Photo Credit: Yeah Rad
Chippendale Collective is leveraging the Uptown District model to bring exciting new activations to the area.
Chippendale Collective is a network of more than 75 businesses working together to transform one of Sydney’s most dynamic inner-city precincts. At its helm is Bill Dimas, who has spent more than 2 decades shaping Sydney’s creative economy as co-founder of Wiltshire + Dimas and Ambush Gallery. Today, that experience informs his role as District Coordinator for the precinct.
“My role is about bringing people together,” says Dimas, on the function of a District Coordinator.
The idea of a “district” is still relatively new in Sydney, Dimas explains. Accelerated by the after-effects of COVID-19, it represents a shift away from individual venues operating independently toward coordinated, place-based collaboration.
Chippendale Collective District Coordinator, Bill Dimas. Photo Credit: Yeah Rad
Launched in 2022, the NSW Government's Uptown District Acceleration Program was designed to fast-track the formation of local business communities into Districts, each with their own branding and ethos, and unique activations. Today, more than 30 Districts exist across New South Wales.
“It’s a collective of businesses which appoints self-governance… and works together to deliver shared objectives.”
Collaboration is particularly important in a place like Chippendale, where density and diversity are defining features. The precinct sits between major institutions including UTS and Notre Dame University, with a combined population of more than 120,000 students moving through the area each week.
“There’s an everyday life experience here,” Dimas says. “People need to eat, be entertained, have a social life, and one of the objectives of our district is to accommodate that.”
In addition to serving existing audiences, Dimas’ role includes attracting new audiences and showing them what Sydney life feels like beyond convention centres and formal event spaces.
The 2025 International Astronautical Congress event in Chippendale. Photo Credit: Yeah Rad
That thinking came to life during the 2025 International Astronautical Congress (IAC), which brought thousands of international delegates to Sydney. Instead of keeping attendees confined to a convention centre, the Chippendale Collective weaved the broader precinct into the event through a place-based activation.
“What we managed to do is create sociability around those conferences,” Dimas explains, “to take them outside of the conference space and into a Sydney district… to experience the lifestyle of Sydneysiders.”
The result was a 5,000-person street activation across Kensington Street, with food, music, galleries and live performances woven together into a single experience.
“Events like this simply can’t be delivered in a single-venue format,” says Dan Smith Light, Manager of Kensington Street in Chippendale, reflecting on the IAC activation. “It’s about bringing all these different elements together at scale. That’s where the real value lies for the precinct as a whole and the businesses within it.”
Dan Smith Light, Manager of Kensington Street in Chippendale. Photo Credit: Yeah Rad
“We created a series of experiences across the precinct. Fortress Sydney hosted the 1,200-person closing party, there were private events at The Abercrombie, and retailers offered discounts for delegates throughout the week.”
The benefits of this place-based approach extend well beyond the event itself, Smith Light adds.
“Successfully delivering something at this scale builds credibility and strengthens partnerships between businesses. It makes it easier to come together again and create something even greater.”
“We have a collective of highly skilled operators delivering hospitality with excellence. By tapping into that combined expertise, we’re able to create something far greater than the sum of its parts, ultimately delivering a stronger offering than any single venue or precinct could achieve on its own.”
District spotlight: Chippendale Collective
And it worked.
“The [conference organiser] said this was the best event that they’ve ever hosted in any international city,” says Dimas. "They’re now taking this model to other cities.”
After years of lockdowns and restrictive nightlife policies, Dimas sees the current moment as a turning point in NSW’s 24-hour economy.
“There’s great energy around the reopening of Sydney,” he says.
“The significance is beyond economics. It’s cultural and sociological as well. That’s why we live in big cities; to be around other people, to socialise and be inspired by each other.”
Great Southern Nights is another example of how Chippendale, in addition to other NSW districts, brings together multiple venues under a single program. Now in its fifth year, Great Southern Nights consists of 300 gig trails across NSW, including in Uptown Districts like Newtown Enmore Precinct, Port Kembla Precinct (PK X), Midtown Newcastle and Chippendale Collective.
2026 Great Southern Nights in Chippendale. Photo Credit: Yeah Rad
“There’s a little bit of alchemy involved,” Dimas says of the gig trails. “Not every business can host music, but we design ways for them to participate.”
As Sydney’s night-time economy continues to evolve, Dimas believes this model offers a blueprint for the future, one built on shared experience.
“Cities are about people being together, being inspired and living life together. That’s what we’re building here.”