I was reticent moving to St. Peters because it seemed so far from King Street. I’d lived in Newtown and Erskineville for 15 years. I was a full-time student doing a BFA at NAS. I was just looking for somewhere affordable. I didn’t understand St. Peters, it seemed a million miles away, but living there I began to understand the diversity of people and creativity. It became an inspiring and earthy, grassroots area full of promise for me. It was industrial and messy, with a diversity of movement and pace. Over the last few years St. Peters has become cleaner, neater, quieter; more homogenised.

Now St. Peters is a perfect storm of gentrification and Westconnex. The art community has been fractured by rising rents, people have left, art studios have been replaced by cupcake shops. Change is inevitable but I’ve seen a disregard by politicians and developers for individual lives in favour of the wealthy collective and kickbacks.

SCENT

icing sugar with a hit of bitumen, petrol and dust.

By

Steven Cavanagh