Archive - Cr8Studios
Community Arts Hub
Gallery Community & Cultural Programs
Selected Archive Credit
“What was meant to take three months took nine,
and turned into a community creative home.”
- Raymond
Cr8Studios Founder and Director, 2011
Overview
Cr8Studios was an independent gallery, creative workspace, and community arts hub founded and operated by Raymond Mather in Coffs Harbour between 2011 and 2013. Established following the renovation of a dedicated gallery space, Cr8Studios functioned as an artist-led cultural platform delivering a sustained public program of exhibitions, education, and community engagement.
Although the renovation spanned nine months, the major works were completed just two weeks before opening, leaving a compressed final phase in which Raymond personally finished the floors, installed the exhibition, configured lighting, and prepared the space for public launch.
Operating within a professionally curated framework, Cr8Studios supported local, emerging, youth, and established practitioners while fostering inclusive participation and public access to the visual arts. The studio combined curatorial direction, education, professional presentation, and community leadership, contributing to the cultural life of the region and informing later creative and curatorial practice.
Cr8Studios exterior and main entrance before and after renovation, Coffs Harbour, 2011. The transformation from the original commercial façade to a contemporary creative space following the nine-month redevelopment.
Cr8Studios interior before and after renovation, Coffs Harbour, 2011. The transformation of the original commercial interior into a refined, exhibition-ready gallery space following extensive redevelopment
Completed Cr8Studios gallery interior, 2011. The finished exhibition space following nine months of renovation, presenting a professional contemporary environment for visual art and multidisciplinary practice.
Coco Jumbo, promotional portrait for the Cr8Studios opening night burlesque event, Coffs Harbour, 2011. Photograph created by Raymond Mather to promote the multidisciplinary launch of the renovated creative space.
Cr8Studios Opening Night, 2011. Burlesque-themed launch event featuring Coco Jumbo and dancers choreographed by Belinda Lemair, marking the official opening of the transformed creative space. Opening event images by Deb Kay
Coffs Coast Advocate, “Coffs gets a new space to hang”, October 17, 2011. Coverage of the opening of CR8 Studios, Coffs Harbour.
Coverage of the opening of Cr8Studios, Coffs Harbour’s new creative hub, founded and directed by Raymond Mather. The article documents the launch event, participating artists, and the diverse community audience attending the opening night.
Positioned within an industrial precinct, Cr8Studios was publicly recognised as a space for creative exchange, exhibition, and community engagement, extending beyond the model of a traditional gallery.
This coverage provides independent, contemporaneous documentation of CR8 Studios’ role within the regional cultural landscape and its early public reception.
Published coverage:
Cr8Studios received independent coverage as a gallery and arts education centre in WeekendNotes (19 February 2012):
https://www.weekendnotes.com/cr8studios/
“A few minutes north of the centre of Coffs Harbour, in an area better known for its seafood suppliers, plumbing equipment shops and manufacturing businesses, you'll find an art gallery and art education centre known as Cr8Studios - a shining light in a semi-industrial landscape.”
- Rita Price, WeekendNotes, 2012
Cr8Studios Annual Program Summary 2011-2012
Cr8Studios officially opened on 14 October 2011 after five months of renovations to the Seccombe Close premises. From its opening through to May 2012, the studio established a continuous calendar of monthly exhibitions, workshops, life drawing sessions, youth arts initiatives, and community events.
Exhibitions featured local, emerging, youth, and established artists, with opening nights regularly attracting between 65 and 185 guests. Programs ranged from open-call group exhibitions to curated themed shows celebrating professional educators, emerging youth voices, and regional creative practice.
Alongside the gallery program, Cr8Studios facilitated an extensive education and participation offering. This included ongoing life drawing sessions, specialist artist workshops, children’s holiday art programs, youth-focused initiatives, and public talks. Following the success of the Coffs Youth Avant-Garde exhibition, the studio space was also made available free of charge to support youth arts development.
CoastOut Festival & Conference
CoastOut Festival was a major annual LGBTQIA+ cultural event on the Coffs Coast, combining performance, visual art, social gatherings, and community celebration within a regional Australian context. By 2011 and 2012, the festival had established itself as a significant platform for visibility, connection, and cultural exchange.
