Can new creative hub HAVEN restore the town’s lost artistic soul?

A NEW creative space that aims to reclaim Byron Bay’s artistic spirit will open this weekend, with a three-day celebration featuring everything from a flea market and food vans to live music and vinyl DJ sets.

The Terrace at HAVEN – formerly known as OTHERWORLD – is being described as an “open air sonic garden and cultural meeting place”.

333 Productions director Scott Plant said the Jonson Street venue aims to be a melting pot for artists, creatives, families and visitors to connect, create and be inspired.

“We are trying to create a space for the whole community to celebrate,” he said. “We’ve transformed the old Woolies car park into something unique and special that is both inviting and engaging.

“The lineup is deliberately divergent as we are trying to create a space for multiple sectors in the community.”

Festivities will begin at 4pm on Friday with a performance by multi-dimensional singer Empress Katia, followed by a sunset disco hosted by vinyl DJ Chop Suey from 6pm.

The official launch party will take place on Saturday November 15, beginning with a Welcome to Country by a local Indigenous elder at 1pm and a performance by Byron Taiko Japanese drummers at 1.30pm. Four-piece Americana band Black Train will play from 2pm, before DJ duo Wax Addicts and Friends host an open-deck session from 3pm to 7pm.

There will also be roaming performers, face painting and craft activities for kids, as well as food vans serving local favourites throughout the day.

Celebrations will wrap up on Sunday with a flea market from 10am to 4pm and a performance by Kwasi Bruni, a 10-piece Afro-Cuban Latin jazz band, at 3pm.

Andrea Jones, who co-founded Wax Addicts with Plant to support the local community after the 2022 Northern Rivers floods, said she was thrilled to help create a new space for artistic expression.

“It feels like that is something that Byron has lost a little bit, and The Terrace and HAVEN will bring a bit of that back into town,” she said. “I am looking forward to setting up a solar dyeing stall at the official launch party where people of all ages will be able to come and create a t-shirt or pillowcase.”

Flow Music founder Corr Piccone said the revival of a gallery-style creative hub was vital to reclaim Byron’s artistic spirit.

“Byron Bay is known as one of the most creative and alternative towns in Australia,” he said. “Sadly this has been eroded over time from raising rents attracting national and international brands in the store fronts and effectively making it far more mainstream than the reputation it has. The terrace space is a huge opportunity to create a myriad of community events and to be an asset of artistic Jonson Street frontage. We are in the process of dreaming up creative uses for the space ourselves.”

All events are free entry, open to all ages during the day, and 18+ after 8pm.

333 Productions is inviting artists, creatives, and community-minded locals to get involved and share ideas via [email protected]