BLAK PEARL STUDIO DROP IN STUDIO SERVICE
NOW RUNNING TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS
Blak Pearl Studio is open
We are currently running the Drop in Studio service
TWO DAYS day a week
Tuesdays AND Thursdays
12pm-5pm
at the Florence Peel Centre
we’re at the rear of the building
BUT
enter from the front and ring the doorbell
All Mob are welcome to come in, access high quality art materials and a space to work (and store their works), get a feed, talk about any advocacy needs, and link up with the local community. The studio has a particular focus on Mob in the region who are unable to access mainstream services due to hardship, stigma, and a mistrust in bureaucratic settings and services. Community comes first no matter how they show up!
Partnering organisations are welcome to drop in on our open days (current Tuesdays) with any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander clients. No bookings necessary, but get in touch with our Studio Manager Jaguar Stevenson if you have more than two clients with you (the best email is blakpearlfitzroy@gmail.com). Also get in touch if you'd like to run a tailored program just for your clients. We can talk about how to accommodate this on other days around the drop-in studio.
Last year we were only able to open Blak Pearl up for 19 days. Even with this limited time, we had 148 visits from Mob, served 166 eat-in and take away meals, and provided 20 instances of support, advocacy and referral.
We are going to do more in 2026. Future Tense has commited to underwriting one day per week of the drop-in service at Blak Pearl. This will see the number of days we are open this year jump from 19 to 48. However, we are keen to expand even further. If you would like to hire the studio, sponsor an additional drop in studio day, or collaborate on programming or outreach, please hit up Fjorn Bastos (fjorn@futuretense.com.au) to talk through the opportunities. We would also love to hear from you about what services you offer, and how Blak Pearl Studio can work with you on community safety, health and wellbeing, and arts and culture in the Yarra region.
We are looking forward to a fantastic year for community, connection, collaboration and creative exploration.
BLAK PEARL OUTREACH PROGRAMS - MSIR ART PROGRAM
RUNS EVERY WEDNESDAY 2pm -5pm
At NRCH Community Rooms - 23 Lennox St, Richmond
Working in collaboration with the late Aunty Vivian Malo - Aboriginal Health Worker at the North Richmond Community Health Centre- , we took the Blak Pearl model to the North Richmond High Rise estate footprint - which is home to the North Richmond Community Health service and the Medically Supervised Injecting Rooms (MSIR). The MSIR serves a significant number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These facilities are designed as a harm-reduction measure to provide a safe, clinical environment for injecting drug use, aiming to reduce overdose deaths and provide access to health services
In 2023 we were the recipients of three years of funding thanks to the Inner North Community Foundations’ Bakers Dozen Social Justice Fund. This funding allowed us to develop a Memorandum of Understanding with North Richmond Community Health to take over the delivery of their art program to folk who access the Medically Supervised Injecting Rooms, and commence delivery of a weekly art program.
Once a week for three hours we provide
High quality art materials
Facilitators and Elder-led workshops
Takeaway meals such as sandwiches and pastries
Some material support such as mutual aid
YARN N YAMUCK
In late 2025 Blak Pearl’s Outreach program to MSIR was awarded funding to investigate expansion of the program. We started to pursue ways to change negative perceptions of drug users as it impacts the safety of the community and the effectiveness of staff who work with and for the community.
We were able to ascertain the following that
Participants in the MSIR Art Program reported that having something meaningful to look forward to each week was a significant benefit,
For many Aboriginal people who use drugs, spaces where they can exist free of judgment and can experience themselves as worthy of honour and respect are far too rare.
In this context, joy is not just a fleeting emotion, but a vital survival tool that helps break the cycles of judgment and trauma, fostering healing and collective empowerment for one of the most stigmatized and underserved communities.
Through regular gatherings with the fundamentals for coming together and sharing culture such as cultural activities, alongside the sharing of food, we can foster joy and dignity through the celebration of Aboriginal identity that will create opportunities for healing and connection.
YARN N YUMACK will run monthly alongside Ngwala’s Monthly community BBQ. For more information get in touch
BLAK PEARL EXHIBITION 2025
Blak Pearl Studio’s Annual exhibition hosted by Brodriggy Brewing Co in Abbotsford has now ended
The exhibition showcased works by artists who use the Blak Pearl Studio - including works from Aunty Colleen Beeton, Thelma Beeton, Clay Holland, Kurly, Aunty Minelle Creed and Jai Wright, Tyrhys Wirrum Wilson. .