As part of the official CoastOut Festival program, Raymond Mather designed and presented the exhibition Sensual at Cr8Studios. The exhibition explored themes of intimacy, identity, and embodiment, and the gallery space also hosted the official CoastOut Festival launch, held to coincide with the opening of the exhibition. This positioning placed Cr8Studios at the centre of the festival’s visual arts and opening-night programming.
Beach and waterfront scenes from CoastOut Festival events in Coffs Harbour.
Festival participants and attendees during daytime social activities, reflecting CoastOut’s celebratory, inclusive, and community-focused atmosphere.
In addition to his curatorial role, Raymond contributed as an event photographer across festival activities in 2011 and 2012, documenting performances, artists, and community gatherings.
Scenes captured during the CoastOut Festival Opening Cocktail Party at Pacific Bay Resort, Coffs Harbour.
Coco Jumbo (left) and Carlotta (right) during live performances and audience interaction.
Photographs by Raymond Mather.
Raymond also inaugurated and coordinated the academic conference Gender and Sexuality in Rural and Regional Australia, presented in partnership with Southern Cross University and held on Friday 28 October 2011 at the Coffs Harbour campus. The conference formed part of CoastOut’s broader cultural and educational program, situating LGBTQIA+ issues within an academic and regional Australian framework and strengthening links between community celebration, institutional collaboration, and public discourse.
CoastOut Festival Conference flyer, Gender and sexuality in rural and regional Australia, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, 2011.
Behind-the-scenes view from the CoastOut Festival Opening Cocktail Party at Pacific Bay Resort, Coffs Harbour.
Raymond Mather photographed while documenting live performances and audience interaction during the event.
This material provides contemporaneous documentation of CoastOut’s role in fostering cultural visibility, interdisciplinary exchange, and community engagement through artistic, social, and educational platforms.
A significant milestone during this period was Cr8Studios’ role in inaugurating and coordinating the CoastOut Conference, Gender and Sexuality in Rural and Regional Australia, delivered in partnership with Southern Cross University at the Coffs Harbour campus. Cr8Studios also hosted the associated CoastOut exhibition as part of the broader CoastOut community event program. CoastOut was later awarded the Australia Day Award 2012 for Best Community Event.
In October 2011, Cr8Studios established and presented the Inaugural CoastOut Exhibition, Sensual, which served as the official public launch platform for CoastOut. The exhibition formed part of the opening program at Cr8Studios and marked the first public presentation of CoastOut as a community initiative. The launch was formally opened by the Mayor of Coffs Harbour, Denise Knight, and Deputy Mayor Kerry Hines, confirming CoastOut’s civic recognition and community significance from its inception.
Cr8Studios maintained a professional communications and promotional strategy throughout this period. The venue operated an official website, maintained a database of over 600 members, produced monthly newsletters, issued press releases for each event, and was regularly featured across regional newspapers, council listings, arts networks, and online event platforms. The gallery sustained a strong public presence through consistent branding, printed promotional material, and an active social media platform.
The Cr8Studios Annual Program Summary 2011–2012 documents this period as a concentrated phase of independent cultural production, community engagement, and creative leadership. It reflects a model of artist-led infrastructure that combined curatorial vision, professional operations, education, and inclusive community participation.
Foundational Practice (Pre-Cr8Studios)
Prior to establishing Cr8Studios in Coffs Harbour, Raymond Mather developed extensive curatorial and community arts experience at the Tanks Art Centre, Cairns (2000-2005), working across exhibitions, installations, education programs, and large-scale community events during the venue’s formative operational years.
The Cr8Studios archive reflects a period of collaborative artistic engagement in regional NSW, documenting community arts practice, festival integration, and academic exchange through exhibitions, events, and public forums.
ART1 Archive Context
This page sits within the ART1 Archive, documenting professional experience and cultural engagement prior to the launch of ART1.
View other credits, projects, and cultural initiatives documented in the ART1 Archive.