Pics by Tom Blachford
Located within the transcendent realms of Collingwood Yards.
Melbourne’s beloved Hope St Radio has just made a permanent move to Collingwood Yards – a new dynamic environment that brings with it many perks for a mushrooming, ambitious organisation.
It comes four years after they left their original base of Hope St, Brunswick. The broadcaster has also resided at Rooftop Bar, Lazerpig, the Melbourne Zoo and Coburg Night Market across the trip. Now they can settle into the one home, something which brings with it comfort and convenience.
“We were restricted by where we were broadcasting, in terms of what times we could do, how much freedom we had with what we wanted to do,” Hope St founder Pete Baxter says. “Now, we have the freedom to broadcast whenever we like, we can broadcast whatever we like, and it’s a huge benefit to be able to support the station from our own space rather than relying on venue partners.”
What you need to know
- Hope St Radio has opened up its new home at Collingwood Yards
- More than just a radio station, Hope St also doubles as a wine bar and events space
- Through their futuristic Collingwood Yards space, Hope St are expanding on radio as an ‘art form’
Stay up to date with what’s happening in Melbourne here.
Collingwood Yards has also offered Hope St the opportunity to collaborate and be part of a wider network, all of which can directly or indirectly benefit the radio station.
“A bunch of the people in there were already involved in radio anyway, like Liquid Architecture were already,” Baxter continues. “We’ve worked together on a bunch of shows [with Liquid] before and are doing a series at the moment called disorganising … while our masks we had to make this week were done by The Social Studio just upstairs.
“There’s already some really nice interaction happening there and of course it’s only going to keep growing and that’s a huge reason as to why we’re lucky to be there.”
It all ties in to the idea of interaction, which doesn’t stop with the collaborators mentioned above. Alongside their broadcast, Hope St run an impressive array of events curated by beloved local producer Moopie. While their Collingwood Yards space doubles as a wine bar serving fresh pasta, oysters, salads and cake.
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Such is Hope St’s versatility, to hear Baxter talk about his radio station sounds almost akin to having someone describe a spider’s web.
The thing about this web, however, maybe more than anything else, is that it doesn’t feel pinned on radio. Hope St’s website, their social media feeds, the innate logic behind all of their collaborations – they all feel like they’re part of something greater than any one thing. To lean on cliché, it’s ‘bigger than radio’.
Something that comes out of no particular inspiration, loosely Lot Radio in Brooklyn, what Hope St are doing at Collingwood Yards is something you won’t find anywhere else in Melbourne.
They’re redefining what it means to deliver a radio broadcast, with vibrant and exciting results.
“It’s the natural expansion on the idea of radio as an art form, and combining that with food and wine,” Baxter continues.
“The radio and the presenters are a big part of why people are coming to the space as well. I think that traditionally, hospitality spaces or restaurants are an environment where music is incredibly important, and a restaurant is like a piece of art really.”
While the current lockdown is playing havoc with Hope St’s events and radio broadcast, it’s only a momentary pause for this chameleon, one that’s eager to interact and collaborate with others, be that in person at upcoming gigs, with the communities surrounding them at Collingwood Yards, or with those who simply wander into the bar for a knock-off after work.
Hope St Radio is now located at 35 Johnston Street, Collingwood. Check out their website here.
