FAQs

Hello! Here's some of our common FAQs below! (updated July 2025):

Who runs Magenta House?

Magenta House is managed by its Housekeepers: arts & culture worker Mariam Ella Arcilla (who runs the programs, Shop, Library, online content, and partnerships) and artist & DJ Mason Kimber (who oversees logistics and home maintenance). Mason and Mariam also live on the upper level of this home. They refer to themselves as Housekeepers to pay ode to the service-led framework of maintaining and caring for a home and for the guests that visit. You can read more in this interview.

Where is this space located?

Magenta House is nestled in a private domestic home, in the eclectic suburb of east Redfern, a stone's throw from Bourke St in Surry Hills. The Housekeepers operate in a live/work/convene homespace, so the address is disclosed to attendees for now. Through their practices, they carry gratitude for being able to create on Gadigal Land and acknowledge Redfern's significant history as an epicentre for Aboriginal activism, education and creativity.

Why did you start Magenta House?

All roads lead to Redfern! Mariam met Mason at his Redfern sharehouse in 2017 while she was looking for rentals (he was advertising a spare room). She didn’t get the room, but they bonded pronto through their overlapping passions in art, architecture, and placemaking. 

They fell in love instantly and in 2022 they moved into an East Redfern house that was designed by New Zealand architect Adele McNab. Inspired by the unique architectural elements of the home, Mariam began to host small community gatherings in the form of meal-giving, workshops, library sessions, coworking days, and test kitchens. Through this, she noticed the evolving roles that a home can play in synergising encounters between friends, neighbours and strangers. These early sessions helped inform the development of Magenta House as it's known today: a gathering and knowledge-sharing space that explores the ways that creative hospitality, co-learning and intimate assemblies can embolden our ways of navigating and caring for the wider world together. You can find out more in the Never Too Small episode shot at our homespace in early 2025.

Where did the name come from? 

Because Mason & Mariam work in the visual fields, they've always been drawn to the colour 'magenta' - an extra-spectral tone that blends together eclecticism, creativity, harmony, and knowledge. Referred to as an 'invented colour' by colour psychologists, magenta represents our unpinned practices and the prismatic nature of our collaborators who work across art, food, design, literature, music and social sciences. This intimate space is a home for these passions to collide and ferment. 

Who funds your Programs?

Magenta programs are entirely self-funded. The Housekeepers run Magenta House on a voluntary basis and pursue freelance work to allow for time reflexivity to run these passion projects. The events that they organise and co-create with collaborators are a mix of free, by-donation or ticketed. Any recouped funds go towards paying for coordination labour, program design, food ingredients and materials, as well as community donations. 

Why dis you start the Shop? What things do you sell?

Mariam launched the Magenta House Shop in December 2024 to spotlight artists, independent publications, and artisanal products - with a focus on food cultures, heritage ventures, and experimental publishing across Asia and Australia. To curate the inventory, Mariam either sources items directly or works closely with partners to stock eco-friendly and limited-run products that are ethically made and close looped.

Operating primarily online, the Shop offers micro-trading hours on weekends and during the week by appointment (except for when there are programs hosted that day or the Housekeepers need to work). Shop hours are posted on the Instagram feed and Stories regularly and you can DM or use the Contact Us page to request to visit.

What is the story behind the house design?

The house is a re-envisioned 19th century Victorian terrace designed by award-winning New Zealand architect Adele McNab. The 62m2 property is separated by two living pavilions with an internal courtyard graced by a majestic fern tree (formerly, a Xanthorrea tree was in its place). Customised pocket doors and windows were installed to consider weather, privacy and aesthetics. The architectural palettes of sienna, honeycomb, cedar and snow- grey evoke the feeling of a cabin-style escape within an inner-city area. In 2021, Adele received the Australian Institute of Architects Award and was shortlisted for a Houses Award–for the design of this house. When Mason & Mariam became homeowners in January 2022, they made further additions–with Adele’s blessing–by constructing a library structure at the front room and the Shop/creative space at the back studio–evolving the homespace areas into a living program. Prior to Magenta House, the home design was featured in Local Projects, Architecture magazine, Yellowtrace, and The Design Files; it was previously known as ‘Riley’s Terrace’ as an ode to Adele's young son. Read about Adele’s practice here. 

I have an idea! Do you accept pitches?

Yes! The Housekeepers accept emailed proposals for events or collaborations from individuals and collectives in Australia and internationally. Please note, Magenta House is an architectural micro-terrace with atypical functionalities, so there are only particular projects that can be accommodated. Ultimately, gatherings remain small and chummy and  align with people, collectives and businesses that share Magenta House’s ethos. Explore the Programs sections and image gallery or visit our Instagram channel for more details.

Can I hire the house for a one-off private event or photoshoot?

Yes! Magenta is available for commercial photoshoots, product launches, film-shoots and private events, depending on the nature of the project and space requirements. Get in touch here to discuss.

Who made the Magenta House brandmark? What is the font?

 As a term, 'magenta' brings together a prism of creative disciplines and ways of practicing, and the Housekeepers yearned to reflect this through the multimodal program and evolving circle of collaborators. The MH brandmark was designed by Studio Van Low based on this brief, using the idea that atoms cluster and become drawn to one another in the same way cross-pollinated ideas mature. Van's hand-drawn 'MH' pays homage to the Cowra pebbles in the Magenta House courtyard and references the grassroots spirit of their practice and programs.  

The signature font used is TD Sulog in honour of Mariam’s Filipina heritage. 'Sulog' means "current" or "flow of water" in Cebuano language and represents the stream of ideas between Magenta House and its collaborators, which often feature Filipino Visayan region projects. The font is available for free on Canva!

Got more questions? Connect with us via the Contact form!