Magenta House: The beating heart of Sydney's creative community

Somewhere in the streets of Redfern, there’s a micro-terrace called Magenta House.

The 3.1-metre-wide property is owned by culture worker and creative producer Mariam Ella Arcilla and her partner, DJ and artist Mason Kimber.

Together, they’ve not only created a home but also a gathering place for the local community.

“The dream of Magenta House was in my mind for years,” Arcilla says.

Growing up in Quezon City, in the Philippines – which is known for its artist-run initiatives and activism – Arcilla wanted to replicate this idea of a private and shared abode.

“I’ve always been surrounded by really strong family members who would look at community service as a form of love and care,” she says.

The pair bought the tiny terrace in 2022 in the hopes of bringing Arcilla’s dream to life.

The Redfern property caught their eye immediately: it had previously been owned and renovated by architect Adele McNab, who had given the tired interiors a much-needed overhaul.

“As soon as we walked in – and people who visit us say the same thing – there’s this awe of the light that emanates from the courtyard,” Kimber says. “It’s such a peaceful, warm, inviting space, so we were instantly attracted to that.”

First impressions aside, they still faced the reality of the Sydney property market: the home pushed the limits of their budget and was set to go to auction.

That’s where Arcilla’s skills as a writer came in handy. “I did write a compelling email to the [agent] … that actually melted their heart,” she says.

“I think they recognised we would take really good care of this house in a creative and cultural way.”

The house didn’t end up going to auction, and Arcilla and Kimber bought the property through a private sale.

“We’ve kept in close contact with Adele since, because she loves what we’ve done to the space, which is every architect’s hope,” Arcilla says.

Today, the ground floor of Magenta House is a buzzing community and knowledge-sharing space.

Visitors attend meet-and-greets, cooking classes, language workshops and events centred around cultural revitalisation.

The 2025 programs so far have included a Fijian cooking class, a Filipino dance workshop, and a watercolour painting class, where participants painted the dessert they had learned to make.

Its back alley is where the neighbourhood’s biannual Bin Alley Biennale takes place – a community street party, also the brainchild of Arcilla and Kimber in collaboration with locals.

“People are in their own worlds online … when they come here, they forget about the work week or things in their lives,” Arcilla says. “It becomes this gentle-paced, wondrous world-building within a home where they open up and tell stories.”

One of Magenta House’s first events in 2023 was a talk by Indigenous Australian artist Megan Cope, who, at the time, was creating an installation called Whispers at the Sydney Opera House, involving 80,000 oyster shells.

Where were those oysters shucked and consumed? Magenta House.

“That’s when we felt like we could continue doing this; it was very enriching,” Arcilla says.

With every event that followed, the kitchen and internal courtyard quickly became the space of the home, where friends and strangers gathered and cooked, creating a village-like street food vibe.

“The kitchen is like a stage for the chef because there’s a kitchen island, and they get to impart a lot of their knowledge and recipes,” she explains.

In the shop, converted from a TV room, Kimber installed a DJ console to entertain guests during events.

The Magenta House Library is another source of joy for the couple, as avid bibliophiles with a collection of over 2100 books and magazines. It’s open to the public by appointment during open days, booked events and shop pop-up hours.

The couple says that flexibility and clear boundaries help them separate their work life from their personal life. Magenta House has no set opening hours, and the address is only provided to attendees. The upstairs level is off-limits to guests.

As part of Sydney Contemporary this month, the pair will appear on a panel discussion, From the Love Seat: Reflections, led by journalist Benjamin Law. It features couples who live, love, and make art together.

Micheal Do, curator of contemporary art at Sydney Opera House, has curated the talk.

“I kept circling this idea of what happens when the person you share a bed with is also the person shaping your artistic life,” Do says.

“With Mariam and Mason, there’s no neat border between the private and the creative – it spills over, it tangles, it transforms. That kind of intimacy, messy and magnetic, felt too important not to place at the centre of a conversation.”

Sydney Contemporary 2025 will run at Carriageworks from September 11-14. This year’s event is the largest to date, showcasing the work of over 500 artists from Australia and beyond.