The former site of Cornucopia Bakery will have a new lease of life as Braddon's latest pop-up venture combining an art space, café and bar.
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Gorgeous Mortar will be officially launched on Friday, but Canberrans won't have long to check out the "community arts hub" before it winds up on October 5.
The Inside Out Space street art studio has been operating from the venue at 40 Mort Street for the past six weeks, but it will now expand to include a "funky" cafe and bar showcasing live music, art exhibitions and installations.
The collaborators behind the project, musician Karina Bontes Forward, performance poet Zoe Anderson and painter and street artist Dai Cameron, see it as a chance to celebrate the changing face of Braddon as "a location bursting with expression, fun and urban vibes".
"We are passionate about taking advantage of buildings which are at a certain point in time of their evolution," the trio say on the Gorgeous Mortar website.
"There is something beautiful about drawing attention to a building's rich history and thereby growing fresh and spontaneous culture, capturing the community's attention before a space undergoes dramatic change.
"We believe in the value of making opportunities to showcase diverse local artists in alternative spaces."
Bontes Forward said the cafe and bar will focus on simple, quality food, beer and wine from local suppliers and the exhibition and performance space will give local artists a chance to showcase their talents in an accessible environment.
A development application to demolish the building to make way for a seven-storey mixed commercial and residential development was lodged last December.
Bontes Forward said the project was a way to say goodbye to the space before it's demolished like many older buildings in the area.
"It's really banking on the spontaneity of it," Bontes Forward said.
"It's a cool building, it holds a place in a lot of people's hearts ... I grew up with Cornucopia around, so did lots of people."
The trio's original plans to use the entire building including neighbouring shops and a laneway were downsized to focus on the former Cornucopia site.
Bontes Forward said the group had navigated a lot of regulations to bring the unprecedented venture to life, but now that it had all come together it would feature live acoustic music, weekday lunch time concerts, live art shows and more during its tenure.
The group members are pouring their own money into the community venture "as a gift to the community", but hope to recoup the costs through a crowdfunding campaign with a target of $10,000.
"It's not a money-making venture ... the idea is it's a space people can come to collaborate," Bontes Forward said.
"It's fairly non-hierarchical, we want people to come here who don't have an opportunity to play at other places and we're hiring out the gallery very cheaply to artists."
The trio is also calling for submissions of old Electric Shadows posters, or photographs of 40 Mort Street for Forty Morty – a project celebrating the stories and past tenants from September 25 to October 2.
The official launch on Friday, September 11, will coincide with the opening of a printmaking exhibition from final year ANU School of Art visual artist Tristan Sidgwick and food artistry from Motley and Sprocket chef Clair Boyer.
Gorgeous Mortar is open every day except Tuesdays at 40 Mort Street, Braddon, until Monday, October 5.
For more information visit: gorgeousmortar.com.au.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the project extended to the former Electric Shadows Bookshop site and hairdresser.
