Jon Adams
/FINAL EDIT 30/07/2024
JUGGLERS ARTS SPACE
Most businesses have a limited lifespan, and art galleries and studio spaces are no exception. The difference with Jugglers was it lasted way longer than most people expected. Jugglers opened its doors in 2002 at 103 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, and quickly became a meeting spot (and melting pot) for Brisbane's rapidly growing progressive arts community, who turned up (almost without fail) for the Friday night exhibition openings often spilled into the courtyard.
Over the years, Jugglers became synonymous with cutting-edge art, its contrasting exhibition spaces and studio program providing fertile ground for shared ideas and creative exploration. Of course, there'd been other art spaces in Brisbane before Jugglers, invariably artist-run ventures that struggled to stay afloat or maintain momentum over the long term. But Jugglers Arts Space was different. It had an aura of permanency and a sense of purpose and direction that others lacked.
Jugglers was also more than just a gallery. Its paint-splattered walls housed and protected the throbbing heart of Brisbane's emerging underground art scene, with dozens of young artists finding a safe and inclusive environment where their talent could flourish.
By the time Jugglers shuttered their Fortitude Valley headquarters in March 2018, the team behind the iconic arts venue had been supporting Brisbane's creative community for 16 years and continued activating empty spaces and providing affordable studios for artists, poets, musicians and comedians for another five years.
Many artists who gravitated toward Jugglers in the early days were the OGs of Brisbane's burgeoning street art movement. Sofles, Buttons, Fintan Magee, Drapl, and Guido van Helten are just a few of the artists who achieved international fame on the back of a quirky little art space born in Fortitude Valley. Pretty cool, huh?
Words: Jon Adams
