Our Impact

Funhouse Studio actively supports our local community by subsidising the cost to run events, projects, workshops and other programming at the Funhouse and beyond, with particular focus on supporting the ideas and initiatives of our Shire’s young people. We offer youth mentorship opportunities, as well as a safe space to join together and create.

You can learn more about our projects here.

From 2016 - 2019 we raised over $80,000 to subside the cost of hire (this number is reflected in our yearly membership fees). Each year we seek not only to maintain but also to increase our membership in order to ensure that the Funhouse remains open, affordable and accessible. We are currently working to expand our reach beyond our region, as we whole-heartedly believe that every town needs a Funhouse.

We are proud to have fostered a strong youth presence at the Funhouse, as some of our youngest members have organised classes, workshops, fundraisers and events in the space completely free of charge. Events tend to be the most popular way our young people use the space, with a particular focus on music events, a majority of which were also fundraisers for social causes or small business ideas.

The majority of use conducted in the space by the general public was done by small business owners. A large portion of these owners were testing out their business ideas for the first time. These statistics have been powerful indicators for us, as they show that once financial barriers are lowered or lessened, people are willing to try something new. We at Funhouse Studio are committed to helping increase the output of ideas, and more specifically, ventures that involve social impact initiatives much like our own.

One of the first major aims in creating the Funhouse was to build a dance studio space. This space is used quite frequently and welcomes various dance classes, groups and performers. The downstairs event space was also popular for performances, classes and fundraisers. It accommodated several music events, hosting both local, national and international acts. The creative output of the space was quite tangible. Our members have noted that the networking alone increased our Shire’s creative output twofold.

SUMMARY

In short, reinvesting funds back into youth, community and creative initiatives in the Bega Valley Shire has yielded very positive results, with particular focus on incubating ideas that bring people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities together to create under one roof. As is such, we are curious to take these ideas out of the Bega Valley and to test them in a broader marketplace. 2020 will see us focus on the many ways in which new technologies can connect regional Australia with the rest of the world.