Magazine Gallery

Like stepping into a well furnished artist’s studio, Magazine Gallery is both the perfect gallery space but also (less well known) tea-​house off of Clubhouse Lane.
With flavours of tea like «Chocolate Marmalade» and some other unusual combinations this places is very well versed in making the perfect brew. I felt a tad ignorant as I received about 5 different contraptions and an egg timer when I sat down for my tea and had no idea if I was expected to solve a maths problem or brew my tea.
Eventually I worked out the ingenuity that the special breed of Magazine Gallerite hold. The egg timer was for allowing the tea to brew the perfect time. The mini cup was not for tea, no, it was to hold the tea colander and the larger cup was (you’d never guess it) for the tea.
The cakes and sweet treats here look devine (in particular their lemon tart — the bitter the better). I also keep walking past signs promoting their «Roast Beef,» many a day as I walk down Hindley. Not sure how this Roast Beef is served because they don’t seem to have much of a kitchen but curious at least to find out the savoury menu items on offer.
The place has a beautiful communal table for communing and you can browse the artists works who are exhibiting in the gallery at the time while waiting for your tea.
The only reason this place looses a star so far is that they do filtered coffee. Arguably I haven’t tried their filtered coffee, and I should, but it is what keeps me from going back here every day compared to Coffee Branch and the like which, although has less seating than Magazine, makes damn fine coffee.

Magazine Gallery truly is a great space. In addition to the visual feast of up-​and-​coming artistry, it is also possible to rent out the venue for private functions, which like their exhibition openings – go off!
As well as artists-​in-​residence who rent out studio use, the gallery also has a dog-​in-​residence. An extremely sweet miniature daschund named Fred adorns the gallery’s sticker and through mischievous acts inspires/​creates art. One evening the Picasso-​esque Pooch sought to re-​design a delightful (and apparently delicious) series of Styrofoam cups. Rather than reprimand the tail-​wagging scally-​wag for making a meal of his art, the quick thinking artist not only reproduced the consumed pieces, but used the tiny critic as his muse for creating another (popular) piece.
There is no parking/​stopping whatsoever in Clubhouse Lane and you will get severely fined for attempting to circumvent such laws. There is however a paid car-​park next door, other paid car-​parks nearby, and easy access to public transport and taxis.

Magazine Gallery is run on a shoe-​string by local finger-​in-​every-​pie-​man Joshua Fanning. Fanning is also involved in a bunch of other projects including running local magazine ‘Collect’, advocating for street art in Adelaide and marketing at nearby Mercury Cinema. Collect is run out of the back offices of this gallery — which is decked out with track lighting and wooden floors.
While you are likely to see a mix of different shows in a year-​long program, the focus here is on excellent illustration, design and craftsmanship done by creative people of many persuasions. Openings here are packed out and not because there is free booze — Little Creatures beer is five dollars a pop and proceeds go towards keeping the place running. If you are interested in buying art for your home, this is an excellent place to snag something at a very reasonable price. Popular artists who have shown here include Ruby Chew, Lisa King, and Kate Gagliardi. Magazine also hosts the occasional film screening, magazine launch or pop-​up store.
You’ll recognise the exterior by the red iron grating and the up-​to-​date murals done by local street artists and illustrators. The daytime hours here change quite often, so it’s best to keep up to date with opening and events on their facebook page, which can be found here:
.