One Star Lounge & Gallery

Part gallery, part bar, part lounge - One Star Lounge and Gallery is whatever you want it to be.

Michael Harvey and Katrina Beale’s vision for the multi-purpose space in West Melbourne is to bring a different perspective to Melbourne’s vibrant art scene.

“For a while, I had been thinking that it would be nice to have a venue where we could have a lot of mixed activities, and that didn’t conform to a specific type of business model,” explains Michael.

“The notion was to have a space where we could host different activities from film screenings to book launches and readings and small musical performances. Over time, it’s turned out to be a bit more of a lounge bar, a place for a meeting, and an art gallery with occasional other events.”

Michael, a musician, and Katrina, a painter, have been North Melbourne residents for twenty years and were keen to provide a local space for the arts community.

They opened One Star Lounge and Gallery in 2020, taking over the space from one of the last remaining Italian men’s card playing clubs in the area. They had always liked the look of the property, and it seemed like a good fit for their vision of an unorthodox, less formal art space.

“Now it looks really different to when it was the card playing club - but we thought we'd still keep the name One Star. The club was a local legendary haunt, and we thought it was quite funny to rate yourself one star. Like an anti-review!” laughs Michael.

“We still get visitors from the card club come by and tell us stories and share some local history,” smiles Katrina.

At the moment, the gallery mounts two curated art shows a year, presented with a colleague, Mariella Del Conte from St Kilda.

“We come up with a theme and present that to artists who we invite. The theme of the show exhibiting at the moment is ‘Wandering’. Last year we had ‘Intimacy’, which was an all-women show,” Katrina explains.

The gallery is also available for hire by application. Apart from art exhibitions events have included private supper clubs, life drawing classes and independent film screenings.

“We would love to have more exhibitions and other activities coming through,” says Michael of their plans. “For instance, you could hold a business meeting in the gallery, surrounded by all this beautiful art. You can come and grab a coffee late when all the other cafes have closed and view the gallery work in an informal way.”

“This space is so flexible, accessible and comfortable. We’re up for anything!”

Words by Joyce Watts & Photography by Anna Encio