Bond Place: The ❤️Beat of Gagebrook Returns!

We’re a tad excited - our favourite community hub Bond Place is back with an expansive nature play area, edible food garden and a flash new outdoor classroom.

In 2018 we wandered into a quiet cul de sac in Gagebrook, scouting for a location to launch a pop up community event. As we rounded the corner into Bond Place, we were greeted with warm welcomes, curiosity and care… We had stumbled into the heart of Gagey. 

Our first event - a 10 day pop-up - built on the work of the Design Studio for Social Intervention from Boston USA, in collaboration with the University of Tasmania. This was the second iteration of ‘Public Kitchen’ in Lutruwita.

What makes Bond Place special was the warm embrace from local residents and families - several of whom joined our team (Charmaine Cowen, Tenille Forster and Marcia Travers). And it was here we came to share space with one of Material Institute’s inaugural Board Directors (Kellyanne Williams). These courageous women paved the way.

Our first Bond Place event blossomed into our favourite community hub. When we first started, we made camp for 10 days… Five years later, we’ve run hundreds of pop-up classes, set up and packed down a gazillion market tents and shared a bazillion nourishing feasts from our fabulous foodies, featuring fresh produce from our gardens and many vessels and pots with Georgie.

Our regular sessions included everything from gardening and cooking, to Boot(y) Camp (think cosmic aerobics and body movement), bike mechanics, black smithery and listening to the heartbeat of plants. We explored natural textile dyeing, propagated and planted edibles for 24 Carrot schools and danced and sang along to a dazzling array of local and international performing artists and musicians.

And now, after an 11 month build and pause in regular programming, we're excited to welcome you into our new garden and outdoor classroom.

Come join us! We will be at Bond Place every Thursday after school, through to the end of Term 4, with additional programming to commence early in 2024. If you have ideas please get in touch. 

The spirit of Gagebrook has never been stronger and we can’t wait to see you.

by Sarah Proud, Material Institute CEO

*Our outdoor classroom was made possible with the support of the Building Better Regions Fund in partnership with Brighton Council and Centacare Evolve for the Gagebrook Renewal project. In addition, we are also eternally grateful for the support of our corporate partner, the Museum of Old and New Art.