IT could be the fastest pop-up to pop up in the history of pop-ups.
An empty shopfront in Freo’s East End will be transformed into an art gallery this Friday, with a revolving door of artists appearing most weekends for the next six months.
The idea was only floated two weeks ago on the popular Facebook group Freo Massive by John Rifici, a local business owner who had a vacant shopfront on the corner of Point and Adelaide Streets.
He was duly swamped by poverty-stricken artists who wanted to display their up-cycled busts of Brad Pettitt, so he quickly convened a meeting at the shopfront with the artists and was swamped again.
Step forward indefatigable school teacher and nascent artist Angela Delury, who volunteered to co-ordinate the whole thing.
• front row (left to right): Andrea Fowler, Jenny Gilbertson, Francesca Geromino, Angela Delury. back row (left to right): John Bailey, Phil Hayter, Marion Le Crayon, Les Camille, John Rifici.
“I can’t help myself when I see chaos, I need to bring it to order,” she says.
“I think my brain is made to fire on all six cylinders.”
About 18 artists have signed up, and there’s a diverse range of work on show, with everything from sculpture and painting to photography and ceramics.
There’s a mix of experience, too, with some artists only embarking on their life of inner turmoil and other, more experienced hands having their QR codes and glossy catalogues at the ready.
Specialising in assemblage and found-object art, Delury only started her artistic journey recently—setting herself the quirky target of making 50 assemblage robots before she turned 50.
“A couple of years ago, I joined this group online called The Art of Assemblage,” she says.
“I just have always been drawn to old things that have a story already, like old tins that you can say, ‘Oh, my grandpa used to keep his nails in this.’”
Her debut solo exhibition, 50 Bots by 50, was at the Canning Bridge Community Art Space. She won the Wanneroo Community Art Prize Sculpture Award in 2025 and has been a finalist in several competitions, including the Bayswater Community Art Awards.
In between all that, the irrepressible Bicton local is a primary school music teacher.
Other participating artists include Abi Temby, Andrea Fowler, Jenny Gilbertson, John Bailey, Les Camille and Marion Le Crayon.
All the works are for sale, with the proceeds going straight to the artists. Some of them have already been busy, organising insurance and giving the shopfront a lick of paint and some TLC before the big opening on Friday.
People helping out include Ros de Souza, who spearheaded the Street Gallery Fremantle Project, turning empty shopfront windows into illuminated art displays.
The pop-up is the latest initiative to reactivate empty shopfronts in the port city, removing an eyesore and making Freo look more presentable.
“Once the shop became vacant, I could see it was such a waste to have the space empty and negative,” Rifici says.
“The space needed the energy and spark young and not-so-young entrepreneurs possess. Fremantle is an artist magnet, so it made sense to combine the two powers.”
Delury says she is working on getting buskers down to play music in the gallery and make it a memorable happening.
The opening of Point Street Pop Up Art Space, on the corner of Point and Adelaide Streets, is this Friday August 14 from 5.30pm. Every pop-up weekend will feature two different artists. It kicks off with Jessica Solkowski and Pamela Chaves on August 14-16.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK