Today on 2SER breakfast I chatted with Tim about the Yellow House, an artist's collective and hang-out that emerged in Kings Cross in the early 1970s. If you missed the segment, you can catch up with the podcast shortly. The reason I chose this topic is that the Yellow House is also being featured in History Week, which starts on Saturday. Sydney will be pumping with history related from 7-15 September 2013. The Yellow House is part of a long Sydney tradition of artists camps and collectives. A number of artists' camps flourished around Sydney Harbour in the late nineteenth century, for example, mainly around the Mosman area. Some of the acknowledged masterpieces of Australian art - works by Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton - were created in these harbourside artists camps. Kings Cross had been a centre for bohemians and artists since the early twentieth century. Poets such as Mary Gilmore, Kenneth Slessor and Christopher Brennan all lived there. The artist William Dobell lived on the corner of Darlinghurst Road and Roslyn Street for a few years in the early 1940s, with Russell Drysdale and Donald Friend living nearby. The list goes on ... you can discover more about the bohemian scene in Mark Dunn's entry on Kings Cross. Later in the 1950s, the Terry Clune Gallery in Macleay Street continued the bohemian ideal with emerging 'radical' artists such as Russell Drysdale and John Olsen. As Mark Dunn in his entry on Kings Cross notes, the Clune Gallery was later transformed into an artists' collective by Martin Sharp in 1969/70. Based on Vincent Van Goh's ideal collective, Sharp and his artistic friends pained the exterior bright yellow (hence the name) and covered its internal walls with murals,  portraits and decoration. Artists such as Brett Whiteley, Bruce Goold and Peter Kingston turned the entire building into an artwork. Visiting bands and celebrities made it a regular fixture on the Sydney scene. As Martin Sharp said in 1971: "It's an artist community in the south, in the sun, and probably one of the greatest pieces of conceptual art ever achieved." With the theme for History Week being Picture This, it is no surprise that the Yellow House is featuring in the event calendar as a provocative, conceptual pop-up at David Jones, On Seven. How can the past be a muse for the present? How do artists portray themselves? And how can art tell our stories? The History Council of NSW has invited 5 contemporary artists to create a work inspired by a legendary artistic figure from Sydney's history. The artists and their historical muses are:

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Jane Gillings .... inspired by Dulcie Deamer Leo Robba .... Samuel Hood Jenny Sages ... Florence Broadhurst Wendy Sharpe ... Tracey Lee Reg Mombassa ... Martin Sharp The Yellow House, specially re-created by the History Council of NSW, will be open to the public at On Seven, David Jones from Sunday 8 - Sunday 15 September 2013, 10am - 4pm. Come along to experience a slice of Sydney's bohemia, learn about the history of the Yellow House, and be inspired by our artists both past and present. The artworks will be auctioned to raise money for the History Council of NSW. For this and more fantastic activities during History Week, head to the History Council's website. The Dictionary of Sydney is a proud community supporter of the History Council and History Week.