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Still from documentation of vacant office tower taken over for Colin Hodson's Letting Space project The Market Testament, 2011.
Urban Dream Brokerage relies on the support of funding and property partners. Currently running as a six month pilot supported by the Wellington City Council's Public Art Fund, we need support to see the Brokerage continue and widen its scope to play a major part in urban revitalisation.
Want to help? There are many different ways:
- We are actively looking for funding partners to enable the Brokerage to continue. Please contact UDB Managers Sophie Jerram (029 934 9749) and Mark Amery (027 3566 128) to discuss further.
- If you are an artist or part of the creative industries we are keen to hear from people with innovative ideas for the city. Submit a proposal.
- If you are a property owner or can help us access vacant spaces please contact us.
- If you're time-rich consider volunteering and getting some experience under your belt transforming spaces - we can hook you up with some interesting new experiences. Contact us here.
Economic analysis in Australia in 2012 shows the economic benefits of urban space renewal projects like UDB is at a benefit cost ratio of more than 10:1. That is, for every dollar invested in the programme it promises to generate ten-times that in economic benefit to the city.
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Recent Blog Posts
Commonspace is a ‘living room’ for the city, located at 113 Taranaki St until October 31st… so what happens when the room is closed in a nationwide lockdown? Courtney Rose Brown followed up her original writing about Commonspace asking Mouthfull (Ollie, Jack, Sarah and Racquel) about emerging from the lockdown.
Five public art commissions for vacant city spaces funded by Wellington City Council’s City Recovery Fund have been announced by public art organisation Letting Space and vacant space brokers Urban Dream Brokerage. They will be produced by artists over the remainder of 2021 and early 2022 with spaces brokered for them by the brokerage.
The relaunch is spurred by a rise in unoccupied property around Wellington city due to the pandemic, and the need to create shared public spaces and experiences in a central city whose population is growing fast. The programme continues to run in Dunedin and has previously run in Porirua and Masterton.
We come with great news! We are delighted to write that the Urban Dream Brokerage is relaunching in Wellington city (see the website), with support from the WCC City Recovery Fund for the first year. We are now open for new applications from both citizens with new ideas for vacant space to increase public participation in the city, and from property owners with vacant space that needs enlivening.
Temporary art projects in cities are well and good while there’s space for them. As seen in Wellington with Urban Dream Brokerage, Letting Space over the last 9 years, and in numerous independent examples over decades: they enliven, develop city identity, transform spaces and seed new arts infrastructure.