The exhibition will also showcased works from our partners and supporters within the metro region including works from the Deadly First Nations Shout Out collective
Works can still be viewed and purchased
click on the link below to view the exhibition catalogue
Blak pearl would like to thank all our supporters over the years - from in-kind material donations, discounts and sponsorship of events and exhibitions
TO VIEW THE EXHIBITION
CATALOGUE
CLICK ON THE IMAGE
Blak Pearl is a creative studio in Fitzroy that provides a culturally safe environment and wheelchair accessible site for local Aboriginal peoples who cannot access mainstream spaces due to extreme hardship, stigma and isolation.
It is a place to gather and connect, develop and expand on artistic skills, and showcase the artistic outcomes of a talented and underrepresented community.
The Studio provides a cooked lunch, food aid and some material aid, access to good quality artistic materials such as paints, canvas, wood burners etc, and is staffed by members of the local community.
The
The initiative is working to establish an appropriate and sustainable sovereign-led and viable permanent space for the community.
The Drop in Studio program is currently being delivered by Future Tense Pty Ltd in partnership with a network of support service organisations such as BAHN Inc, North Richmond Community Health, City of Yarra, Neighbourhood Justice Centre, Ngwala Willumbong and Connecting Home.
Future Tense Pty Ltd is currently funding the one day drop in service and we are keen to expand what is on offer. If you would like to hire the studio, sponsor a drop in studio day, or collaborate on programming or outreach - get in touch
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation please follow the link below
Your support will enable Blak Pearl to realise its ambitions and create a positive space for the community to thrive.
IMAGE: Studio Room 1 - corner wall of works produced on and off site
IMAGE: Uncle Dootrule wearing Aunty Colleen Beeton’s hand painted jacket, outside the studio in the courtyard
Our aspirations for the next three years are to:
Expand studio opening hours to increase the number of community members we can serve
3 days - Drop in Studio
2 Days - Partner Programming
Add specialist programming for the specific needs of the Yarra Aboriginal community – to strengthen opportunities for women, youth and queer mob, and,
Continue to deliver the art program at the Medically Supervised Injecting Rooms
If you would like more information about how you can support Blak Pearl please get in touch - blakpearlfitzroy@gmail.com
Lead Studio Elder
Uncle Ronald (Ringo) Terrick
Wurundjeri Gunai/Kurnai
In the absence of community minded organisations in the Yarra catchment that have not corporatised or implemented security measures that impact our people and self determination – Blak Pearl has become a real destination and a community asset. Over the last three years every detail was considered to ensure the Studio’s success – for example Elders and mob from across the State gravitate towards the studio due to its geographical location.
Fitzroy is the centre of our important historical meeting and organising grounds and now more than ever it is important to honour and retain the regions identity as a safe place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. At the Studio we work at the coalface; we focus on everyday life challenges and barriers that people face. We witness on a daily basis the ongoing impacts of colonisation on folk, their life long battles that stem from generations of disempowerment that have led to complexities so deeply engrained that it can be impossible to imagine a future otherwise.
Blak Pearl Studio is a safe space that speaks to what other places and institutions struggle to address. Our team and community have the ability to delve deeper into the aspirations of those experiencing difficult circumstances and disadvantage – unravelling complexity by developing trust and exercising patience and perspective. We take seriously governance that prioritises self determination, we don’t surveil the community, we enact modes of working together that are communal rather than authoritarian, we ensure we are approachable to folk with high levels of mistrust of others, and we accommodate the community with deep understanding at the forefront of how we relate. From folk who are members of the stolen generations, to those who intersect frequently with the justice system – we do our best to pull mob back into community and towards their destinies.
The Community
“There’s a lot of people in the community that do wood burning, pottery, and painting - there’s so much talent and it’s getting wasted. They’re all coming out of prison... and they have nowhere to paint and show their artwork. There’s a lot of potential [at Florence Peel Centre], it’s a space where people can have time out and feel safe from things like domestic violence and all that. They’ll just paint and heal their soul.”
— Aunty Tracey - Blak Pearl Community Advisor
“It’s a place to come down to do artwork, share stories. A lot of the people in the community have talent, they just need a push. We never had something like this [Florence Peel Centre] to offer them, so now that they have this you’ll be able to pull a lot of people in and make a change.”
— Angela - Yarra and Blak Pearl Community member
Blak Pearl is supported by
