Creative Perth: from mining and parks to street art and startups

Perth in Western Australia has emerged as a coastal hub for startups and accelerators, along with music festivals and street art.

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this edition, we feature some of the startup activity and art works from Perth in Western Australia.

In the earlier 170 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art festival, a cartoon gallery, a world music festival, a telecom expo, a millets fair, a climate change expo, a street art festival, a wildlife conference, a startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and a jazz festival.

Founded in 1829, Perth, the capital of Western Australia, is a picturesque city thanks to the Swan River, the nearby coastline, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, and award-winning architecture. The indigenous population here are the Noongar. Perth is ranked as the world's seventh most liveable city, according to The Economist's Intelligence Unit

The city is also a cultural hub, thanks to the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) – as well as liberal doses of street art and murals. The city hosts the Perth Festival of Arts in February, the AstroFest astronomy festival in March, and the Perth International Jazz Festival in May.

The region’s economy is dominated by mining, petroleum, and agricultural exports, but startups and accelerators now have a growing presence. The week-long WestTechFest startup festival is held every December (blockchain was the theme for the most recent edition).

Startups profiled at the festival included PowerLedger (blockchain-based power trading), KeepSpace (e-commerce order fulfilment), Norwood Systems (fleet efficiency solutions), and AppBot (app reviews). The event is backed by the Western Australia IT and Telecom Alliance (WAITTA), and research networks like CSIRO.

Perth also has the Spur accelerator, B2Rainmakers, SPARK Co-Lab (part of the global Stanford University SPARK Program), and Accelerating Australia consortium. The Technology Park Bentley hosts the Innovation Centre of Western Australia (ICWA).

Curtin University’s innovation initiative is appropriately called Curtinnovation. The university has collaborated with Woodside and Cisco to open the Cisco Internet of Everything (IoE) Innovation Centre.

Drawing on recent visits to Perth, this photo essay shows the creative and startup side of Western Australia. Now what have you done lately to venture into your creative side and entrepreneurial core?

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

See also the YourStory pocketbook Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups, accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.