Support M16 Artspace: Invest in Creativity, Community and Cultural Legacy - Because Art Is for Everybody!

For 40 years, M16 Artspace has stood at the heart of Canberra’s visual arts scene as a home for artists, a hub for creativity, and a vital space where ideas, stories and identities come to life. It’s a place where art isn’t reserved for insiders only. It’s made, shared, and celebrated with everyone. Everything we do comes back to one belief - art is for everybody. In 2025, we invite you to celebrate this legacy with us and invest in our future.

At M16, we support artists at every stage of their journey. M16 Artspace is more than a gallery. It’s a vibrant, artist-led community dedicated to supporting contemporary visual arts. Our purpose is clear: provide affordable, professional studio and exhibition spaces for artists, and create meaningful public programs that bring art to all corners of our community. Each year, we support hundreds of artists, engage thousands of visitors, and champion inclusivity, dialogue and experimentation. And we do it all from a big old building in Griffith that’s full of character and buzzing with creative energy.

Why your support matters

In 2024, we backed 688 artists, including 671 from Canberra and nearby. Our program featured 45 exhibitions, from solo shows to collaborative group displays. We presented 32 exhibitions in our main galleries, 10 in the Chutespace Gallery, and three in our Foyer Gallery. From emerging creators to established voices, our artists explored urgent themes including identity, environment, labour, technology and invited audiences into deep reflection. Our five on-site workshop organisations alone welcomed over 15,000 visitors, and many of their classes provided income and mentorship opportunities for local artists. In 2024, our spaces welcomed over 21,000 visitors to our facilities.

These weren’t just numbers. They were conversations. Shared moments. A chance for people to see themselves reflected in art, and to see something new too.

We also worked with Hands On Studio to exhibit artists with disabilities. We welcomed over 400 young artists through Step Into the Limelight, and we hosted Creating Apart Together, where artists tackled distance, resilience and community. Our environmental residency, supported by ConceptSix, helped local artist Kirsten Wehner tell stories of Country alongside Ngunawal Elders.

And throughout all of this, the message was clear - art is for everybody, not just those who can afford it, study it or understand every concept. If it makes you feel something, it’s working.

Your support

By donating or sponsoring M16, you’ll help us:

• Offer artist residencies and professional development opportunities

• Deliver inclusive public events and exhibitions

• Upgrade our facilities so they’re safer and more accessible

You’ll also help us keep working on things like our Disability Inclusion Plan project and ensure that artists from diverse backgrounds have real space to grow.

We ended 2024 with a small deficit and made some tough choices, like pausing our Drawing Prize, so we could focus on core artistic programs. We stretched our budget to make critical investments in staffing, operations, and improved safety infrastructure. We absorbed these costs while increasing support to artists, implementing fair pay policies, and strengthening governance to prepare for the coming years. We’re proud of that. But we also know we can’t do it alone.
 
Your donation will help us deliver an exciting and inclusive exhibition program across four exhibition spaces while supporting artists and curators from Canberra, interstate and overseas. You can also help us in providing affordable studio space to individual artists and community arts organisations, and support our diverse public program initiatives. On top of that it's tax deductible!

Here are some of the ways your donation will help:

$ 50 will design and print an invitation for an exhibition
$ 100 will print room sheets for six exhibitions (we have 45 per year!)
$ 500 will buy paint and filler for the galleries for a year
$ 1,000 will provide M16 with internet and Wi-Fi for a year
$ 1,500 will cover our IT support for a year
$ 2,600 will contribute to sponsoring a studio artist
$ 3,500 will contribute to public program partnerships
$ 5,000 will cover gallery maintenance expenses for a year
$ 10,000 will cover advertising and insurance for a year
$ 20,000 will cover power, lighting and heating costs for a whole year

Donations over $500 will be recognised on our donors' wall in the M16 Artspace foyer for one year.

Let’s build the future together

This isn’t just about keeping the lights on. It’s about building a future where art is something everyone can be part of no matter their background, income or experience.

So, if you believe in what we’re doing, we’d love your support. Whether you can give a little or a lot, you’ll be part of something bigger. Something creative, hopeful and grounded in creativity and community. Your support will allow us to continue delivering innovative, inclusive, and impactful arts programming, while adapting to a changing cultural landscape.

M16 Artspace is ready for the next 40 years. Let’s get there together. Because art is for everybody.

If you would like to discuss your donation, please contact:
Lucy Chetcuti
Generalmanager@m16artspace.com
02 6295 9438

Click to donate via our secure website and receive your tax receipt before June 30.