Chloë Nour has lived a million lives. As an Aries who identifies as such, it's no surprise she's been cultivating a myriad of professions, from a photographer whose work can be found in the likes of i-D and Man Repeller to project manager and care worker, but at the end of the day, an artist who wears many hats. As often happens, all these threads have led to her current project, opening up her technicolour haven above the concrete in Sydney's inner west.
Located in St Peters, Terrific Effort sits above the highly sought-after nail studio Mannequin Hands and features the works of @atelierchevalier, @internetwire, @couldbesomething @adhocworkspace, @laura1uciana with a growing roster. It is in this cocoon of creativity that Nour is building something special to celebrate creativity in Sydney. We sat down to discuss star signs, dinner party lore and her personal ethos around cultivating space and community.
What era do you feel like you're in right now?
I'm in my making shit happen era. Coming out the other side of a pandemic, you're like, let's just make that shit happen. And all of a sudden, we're part of this community that are all feeling this collective energy, of excitement, creativity and collaboration, and supporting each other, to bring our dreams to life. Maybe that's the era that I'm in. It's sort of like tapping into the collective energy of Sydney and, feeling bolstered by that.
Did you see a lot of your friends and creatives beginning their own practices after the pandemic?
There's this art scene in Sydney that is out of reach and a lot of younger, 'poorer' artists are having to create their own communities and collaborative spaces to exist. One of the things that has been really exciting coming out of the pandemic is being like, wow, the creative scene in Sydney is huge, and so diverse. And there's so many different people doing different things and we just need spaces that support that, and help that grow.
How did you feel on opening night?
I think, one of the most exciting things about it for me was that I met a bunch of people that I'd never met before. And it was just proof again, that there's so many people in Sydney, who are excited about, physically, showing up to things, and are excited about being involved in the creative scene and supporting creatives. Just having a bunch of strangers that I've never met before in the space is really validating my own belief that right now, Sydney is a really beautiful, exciting place to be because people are excited about supporting each other.
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What's your personal approach to space when it comes to your home or the shop, or any type of physical environment?
I love creating a space that ultimately feels fun. I just think life is meant to be fun. And only you can make your life as fun as you want it to be.
The thing I really love is colour, I think so much of what is trendy in space at the moment is minimalism. I really, really love colour and maximalism.
When I started creating the shop space, I wanted it to feel really similar to being invited to go to someone's living room. I want it to feel really intimate but in a welcoming way. Like, come into my, into my little den and get comfy on the couch and browse through all my silly little collected objects and read my silly books and touch all my little things. Touch things with your hands and make feeling everything all around you as part of the experience.
You're an Aries as am I, do you resonate with your sign?
As an Aries, I think we're innately experimental people. But I think we're also very community driven. I think that we really love connecting people and community and so, I feel like that's just been an innate part of my personality my whole life.
It's a large reason why I also work in care work and having a space that cultivates that is really important. It feels like in some way it's almost your calling as an Aries. Building community is my calling. Planning dinner parties to me is an art form, like choosing who is going to go away with me to my family's farm once every couple of months. And cultivating the right group energy and the right dynamics is a fucking art form. I'm so proud of my ability to design collective and community energy.
Keep up to date with monthly events hosted in the space at @terrific.effort.
