A CAMA update from our HQ at Schoolhouse Studios
The BIGGEST news is Point 6, and there is much more you can do to help.
Firstly, thank you! Over 400 of you have signed so far, and that means a great deal to those of us who work from Schoolhouse Studios (SHS). Thank you too to everyone who donated. We didn’t expect it, and it’s helping us put this campaign in front of more people.
Latest updates:
- We met with State Greens Candidate, Angelica Panopoulos who visited Schoolhouse Studios before she hit the campaign trail herself. Fun fact: Angelica held her campaign launch for state election here at SHS in our very building back in August! We are planning to contact other State Local MPs asap.
- Three of our CAMA members met with Cr Dr Jay Iwasaki, who heard our questions about the demolition and development timelines for our building, and about the lack of detail and consultation we’ve had from Council.
- We’ve asked for a named Council contact to restart discussions about transition and relocation, and to engage local creatives to help shape the community and studio spaces in the Central Coburg plans.
- Our full media release is coming soon. We’re working on many things at once, so look out for news about Schoolhouse Studios and us, the Coburg Artists and Makers Alliance.
- CAMA now has an Instagram account. Please follow us for updates, meet CAMA creatives and our allied small businesses in Coburg: https://www.instagram.com/cama_coburg
- New information: Council’s 14 October meeting endorsed the Central Coburg Road Map. Its report lists early works from July 2027 that include demolishing the former Bi-Lo building (‘old Coles supermarket’ to many of us – known to Council as the ‘former Bi-Lo building’), which is our building, the month after Schoolhouse is due to leave. But by our count, Council’s indicative layout shows around 108 car spaces where the building stands. We’re asking when, why, and by whom this timing was decided; and what consideration has been given to the creatives who already work here?
How can you help now?
Write to the Councillors on Council’s Central Coburg Oversight Committee, and to the Merri-bek City Council CEO. A short, polite email makes a difference. Copy and paste the letter below into one email, and add a sentence about what Schoolhouse means to you if you can.
To: NAbboud@merri-bek.vic.gov.au ; HPolitis@merri-bek.vic.gov.au ; LIrvin@merri-bek.vic.gov.au ; CMiles@merri-bek.vic.gov.au ; JIwasaki@merri-bek.vic.gov.au ; info@merri-bek.vic.gov.au
Subject: Central Coburg plans and Schoolhouse Studios (please also forward to the CEO’s office)
Dear Councillors and CEO Kate McCaughey,
As a <Coburg community member who welcomes affordable housing and community infrastructure>, I was happy to see Council acknowledge the importance of Schoolhouse Studios in its communications around the Central Coburg Redevelopment:
“Schoolhouse Studios is a much-loved community organisation… (whose site) is proposed to be developed as part of the central Coburg plan. Council would seek to work with Schoolhouse to provide time for their transition and relocation.”
I was therefore concerned to hear that on October 14th 2026 Council endorsed the Central Coburg Roadmap, including early works from July 2027 that involve demolishing the Schoolhouse Studios (formerly the Bi-Lo) building to make room for a car park.
I am writing as one of over 800 signed supporters of Schoolhouse Studios and the Coburg Artists and Makers Alliance (CAMA), to ask:
1. Who will make use of the parking space; and why are interim car parks being prioritised over the creative community who have activated this precinct over the past 6 years?
2. What actions is Council taking to help creative practitioners transition or relocate into alternative affordable studio spaces?
3. How will our local creatives be involved in shaping the community mixed-use spaces in Coburg’s future plans?
[If you’d like, please add one sentence about what Schoolhouse means to you.]
I’d welcome a reply, and I hope Council will work with CAMA to keep Coburg’s creatives in Coburg.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name, your suburb]
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You can also share the petition, follow us on Instagram, and keep us in mind whenever you’re dealing with Council or local matters that affect us all.
Thank you for standing with the creatives of Coburg!
From CAMA