WritersBlock / ReadersBlock is the latest activation in the City of Hobart’s innovative InsideOut public art program.

From now to 28 June, Salamanca Square will host two transparent cube galleries, with each housing a local writer and reader in residence. These living installations invite the public to observe the creative process in real time—one cube featuring a writer crafting new work, the other a reader immersed in Tasmanian literature.

Created by artist Lucy Christopher, WritersBlock / ReadersBlock  turns everyday activities into something special. By placing writers and readers on pedestals, the project encourages people to think about the challenges—big and small—that can make reading and writing difficult.

The project is the sixth in the City’s InsideOut initiative—a mobile gallery platform designed to bring art into the public realm while maintaining a professional, weatherproof exhibition space. The cubes offer artists a unique opportunity to engage with audiences in unexpected ways.

Hobart was officially named a UNESCO City of Literature on 31 October 2023. The City of Hobart manages this designation and at last month’s council meeting, endorsed establishing a secretariat and Steering Committee—made up of the City of Hobart, Libraries Tasmania, the University of Tasmania and Brand Tasmania—to guide and fund the program, committing $10,000 annually and up to $25,000 in in-kind support.

The cubes will be activated daily from 12:00 to 14:00, and additional performances on Friday 6 and 13 June from 16:00 to 18:00 during Dark Mofo, offering a rare glimpse into the intimate worlds of reading and writing.

“Reading and writing are not just solitary acts—they help shape our identity, build empathy, and connect us to one another,” said Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds

“WritersBlock / ReadersBlock invites us to pause and reflect on the importance of these practices, and the challenges that often stand in the way of them. It’s a celebration of creativity, but also a call to action to support and value our literary community, which, as a UNESCO City of Literature, we are proud to do.”

Meanwhile artist Lucy Christopher discovered this Hobart Council’s art initiative when sahe was up late at night with a new baby.

“It was mid-2024 and I’d had the baby for several months, but I’d been trying to finish my latest novel for several years,” she said.

“I felt extremely blocked, not only by being a new mother, but also by being time and space poor, low on funds and uncomfortably attached to my phone.

“I wistfully gazed at the glossy website pictures of the repurposed shipping containers, reading about artwork to be displayed in the boxes, and a dangerous idea started to form.

Having already been in the WritersBlock for two sessions, she said she can already see its benefit.

“I’ve written the first draft of a picture book as well as lots of notes about my next book for adults,” Christopher explained. “This is in addition to fielding questions about the block to curious passers-by AND staring at a blank wall for longer than I feel comfortable to admit!”

“It is a delightfully quirky experience to be writing a book that the reader beside me could even be reading in a few years – what a way to see who your readers are!

“As a writer and reader who isn’t currently doing enough of these things, I am interested in the blocks writers and readers face when finishing books (either through reading or writing them!).

“I’m curious about whether my blocks are the same as everyone else’s, and I’m particularly hopeful about finding ways through these blocks so that we can all finish our novels!”

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