YouTube announced the opening of the YouTube Pop-up Space @ AFTRS​ in Sydney from November 2-6 to help creators in Australia learn, connect, and create quality content.

Pop-up Spaces is a YouTube initiative designed to support creative communities around the world, and an investment in the development and growth of creators in line with the mission of YouTube Spaces: Learn, Connect, and Create.

The first ever Australian YouTube Pop-up Space will be hosted by the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in the Entertainment Quarter of Fox Studios, and will allow YouTube creators to learn about video production, collaborate with other creators, and give them the production tools they need to realise their creative goals.

YouTube Pop-up Space Sydney @ AFTRS will provide YouTube creators with access to the facilities of AFTRS over five days, bringing in programs, classes, sets, and equipment that YouTube creators can use for free. This marks the first time the YouTube Space team has brought this format of Pop-up Spaces to Australia; YouTube has already opened Pop-up Spaces in Nashville, Mexico City, Bangkok, and Seoul, among other cities. Permanent YouTube Spaces are presently open in Tokyo, Los Angeles, London, New York, São Paulo, Berlin, Paris, Mumbai, and Toronto.

“The YouTube Pop-up Space Sydney is our latest effort to support the incredible wave of creativity we have seen develop in the Australian YouTube creator community over the last few years,” said David Macdonald, head of YouTube Spaces Asia Pacific​.

“By working with AFTRS to provide this facility for Australian creators we hope to empower Australia’s next generation of digital creators to learn, connect, and create new content, by giving them access to fantastic studios, and cutting edge audio, visual, and editing equipment and industry experts.”

Neil Peplow, Chief Executive of AFTRS, said:​ “Collaborating with YouTube and co-hosting this Pop-up Space is part of our long-term mission goal to find and empower Australian talent to shape and share their stories with the world by delivering the most future-focused education, research and training. It’s also going to be a lot of creative fun.”

YouTube Spaces are designed to help remove constraints on resources in order to give creators the opportunity to learn, connect, and create. Through the Space, creators can access all the latest audiovisual and editing equipment to produce original and innovative digital video content for their own YouTube channels. Aussie creators such as Tom Thum, Wengie, Jayden Rodrigues, and SketchShe will be shooting new original content in the Space. Some creators will even be shooting in collaboration with others for the first time.

Over the course of five days, YouTube and AFTRS will be holding a variety of events and production workshops for creators, such as networking events, a business-building workshop, and a hands-on deep dive on Virtual Reality/360 videos. On November 3, YouTube will be holding an event to kick off the Australian YouTube Creators for Change program, featuring sessions with creators including Natalie Tran and Superwog, and a bootcamp to help creators promote awareness, tolerance, and empathy among their YouTube communities.

Australian YouTube creators are among the most popular in the world, with 33 boasting more than 1 million subscribers, including Mighty Car Mods and My Cupcake Addiction. In the past year alone, the amount of content uploaded to YouTube in Australia has grown by more than 80 per cent year on year, while watchtime in Australia has increased 40 per cent year on year.