Picabar is a small bar located in

Northbridge, Western Australia Northbridge is an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia, historically separated from Perth's central business district by the Fremantle and Joondalup railway lines. It is part of the City of Perth local government area. Location Loc ...

, within the

Perth Cultural Centre The Perth Cultural Centre is an area of central Perth, Western Australia, near the James Street Mall. It is home to a number of cultural institutions including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, State Library of ...

. It is situated within the old Perth Boys School building, part of the Perth Central School complex in the early 1900s, adjacent to the

Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) is a contemporary visual and performance arts venue located in a heritage-listed building in Perth, Western Australia. History 1896–1959: Schools The building at 53 James Street, Northbridge, which ...

(PICA) for which the bar is named. Picabar is the family business of brothers Brian and Conor Buckley, and Brian's wife Melissa Bowen. , it employed 15 people. The bar features an outdoor courtyard with access from the Cultural Centre, near the steps and plaza, as well as outdoor tables along the edge of the cultural centre. Picabar opened in 2012 in a disused space that had been boarded up for 12 years. The bar owners subleased the space from PICA with a six-month lease, and an option for a longer, ten-year term subject to PICA's lease from the state government being renewed. PICA's lease was not renewed, and both PICA and Picabar then ended up operating on month-to-month leases. Picabar's owners later stated that they were given assurances there would eventually be a long-term arrangement, a claim denied by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries' director general Duncan Ord. In October 2018, ownership of the precinct was transferred from the government to the

Perth Theatre Trust The Perth Theatre Trust is a statutory authority which manages and operates cultural venues in Western Australia. It manages His Majesty's Theatre, the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, the Subiaco Arts Centre (leased from the City of ...

(PTT), which terminated PICA's lease, and hence Picabar's sub-lease, with three weeks notice. PICA was to be given a new sublease from the PTT, excluding the bar area, which was to be opened up to an

expression of interest An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...

process. By early November, the government gave Picabar a temporary reprieve until March 2019, and Culture and Arts minister

David Templeman David Alan Templeman (born 21 November 1965) is an Australian politician who has been a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia since 2001, representing the seat of Mandurah. He is Leader of the House and Minist ...

intervened to ensure Picabar's owners would be given the first preference in negotiations. Public outrage led to a campaign to retain Picabar, culminating in a "Save Picabar" petition on

Change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...

that attracted 11,000 signatures, including direct competitors and other members of the state's hospitality industry. On 15 October 2019, a new five-year lease was signed, with an option for an extension. The lease requires renovations to be undertaken, with allowance for additional alfresco space. The incident, and the "people power" that saved Picabar, received national media coverage. File:Candlelight concert at Perth Cultural Centre.jpg, alt= File:Pica bar outdoor area.jpg, alt= File:Picar bar entry detail.jpg, alt=

References

External links

{{Official website Pubs in Perth, Western Australia Perth Cultural Centre