Warracknabeal, a small town four hours drive north-west from Melbourne, is a town in decline. Without a creative solution, the continued downturn in population and economic activity will see it die a slow death.
Warracknabeal, a small town four hours drive north-west from Melbourne, is a town in decline. Without a creative solution, the continued downturn in population and economic activity will see it die a slow death.
Warracknabeal Courthouse proposes to offer the town an ‘afterlife’ through an ambitious plan to transform the disused Warracknabeal Courthouse heritage precinct into a vibrant tourist-drawcard. The project will use experimental architecture to create a visually stunning art hotel that will draw tourists and artists in-residence to the region; and revitalise the disused Court House building so that it is fit for cultural and artistic use by the broader community. The transformed Court House precinct will host a program of smallscale yet world-class collaborative activities, the ongoing production of new artworks, and research-in-action. The overall project will develop, test and refine a prototype for regional transformation via an arts-based intervention which offers the possibility of replicability in other regional areas in Victoria and Australia.
This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
CategoryCultural, Research, Art Practice, Architecture & Interiors
Location Warracknabeal, Regional Victoria Australia
StatusUnder Construction
Year2021
CollaboratorsAfterlives of Cities
PhotographyStephen Hawken/ Studiobird
