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culture
Inside the Showroom of Rainbow Studios: Where Culture and Community Collide
09/07/25
Author: RIISE Team
DOCUMENTED BY: RIISE
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Rainbow Studios is not your typical art showroom but rather it is a cultural in-between.
Hosting exhibitions, dinners, brand experiences and more, it is a space that feels welcoming, creative and fun supporting both local and international artists in a way that is collaborative and genuine. We paid a visit to co founder and creative director of the Sydney based space, Jade Gillett to discuss how Rainbow Studios plays a part in shaping Sydney’s cultural scene and the importance of community.
RIISE: What inspired you to open this beloved, creatively driven space? What is your mission?
JG: We opened Rainbow Studios with a really simple intention, to create a space that felt welcoming, creative, and fun. After working across different corners of the creative industry, we noticed a real gap for something that wasn’t overly polished or transactional. Our mission has always been to support artists, independent brands, and storytellers in a way that feels collaborative, considered, and genuine.
RIISE: How would you describe Rainbow Studios in three words?
Creative. Intentional. Personable.
RIISE: What role does Rainbow Studios play in shaping Sydney’s cultural scene?
JG: Rainbow Studios has become a bit of a cultural in-between, it’s not a traditional gallery, and it’s not quite a venue in the commercial sense either. We sit somewhere in the middle, which I think gives us a lot of freedom to experiment. Whether it’s through exhibitions, dinners, or brand experiences, we’ve created a space that adapts and reflects what’s actually happening on the ground in Sydney. We hold space for emerging voices and give people a platform to tell stories that matter and I think that’s had a ripple effect in shaping what’s possible in Sydney's creative and cultural scene.
RIISE: Community feels essential to Rainbow Studios — can you talk to cultivating community and the importance?
JG: Community is everything here. The space was never meant to be about exclusivity or ego, it was about building something that felt nourishing. We cultivate community by staying curious, showing up, and being in conversation with the people who move through the space. I’ve learned that meaningful relationships take time and consistency, and we try to honour that in how we program, communicate, and collaborate. It's about making people feel like they belong, and giving them the room to explore and express.
RIISE: What is your favourite memory in your space?
JG: There are so many, but one that really stays with me is our first Winter Dinner Series. We transformed the whole space into this glowing, intimate dining experience, there was candlelight, shared food, strangers who left as friends. It captured everything we wanted Rainbow to be: warm, thoughtful, and open. That night, we looked around and thought, this is it, this is why we built this.
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