How a group of female artists banded together to combat Byron Bay’s sky-high rents

EMILY Brown had long dreamt of having a space in Byron Bay to display her artworks, but the eye-watering cost of rent had always put her off.

Brown, who works under the name Emily Bodhi, had an idea sitting in her back pocket for several years.

“I thought, ‘What if a few artists shared a space and managed to make it work as a collective?'” she said.

When a space became available for lease next to HAVEN (formerly OTHERWORLD) in the old Woolworths building on Jonson Street, Brown called the real estate agent straight away and said she would take it.

“Then I had to retroactively hustle to get it sorted,” she said.

She spent the next month working 12-hour days, visiting artists and galleries and scrolling Instagram, curating a group of strong creatives to share the space.

Her idea has finally come to fruition with the opening of the Byron Art Collective, which showcases the work of 23 female artists and artisans, including jewellers and candlemakers.

“It was like a shared dream across multiple people who said they have always wanted a space in Byron but they didn’t know how to make it work,” she said.

The collective includes artists such as Kylee Joy, who uses natural paints; Indigenous artist Donna Albany; and Carley Cornelissen, whose vibrant mural graces the exterior of the building.

Originally from the UK, Brown lived in Portugal and Dubai before moving to Australia in 2017, drawn to Byron Bay by its natural beauty and creative community.

“It feels like it’s on the pulse – there’s always things happening here,” she said.

A passionate wildlife lover who previously ran an animal rescue sanctuary in the Byron Bay hinterland, she mostly creates colourful and quirky paintings of animals.

The decision to make the space exclusively for female artists was partly aimed at helping women reconnect with their creative identities after having children.

“I guess my taste in art is inherently feminine, and as a mother myself I know we often put our careers on the backburner for our kids,” she said.

Brown also hopes the Byron Art Collective will become a place to make new friends with like-minded people, offering a ‘Chai and Canvas’ class, a ‘Create and Connect’ event with mocktails on Thursday nights, as well as children’s art workshops throughout the school term and holidays.