The Reading Room

Adelaide, Australia

4.3

3 reviews

Does not accept credit cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+61 411 178 144
Website:
www.thereadingroom-renewadelaide.blogspot.com
Address:
153 Hindley St, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000
Adelaide
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
530 ftStop D1 Currie Street - North side
600 ftStop C1 Currie Street - North side
610 ftStop W4 Currie Street - South side
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Accepted Cards
None
Parking
Street
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Alcohol
No
Coat Check
No
Smoking
Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
Outdoor Seating
No
Dogs Allowed
Yes
By Appointment Only
No

Today

Today –
Local time (Adelaide) 15:49 Friday, 30 May 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

The reading room is your loungeroom in the city.

Established with the support of Renew Adelaide and staffed entirely by enthusiastic volunteers, it is a free space to enjoy.

At once a library, a tea house, an art gallery and a communal gathering space, we offer a relaxed alternative to city life.

Come in, sit down, look, think, chat, and create!

History

Established in 2011.

The reading room started out as a simple idea — a lounge room in the city that anyone would be free to use as a place for reading, meeting people, looking at art, making art and so on.

Over time, and thanks to the support of a dedicated and enthusiastic community, it has become much more, featuring acoustic music nights, poetry readings, visual arts shows, reading groups, chess nights, Parking Days, Jam Sessions, and more…

2011 saw us take part as a venue for the Festival of Unpopular Culture, SALA festival and Feast Festival. 2012 we hosted our first Fringe program with two performances and an art exhibition. We liked it so much we’re doing it again. Fringe 2013 sees us expand into 24 events from six varying artforms, and fingers crossed we’re only going to get bigger and better!

Meet the Business Owner

Reading R.

Business Owner

The reading room is a non-​for-​profit artspace run entirely by Volunteers. Here are the people that make it happen;

Becci Love– Director

Katherine Coppock– Visual Arts Program Coordinator

Venue staff– Beth Milllard, Bonnie McCrossin, Lisa Saloukvadze, Rob Balestrin, Sam Davies, Simone Brokenshire, Tash Jones, Will Coutts, Sam Squires

The Reading Room — CLOSED also recommends

Work Shop — CLOSED

2

reviews

Mode

Reading R. says,

«With both new original designs and second hand vintage stock on offer, even the fussiest of fashionistas will be wowed.»

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3 reviews of The Reading Room

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Australia
The reading room is really just as the name suggests — a room in the heart of the city done up in a retro lounge-​room style with books and games and coffee and couches. I love attending exhibitions and events here due to the laid back atmosphere and the charming people who run the room on a volunteer basis. Great to drop in for a cheap DIY tea and coffee, read a book, play some board games, catch up with friends. Great for young and old alike and a great ‘safe haven’ in the city where you can meet up with friends without feeling pressured into buying things! Always good art on the walls, and check out their roster of regular events like dancing room, weekday mediation, feminist reading club and more. You can become a member now with discounts at other local stores as part of the perks.
Place rating: 4
South Australia, Australia
The reading room is quite a cool place. I won’t go into any of the history of it as Chloe has already covered that, save to say that Renew Adelaide is a spin off of a project which started in New Castle, and that they did it much better than us.
The Reading Room is unlike anything else in town and I am very thankful for its existence. It is quite a dingy little one room converted shopfront, decked out with couches and bookshelves, with work from local artists shown from time to time on the walls.
There is a two level effect going on with a raised section at the back which serves something like a stage.
It is a very friendly and welcoming environment, and there should be more of it.
Place rating: 4
South Australia, Australia
The Reading Room is like a council community youth centre, except that it is *actually* engaged with a community of young/​creative people in Adelaide, instead of being hindered by the infinite uncool, disconnectedness of council-​run ventures. Supported by Renew Adelaide — a local initiative that supports creative people to do projects in disused space — The Reading Room is a little room full of books and fairly-​lights on Hindley St, tucked between the Rosemont and every other late-​night venue. A team of volunteers have refurbished this place on a budget of almost nothing — and it is pretty damn sweet. The first and foremost function of The Reading Room is that it serves as a free book exchange, where you can bring in books, swap them, or sit on the couches and read what is there already. Or you could play boardgames, or do whatever you like really, as long as it isn’t obnoxious or inappropriate and you have a word with the volunteer staff.
As well as this, The Reading Room runs a buzzing schedule of small events — exhibitions, a dancing night, feminist reading night, chess nights, fundraisers, movie nights, open mic poetry, acoustic music, etc. Some of these events you will like, others you will loathe. But it shows what a community space can do when it is run independently instead of by out of touch public servants.