Embracing Creativity: Camilla Lawson's Visionary Approach to Fostering Collaboration and Inspiration

Creativity thrives in spaces where artists can inspire and support one another wholeheartedly. Camilla Lawson is not just a visual artist, event creator, and theatre owner; she is a visionary whose creative ethos resonates deeply with humanity. Her vision transcends individual disciplines, fostering collaboration among artists of diverse backgrounds. While others may describe her vision as majestic, Camilla humbly sees it as a "little majestic" — a testament to the profound impact of nurturing creativity in a dedicated environment. Her journey is a testament to the transformative power of collaboration and shared inspiration, reminding us all that greatness can emerge from even the smallest seeds of creativity. Lawson’s vision has become Little Majestic, a two-storey creative warehouse in Sydenham housing over 25 artists, makers, and designers. Its logo, depicting a watchful moon over Earth, symbolises their vision of a creative space that is both grand and approachable.

“The planet earth is reference to our vision of a creative space that touches everyone. It’s majestic but humble. A big vision yes, but it’s also about ensuring that it will also be shared by everyone. It’s accessible,” Camilla says.

Camilla’s ability to dream big but think proactively comes from an eclectic background, woven of science, academia and now the arts. Having first begun as a high school teacher in science, she went back to university, earning another degree that enabled her to focus on biotech. This new discipline saw her move to the prestigious Cambridge University in the United Kingdom as a research scientist.

A new life path then took her to the Northern Territory and while she continued to focus on science, the country began to shape her creative thinking.

“The Northern Territory is a wild and unique space. It’s rich with multicultural and indigenous culture, I felt drawn into this world.”

Completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Charles Darwin University, Camilla became involved in the local indigenous community, tutoring at Batchelor Institution of Indigenous Tertiary Education and researching and designing cultural heritage and natural history signage for the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission. At this time, Camilla was an active committee member in both the Darwin Visual Arts Association and the Darwin Homebirth Group. She was a founding member of the ARI, Darwin Visual Arts Gallery, which now boasts 6 harbourside galleries and studios and a founding member of the independent Milkwood Steiner School which continues to thrive. Returning to Sydney, with the support of a scholarship, Camilla completed a post graduate degree in film making at the University of Technology.

“Again, my electric background opened up opportunities and I fell into a role with Peats Ridge Sustainable Art and Music Festival. This involved eight years of working with emerging artists, as well as international headliners. I was very much now involved in a world of festivals, designing and managing backdrops and decorations for venues.”

“Pulled into the inner west” she again thrived in a community of artists, running her own business that managed council-based events. “A big part of my work was collaborating with artists, creating big themes and crafting creative concepts.” Her business ‘Mess with It’ invited artists and event makers to challenge the status quo with bold ideas but also built Camilla’s reputation as a big creative idea visualist. Inspired by this collective energy, and some wisdom from a local business person to “take a risk”, she founded a warehouse in Sloane St in Sydenham, and set up a vibrant creative hub. But after 6 years, the rent on the property doubled and Camilla went searching for new premises. Fast forward to now and Little Majestic remains a lively web of artistic freedom. Current artists that it houses include painter, sculptor and installations artists Eduardo Wolfe-Algeria and Kathryn Cowen, painter and sculptor Helen Smith and Jock Wheeldon an established writer. But after five years, this supportive space could just become a victim to greed. Little Majestic is now at risk of closure, from steep rising rents, the perennial scourge of urbane living. Despite the enormity of a double increase in rent, Camilla is confronting the challenge head-on. Balancing the added challenge of a “cat and mouse” strategy with the landlord, she is reaching out to her fellow creatives and makers with the hope of a creative group taking on the lease. “From all my experience working with artists, this is another example of artists helping artists,” Camilla says and has been “overwhelmed” with how the inner west creative community has rallied together to support Little Majestic. But there is only so much artistic support can lend to tackle steep economic challenge of exorbitant rents and here government planning and policy initiatives such as tax breaks for property owners is needed to really back an artistic community to thrive. While there is much to do on “proper planning” from councils by removing “planning hoops” from artists”, Camilla would like tax breaks once seen in the biotech sector to be extended to the arts industry. “It would be great to have the same level of investment that created a biotech industry in the 80’s into the arts but we are a long way off”. Without any support, the Little Majestic is slated to close in September. If governments and the people of the inner west truly can walk the talk on the arts and cultural life we like to boast about, perhaps Little Majestic’s ambition can be kept alive.

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Written by Priyanka Smithfield

Priyanka Smithfield is a creative writer and former journalist. She lives in the inner west and enjoys the myriad of cuisine on offer as well as the vibrancy of her neighbourhood. image 1: River of Poppies anzac (courtesy of Camilla Lawson)