Collingwood Yards
Collingwood Yards is a not-for-profit contemporary arts precinct in Collingwood, Melbourne, spanning over 6,500sqm across three buildings and a courtyard. It houses fifty-plus tenants — galleries, dining, retail and cultural organisations — using a cross-subsidy model where commercial rents fund affordable spaces for artists.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersCollingwood, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Collingwood Yards does
Collingwood Yards is a not-for-profit contemporary arts precinct operated by Contemporary Arts Precincts Ltd (CAP) in Collingwood, Melbourne, on the former Collingwood Technical School campus. The precinct spans over 6,500 square metres across three buildings and a leafy central courtyard, and houses more than fifty tenants including visual arts organisations (West Space, Arts Project Australia, APY Art Centre Collective), galleries, dining and bar venues (Hope St Radio, Runner Up, Stefanino Panino e Vino, Dua Bakehouse), retail (Licorice Pie, Bookshop by Uro, Permanent Vacation, The Social Studio Shop, Flower Club by XFLOS), and creative offices. It also conserves the Keith Haring Mural, the artist's only remaining large-scale public artwork in Australia.
The business model is a cross-subsidy structure: market-rate commercial tenancies (dining, bars, retail, offices) fund subsidised affordable spaces for artists and cultural organisations. Public access to the precinct is free, and the site is open to 11pm on event days. Additional revenue is generated through venue hire — CY Venue (a fitted performance/event space with stage, green room and technical infrastructure), CY Courtyard (a high-capacity outdoor event space), CY Space (a 40-seat community room for workshops, screenings, meetings and pop-ups), and three Meeting Rooms — plus filming and photography location agreements, partnerships with Creative Victoria (Government Partner) and Bank of Melbourne (Founding Corporate Partner), and public donations including a dedicated Keith Haring Mural Fund.
Distribution is entirely physical and local/regional: the precinct serves Victoria's creative community as a permanent home and the general public as visitors, while venue hire and location agreements attract event organisers, brands, and creative productions. Marketing runs through the precinct's website, email newsletter, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, earned media coverage, and on-site programming including exhibitions, performances, markets and festivals. The site is held under a deed requiring it to remain a place of cultural production in trust for the public of Victoria, providing a regulatory moat against redevelopment.
Collingwood Yards firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Collingwood Yards
- Legal name
- Contemporary Arts Precincts Ltd
- Website
- https://collingwoodyards.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Collingwood Yards is a not-for-profit contemporary arts precinct in Collingwood, Melbourne, spanning over 6,500sqm across three buildings and a courtyard. It houses fifty-plus tenants — galleries, dining, retail and cultural organisations — using a cross-subsidy model where commercial rents fund affordable spaces for artists.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Collingwood Yards industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Arts precinct and cultural venue management
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cultural Centers & Multidisciplinary Arts Institutions (THAJADAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Multipurpose Event Center Operations (Civic Centers, Community Event Complexes) (MPAGALAE), Multi-Purpose Event Halls & Community Centers (THAHAAAI)
Keywords
Where Collingwood Yards is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Collingwood
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Collingwood Yards business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Commercial Tenancy Rents: Commercial tenants (dining, bars, retail, offices) pay market-rate rents which cross-subsidise affordable spaces for artists and cultural organisations. This unique cross-subsidy model sustains the not-for-profit arts incubator.
- Venue Hire: Spaces including CY Venue, CY Space, CY Courtyard, and Meeting Rooms are available for hire for events, exhibitions, workshops, and performances. Location agreements for filming and photography generate location fees.
- Government and Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with Creative Victoria (Government Partner) and Bank of Melbourne (Founding Corporate Partner) provide funding and support for operations.
- Donations: Public donations are accepted, including a Keith Haring Mural Fund.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Location fees for commercial filming and photography |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Collingwood Yards product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Collingwood Yards operates a not-for-profit arts precinct spanning over 6500sqm across three buildings and a central courtyard at 35 Johnston St, Collingwood, Melbourne. It provides subsidised studio and tenancy spaces for artists and cultural organisations, hireable event venues (CY Venue, CY Courtyard, CY Space, CY Meeting Rooms), pop-up retail opportunities, and filming/photography locations, with the heritage-listed Keith Haring Mural as a permanent cultural attraction. The precinct is open to the public free of charge and sustains affordable creative space through a cross-subsidy model funded by commercial tenancies, venue hire, donations, and government/corporate partnerships.
Product overview
Collingwood Yards is a not-for-profit arts precinct operating as a single unified venue ecosystem rather than a traditional software product. The core offering consists of venue hire spaces (CY Venue, CY Courtyard, CY Space, CY Meeting Rooms) for events, performances, exhibitions, and community gatherings, complemented by a community of over fifty tenant businesses including galleries (APY Art Centre Collective, Arts Project Australia, West Space), dining venues (Hope St Radio, Stefanino Panino e Vino, Runner Up, Dua Bakehouse), retail (Licorice Pie, Bookshop by Uro, Permanent Vacation, The Social Studio Shop, Flower Club by XFLOS), and creative organisations. The precinct also conserves the Keith Haring Mural as a heritage feature. The unique cross-subsidy model uses commercial tenancies to subsidise affordable spaces for artists and cultural organisations. Venue hire services and filming/photography location agreements provide revenue to sustain the community.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CY Venue A versatile event and performance venue within the Johnston Street building, equipped with stage, green room, foyer, climate control, adjustable lighting, and technical infrastructure for performances, launches, presentations, panel events and livestreams. Available for hire.
