The Lion Arts Centre, also known as Fowler's Lion Factory and Fowlers Building, with the main music venue within known as the Lion Arts Factory (formerly Fowler's Live), is a multi-purpose arts centre, including studios, galleries, music and performance centres, and offices in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia. It is situated on the corner of North Terrace and

Morphett Street Morphett Street is a main street in the west of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia, parallel to King William Street and numbered from north to south. At its northern end it is part of the West End of Adelaide, a thriving cultural and ...

in Adelaide's West End, in a refurbished and repurposed factory once owned by wholesale grocers D. & J. Fowler Ltd. With its distinctive red brick federation-style architecture, the 1906 building designed by Frank Counsell is state heritage-listed. After its use as a factory ceased, the building started being used as a performance space. It was known as the Living Arts Centre from about 1986 until 1992, during which time the building was renovated, converted and renamed to Lion Arts Centre.

History

The building

The Fowler's "Lion" Factory, with its distinctive

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

topped by a statue of a lion, was designed by architect Frank Counsell in federation style for D. & J. Fowler Ltd in 1906. The brickwork was built by W. Sander & Sons, while the lion statue took three months to be carved by a

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

stonemason, John Patrick Jackson. The building is noted for its high-quality brick detailing and the well-designed composition of the facade. The building was used for packaging Fowler's Lion brand of flour, and the (original and now restored) signage on the parapet still says 'Fowler's "Lion" Factory'. Fowler's wide range of Lion brand products, trademarked in 1886, were very popular. The original symmetrical shape of the facade was destroyed in 1966, when the eastern wing was demolished for the widening of Morphett Street and the construction of two new bridges across North Terrace and the

River Torrens The River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Ad ...

Conversion to arts use

D & J Fowler was only taken over by Southern Farmers Ltd in 1982-83, but the factory lay vacant from around the middle of the 20th century, until the space was revived in the 1970s as offices and performance space for the

Adelaide Fringe Festival Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

, which included live music and was known as the Fringe Club. In 1984, there was a Steering Committee appointed to investigate the feasibility of the Living Arts Centre, the precursor to the Lion Arts Centre, with the full conversion of the building planned in 1991.

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

lists ten sources which list performances at the Living Arts Centre between February 1986 and February 1990 (and one in 1994, but this may be an anomaly). In 1992 the factory and surrounds was converted into an arts centre, henceforth known as the Lion Arts Centre, which became home to a variety of arts organisations. In 1988, a copy of the lion was installed on the parapet, the original having moved with D & J Fowler. The yellow material seen slurping over the wall from the roof would represent custard, signifying the shift from industrial-commercial use of the building to arts use. The Lion brand of custard powder is still on sale as at 2022 .

1992–present

After the creation of the centre in 1992, its tenants moved in, including the

Media Resource Centre Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, which aims to give scr ...

, Dance Hub SA, and Craftsouth (formerly Craft Association of South Australia), a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

supporting visual artists and designers. , the Lion Arts Centre accommodates the Media Resource Centre,

Nexus Arts Nexus Arts, formerly a collective known as the Multicultural Arts Workers Committee, then Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre, is a not-for-profit contemporary arts organisation and venue in Adelaide, South Australia. History Nexus began as an ...

, ACE Open galleries and studios, the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

offices and Guildhouse (formerly Craftsouth). The JamFactory and

Mercury Cinema Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, which aims to give scr ...

are adjacent and sometimes regarded as part of the complex. In November 2024 the state government announced a new program, called LOFT, in collaboration with the

Australian Dance Theatre Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), known as Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre from 1993 to 1999, is a contemporary dance company based in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman . The ADT was the first moder ...

(ADT). The program, beginning in mid-2025, will include a dedicated space at Lion Arts, to be used for residencies and mentorship of dancers developing new dance works, with administrative support from ADT. Works developed in the LOFT space, located in the 1st floor studio formerly occupied by Dance Hub SA (which closed in mid-2024), would be showcased as part of

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

in 2026.

Music

Music House

In 2000–2001, Music House at the Lion Arts Centre was established, to provide in order to promote and develop the contemporary music industry in South Australia. It occupied Level 1 of the building until 2002.

Music SA

From sometime before 2007 until 2015, the not-for-profit training and music promotion organisation Music SA was located on Level 1, with the address given as "Fowlers Building" for some of that time.

Fowler's Live

On 4 July 2003, the music venue named Fowler's Live opened on the ground floor. It hosted a wide range of live music, including

The Bellrays The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) is an American rock group that combines garage rock and punk with soul music, founded in Riverside, California in 1990 by vocalist Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum. They have been with sever ...

Paul Dempsey Paul Anthony Dempsey (born 25 May 1976) is an Australian musician. He is best known as the lead singer, guitarist and principal lyricist of rock group Something for Kate. Dempsey released his debut solo album, '' Everything Is True'', on 20 A ...

Ben Kweller Benjamin Lev Kweller (born June 16, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A former member of Radish, Kweller has released six solo albums and appeared on several collaborations. Early life Ben Kweller was born in S ...

, and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

. The

Fowler's Live Music Awards The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary m ...

ran from 2012 to 2014, before being rebranded as the

South Australian Music Awards The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary m ...

in 2015. The lease ended and Fowler's Live closed at the end of 2018.

Lion Arts Factory

With a tender process selecting the new lessees of the venue in August 2018, Ross Osmon and Craig Lock from Five Four Entertainment and Hugo Pedler from West Oak Hotel, along with design collaborators Sam, Simon and Tim Pearce of Frame Creative, put together a pitch and won the lease to start operating from 1 January 2019, under the name Lion Arts Factory. After a major renovation in January 2019, the ground floor,

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

and

mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...

are occupied by The Lion Arts Factory, a live music venue. Previously boarded windows had been opened up to let light in, paint stripped off the red brick walls, the main stage extended to and the mezzanine reopened. Downstairs is the Coopers Green Room, with

chesterfield sofa A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, chesterfield, or davenport, is a cushioned piece of furniture that can seat multiple people. It is commonly found in the form of a bench with upholstered armrests and is often fitted with springs and ...

s. The emphasis is on live music, but management is also keen to host other forms of

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

, in particular theatre and comedy. All genres of music– heavy metal, rock and goth,

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, electric,

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and others–are featured. Capacity is 500 and the venue opens until 5am on weekends. The venue hosted

performances from 2020. The venue won the

' Best Venue award for two years in a row, and contributes around to the local economy annually. Along with all live music venues, the Lion Arts Factory has been badly impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

, losing over 250 shows as of October 2021. The co-owners of the venue and Five Four Entertainment have asked for financial assistance from the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

, and a five-year extension of their lease, to keep their businesses from ruin.

Footnotes

References

External links

*{{cite web, url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/2955, website=AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database, title=Lion Arts Centre Arts organisations based in Australia