Our words @ bldg 50 talk series seeks a new venue - can you help??

 Michael Rakowitz’s ParaSITE - Image credit: woostercollective.com

After over 6 years in the ground floor of RMIT Building 50, within the Public Art department, our monthly talk series is looking for a new home.

Words @ bldg 50 has been running since 2005 - more or less every first Thursday of the month (well OK we may have missed the odd one, but we've also thrown in a few extra impromptu sessions here and there). During that time, over 50 talks/film screenings/exhibitions/panel discussions have happened in the space. Not a bad effort for a small team of volunteers (and several fistfuls of gold coins!).

The RMIT Public Art Department has provided fantastic support through access to the space and a superb audiovisual setup, absolutely free of charge, that has allowed us to record a number of these events and share them online. We're very, very grateful to have had this opportunity. As class timetabling is putting some pressure on the ground floor space, it's looking like we may not continue to enjoy access in 2013 and so we are exploring other possible venue options.

The Words series has grown into a key arm of our advocacy for social justice within the built environment profession, operating outside of the institutions and academic journals, within informal surrounds (more of a workshop than a lecture theatre). Were it to go, we feel it would be something of a loss to Melbourne's culture of critical dialogue on design and social change.

So we're putting the call out! Can you help keep us off the streets? If you know of a suitable space that we might be able to have access to on a monthly or occasional basis at minimal or no cost, please drop a line to words@architectsforpeace.org.