- CY Courtyard A high-capacity outdoor event space at the centre of the precinct, suitable for exhibitions, installations, performances, markets, showcases, festivals, live music and parties. Available for hire.
- CY Space A versatile community room and activity space on the upper ground level of the Johnston Street building, equipped with projector, speakers, A/C, block-out blinds, and seating for up to 40 people; suited to exhibitions, workshops, presentations, meetings, rehearsals, pop-ups, panels, screenings, and film/photo shoots. Available for hire.
- CY Meeting Rooms Three unique private meeting rooms located in the Johnston and Perry Street buildings, available by the hour for meetings, workspaces, and photo or film shoots, with shared kitchenette facilities.
- CY Space Pop-ups Short-term pop-up spaces off the courtyard for businesses seeking temporary retail or activity tenancies.
- Filming and Photography Location Hire Courtyard, escarpment, corridors, and walkways provided as locations for commercial or creative shoots under a Location Agreement, with quote-based fees varying by impact and budget.
- Keith Haring Mural Fund (Donations) A public donation fund supporting ongoing conservation of the heritage-listed Keith Haring Mural and the precinct's arts programming consistent with Haring's 'art for everyone' ethos.
Companies that use Collingwood Yards
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Collingwood Yards technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Collingwood Yards partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Contemporary Arts Precincts LtdcoreOwner and manager of Collingwood Yards. CAP has been deeded the site under conditions ensuring it remains a place of cultural production and creativity, in trust for the public of Victoria.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Collingwood Yards competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Southbank Centre: London's largest arts centre, a multi-venue complex combining concert halls, galleries, and public cultural spaces. Comparable as a multi-tenant cultural venue operation with venue hire and programming, but operating at much larger scale and with a national-level footprint.
- National Gallery of Victoria (NGV): Australia's largest art museum, operating galleries on two Melbourne sites with venue hire, public programming, and major exhibitions. Broader incumbent with overlapping arts/cultural function but operating at vastly greater scale as a museum rather than as a community arts precinct.
- ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image): Federally backed Melbourne cultural institution at Federation Square with permanent galleries, exhibitions, and venue hire. Broader incumbent operating at much larger scale across moving-image content rather than multidisciplinary arts tenancy.
- Arts Centre Melbourne: Major Melbourne performing arts complex (Hamer Hall, State Theatre, Playhouse) with significant venue-hire and event programming. Comparable as a Victorian cultural venue operator but at substantially larger scale and focused on performing arts rather than multi-tenancy creative precinct.
Direct peers
- The Wheeler Centre: Melbourne literary and ideas centre operating meeting/event rooms, hosting performances, talks, and community programs. Comparable as an inner-Melbourne cultural institution offering venue hire (meeting rooms, events) and public-facing programming.
- Carriageworks: Sydney-based contemporary arts precinct housed in a former industrial railway workshop. Directly comparable: repurposed heritage site, multiple arts tenant organisations, venue hire for performances and exhibitions, and a cross-subsidised affordable-space mission similar to Collingwood Yards.
- Abbotsford Convent: Melbourne heritage-listed convent site repurposed into a creative and cultural precinct with multiple resident tenants, studios, and event venues. Closely comparable model in terms of inner-Melbourne location, multi-tenancy cultural use, and venue hire for events.
- Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA): Melbourne contemporary art institution presenting exhibitions, public programs, and commissioning emerging artists. Comparable as a Victorian contemporary-arts venue with public exhibition programming and venue-hire-style activities.
- Gertrude Contemporary: Melbourne-based contemporary art organisation operating studios, galleries, and an offsite program in inner-city Preston/Southbank. Comparable in supporting emerging contemporary artists with subsidised studio spaces and exhibition programming.
- Artscape: Toronto-based non-profit that develops and manages affordable spaces for artists and cultural organisations across multiple sites. Comparable in mission (affordable cultural space), non-profit structure, and venue-management operating model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Collingwood Yards social profiles
Digital presenceCollingwood Yards financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Collingwood Yards leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Collingwood Yards funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Collingwood Yards M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Collingwood Yards
What does Collingwood Yards do?
Collingwood Yards operates a not-for-profit arts precinct spanning over 6500sqm across three buildings and a central courtyard at 35 Johnston St, Collingwood, Melbourne. It provides subsidised studio and tenancy spaces for artists and cultural organisations, hireable event venues (CY Venue, CY Courtyard, CY Space, CY Meeting Rooms), pop-up retail opportunities, and filming/photography locations, with the heritage-listed Keith Haring Mural as a permanent cultural attraction. The precinct is open to the public free of charge and sustains affordable creative space through a cross-subsidy model funded by commercial tenancies, venue hire, donations, and government/corporate partnerships.
Is Collingwood Yards a public or private company?
Collingwood Yards is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Collingwood Yards founded?
Collingwood Yards was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Collingwood Yards based?
Collingwood Yards is headquartered in Collingwood, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Collingwood Yards make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Commercial Tenancy Rents are the primary driver. The others are venue Hire, government and Corporate Partnerships and donations.
Who are Collingwood Yards's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Southbank Centre, National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) and Arts Centre Melbourne. Direct peers are The Wheeler Centre, Carriageworks, Abbotsford Convent, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Gertrude Contemporary and Artscape.
Does Collingwood Yards have an API?
No public API is recorded for Collingwood Yards.
What industry is Collingwood Yards in?
Collingwood Yards's product category is Arts precinct and cultural venue management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAJ, Cultural Centers & Multidisciplinary Arts Institutions, with a secondary code of MPAGALAE, Multipurpose Event Center Operations (Civic Centers, Community Event Complexes). Its NAICS code is 712 and its SIC code is 7900.