Lion Arts Centre

It is situated on the corner of North Terrace and Morphett Street in Adelaide's West End, in a refurbished and repurposed factory once owned by wholesale grocers D. & J. Fowler Ltd. With its distinctive red brick federation-style architecture, the 1906 building designed by Frank Counsell is state heritage-listed.

[1] The original symmetrical shape of the facade was destroyed in 1966, when the eastern wing was demolished for the widening of Morphett Street and the construction of two new bridges across North Terrace and the River Torrens.

[11] The program, beginning in mid-2025, will include a dedicated space at Lion Arts, to be used for residencies and mentorship of dancers developing new dance works, with administrative support from ADT.

Works developed in the LOFT space, located in the 1st floor studio formerly occupied by Dance Hub SA (which closed in mid-2024[12]), would be showcased as part of Adelaide Fringe in 2026.

With a tender process selecting the new lessees of the venue in August 2018, Ross Osmon and Craig Lock from Five Four Entertainment and Hugo Pedler from West Oak Hotel, along with design collaborators Sam, Simon and Tim Pearce[5] of Frame Creative, put together a pitch and won the lease to start operating from 1 January 2019, under the name Lion Arts Factory.

[10][18] After a major renovation in January 2019, the ground floor, basement and mezzanine are occupied by The Lion Arts Factory, a live music venue.

[18] Previously boarded windows had been opened up to let light in, paint stripped off the red brick walls, the main stage extended to 13 metres (43 ft) and the mezzanine reopened.

[20] Along with all live music venues, the Lion Arts Factory has been badly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, losing over 250 shows as of October 2021.