The Social Studio

In 2009, a group of Melbourne community members, local designers and fashion industry professionals joined together with a common idea: to embrace up-cycled fashion as a vehicle for social change and uplift youth from migrant and refugee backgrounds.

Working side-by-side with the community-at-large, their unique not-for-profit model was born as an initiative to empower; creating education and employment pathways and in the process involving wider new migrant and refugee communities, too.

From launching their storefront on Smith Street, The Social Studio  has continued to grow, with their ethical and sustainable business ecosystem now providing education and employment opportunities across the enterprise.  Over the past decade, they have provided more than 780 youth from migrant and refugee backgrounds with meaningful, practical experience to support them as they build their futures, provided a number of jobs in our school, studio, store and beyond, win awards and so much more.

The Social Studio is accredited with Ethical Clothing Australia and are members of the Australian Fashion Council.

Sincerely Yours

Sincerely Yours is a musical tribute to Dame Verla Lynn and a celebration of the incredible life and music of the American Armed Forces Sweetheart, followed by afternoon tea.

Performed by multi-talented Victoria Mantynen, this heart warming production runs for 70 minutes with exceptional musicians bringing to life the music from the 40's - 60's with a couple of surprises along the way.

The show starts with a 20 minute 'live BBC broadcast' bringing back to life the energy and environment of when the boys were out in the field. Then it moves into a concert of insightful facts and beautiful music that will have the audience laugh, cry and sing along.

Victoria has been touring this show around Melbourne with wonderful success and rave reviews but it has been noted that a lot of seniors can not financially or physically access the arts. Wayward Woman Giving Fund has assisted with this change by contributing to the costs of production, allowing the show to be taken to more people, particularly in more remote areas of Victoria.​

Kat Rae presents shredded ephemera and woven paper works, utilising personal documents, that speak to her lived experience of domestic violence and suicide survivorship. Through destruction and recreation, Rae redefines the narrative using a feminist lens.

Drey Willows explores the paradox between exposure and anonymity through screen printed portraiture and obscurity of the image. These works critique systematic perpetration of gender-based violence, particularly media representations of violence and the failures of the criminal justice system to be trauma-informed.

Chiara Zeta’s work will harness the power of experimental textiles and ceramics to capture the elusive nature of fragmented traumatic memory. Her mixed-media works embody glimpses of survivorship which reflect both dissociation and tenacity.