artists and creatives working in Sydney.
To date, this program has given 70 artists affordable space to live, work and bring their art to life over the last 10 years.
We chatted with the new Darlinghurst creative residents to see how the program is helping them in their careers while contributing to the cultural life of Sydney.
Brendan Hancock – comedian, musician and producer
Brendan Hancock describes himself first and foremost as a society girl, and a hustler.
“I was funny at a trivia night once at uni, and then kind of started doing comedy outside of that,” he says.
Brendan is a champion for the queer community and has been working on creating a queer production company “because queer people are funny” and he wanted to shine the light on fun, queer Australian stories.
This program has allowed him to quit his day job and focus on his practice full time because he “didn't have to pay Sydney rent”.
On the cost-of-living pressures in Sydney, Brendan talks of “the grand exodus post-Covid to Melbourne" where many comedians and artists left for cheaper housing options.
“We've actually lost quite a big part of the queer comedy scene in Sydney. It's still here and there are still some fantastic performers, but it's much smaller than it used to be.”
You can find out more about Brendan at The Two Queers.
Joshua Lee – fashion designer
Joshua Lee started out in fashion because he was a resourceful kid who always “aspired to be the freshest”. But while learning screen printing and sewing on YouTube, he discovered that “creating stuff allowed me to find my identity”.
“It’s my form of therapy, my way of finding myself and expressing myself.”
Joshua plans to use this time to “catch up to my ideation” and finally launch his product line. He makes everything from scratch so it can take months to produce one complete look.
But the main goal is funding and helping others explore their creativity. Joshua wants to create spaces and inspire to prove you can create in an ethical and independent way.
You can follow Joshua's brand fragileminds on Instagram.
Angie Goto – Deaf visual artist and educator
Angie Goto is a painter and safe spaces creator whose practice is deeply rooted in her Deaf identity.
She has already used her time living in Darlinghurst to create an accessible event that catered to the needs of the Deaf community. Held at the Red Rattler, ‘Vital Signs’ is an extension of her painting practice, integrating interactive technology and live performances exploring Deaf rights, identity and communication.
Angie found out about the creative live/work spaces program through a Deaf group online. She describes her life before the program as being “really difficult”, but living in these apartments means that many of Sydney’s best galleries are within walking distance.
Asked about the impact of the creative/live work program, Angie says it “changes your life. It gives you the breathing space to develop your creativity in a way you couldn’t before”.
You can follow Angie on Instagram.
Keila Terencio de Paula – performance artist
Keila Terencio de Paula is a performance artist from Brazil. She translates stories into the physical.
Keila is dedicating her time in Darlinghurst to her project ‘Two bodies, one mind’. This includes both physical and visual performance work and explores themes of lucid dreaming, subconscious and the connection between puppeteer and puppet.
“It’s hard to believe I live here,” she says after moving 9 times in 2 years when first arriving in Sydney. Cost of living and housing are big conversation topics among her friends.
“People are doing all kinds of jobs and just trying to find time to honour their creativity and practice,” she says.
“Art is essential, like food, like water, it’s an essential part of us.”
Keila is a huge advocate of making space and time for artists. She talks fondly of how music and art are everywhere in Brazil. “We all consume art in everyday ways” so it’s a collective good to empower creatives to do their thing.
Get Keila’s latest updates on her Instagram.
Sandy Greenwood – First Nations actor, writer, cultural educator and director
Sandy Greenwood is a Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Bundjalung Custodian and actor, writer, playwright, arts producer, cultural educator and director.
Sandy starts every day by making coffee at her apartment before walking down to the harbour. Then it’s 4 hours of writing before meetings for other projects.
Sandy’s memoir is coming along nicely, with plans to have it in bookstores in 2026. The book is based on her powerful show 'Matriarch,' which explores beauty and intergenerational trauma in her bloodline going back to her great-grandmother.
Despite being a bit homesick for community, country and kin, Sandy has found being in Sydney hugely positive for her profession and social wellbeing. “Sydney is the epicentre of the arts industry,” she says.
“Culture and creativity reflects our humanity back to us and allows us to connect on different levels.”
Sandy sees her work as helping to educate and inform all Australians of truth-telling to lead us further along the path to reconciliation.
Get updates on Sandy’s latest projects on Instagram.
Solomon Toala – hip hop producer, DJ and event curator
Solomon Toala aka Sollyy is a Samoan hip hop producer who is passionate about shining a spotlight on western Sydney creatives.
He’s always grown up around music but it wasn’t until he produced a lot of solo work that he thought maybe this could be his career.
Nowadays Sollyy is dedicating himself to crafting his debut album. But he plans to make the city part of his process.
“To DJ live in the city and actually premiere the projects in the rough form, kind of like workshopping it live in public,” he says.
For Sollyy, it’s all about making it happen: “There’s a lot of concession you have to make before you can even start thinking about doing your practice or even just creating.”
That’s why his apartment has become a space for those in his community to come stay if they want to produce music or just stay near the city centre. Being a part of this residency means being exposed to other disciplines.
“Creativity is culture, and culture defines history. Every major movement in the world has been defined by creativity and art.”
Sollyy says getting ahead in the arts community means bringing along others like him: “I hope that my art reaches another kid that they might feel like ‘maybe I can do this’.”
Get all the latest on Sollyy at his website.
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Published 27 June 2025
