Masks are back! Please remember to wear yours when come along to ACC programs (unless you have an exemption). And please remember to use the QR code if you are onsite for more than 15 minutes. Thanks.

After COVID, and a year of not running the ever popular Alphington Open Studios weekend in the last week of November, the artists involved are keen to get going again this year (scheduled for 28-28 November for anyone who likes to diarise such things), but are also rethinking the event somewhat and contemplating new possibilities… and as such they are seeking new artists to join in.

So, if you are:

• a local practising artist (2D or 3D artist or photographer) with a studio in Alphington and would like to have your address on the map,

• a practising artist who lives nearby in surrounding suburbs who would be interested to joining in, or

• a local emerging artist keen to join in a group exhibition over the weekend,

please email us here. And someone from ACC or an artist already participating in the Alphington Open Studios weekend will be in touch. Be brave. How exciting!

Fred Colla was one of the artists exhibiting at ACC as part of the Alphington Open Studios weekend in 2019

If you have always wanted to ride into the sunset, or ride to the shops or ride to work, and never learnt how, now you can book into this workshop at Jika Jika Community Centre (our friends in Westgarth) to build up skills and confidence over 3 sessions. The cost $130/$60. What a great idea! Just call them on 9482 5100 to find out more and book in.

One of the nicest things about the programs run at a neighbourhood house is that they typically emerge from the local community.

We love helping people in the neighbourhood incubate their workshop idea, share their hobby or even share their professional talent with their neighbours, and it’s rewarding to think that our house has helped many people kick off their small business.

Currently Matthew is running regular guitar lessons and Manu recently ran the Chai Tea Workshop, the first of many cultural cooking experiences she hopes to share. Louisa is sharing her talents through the Art in the Shed classes and even the sewing machine workshops run by Gordon this term were a recommendation from another local, Louise, who told us how great he was.

And, now is the time of the year we ask you to put your thinking caps on, as we embark on program planning for second semester.

If you have a workshop or short course you’d like to run yourself for the community please email or call us on 9499 7227 and talk to Leanne. If you have any recommendations for a great workshop or activity you’ve been part of elsewhere and can send us the contact details for who ran it please also let us know. Or any other ideas of things we should do … we’re fans of new ideas here at ACC!

We’ll be working on the program early June, with a plan to have our brochure out and ready for letterboxing by the time school holidays roll around.

We’re looking forward to your input.

It’s the month of ‘weeks’… and this week is National Volunteer Week when we’d like to stop and thank all the volunteers involved in our centre.

We have volunteers on our committee of governance, volunteers who run programs, weekly volunteers, monthly volunteers and volunteers who help us run events and letterbox etc. on an irregular basis.

And we couldn’t do everything we do without them, without you!

So if you’re a volunteer (here or in another community organisation) thank you.