Overview
Surry Hills has a new creative pulse, and it's beating inside one of Sydney's most iconic buildings. Gallery Brave, which opened last month in the storied Hibernian House, is positioning itself as more than just another white-walled space — it's a street-facing creative playground where art, design and culture collide.
Founded by an advertising agency called Today the Brave, the gallery represents something of a manifesto for the team. "So often ad agencies are making, that creative has been funnelled towards making advertising," says executive Jaimes Leggett. "We've tried to liberate our creative people. Let's make chocolate, let's make merch, let's develop music, let's write books, magazines, curate artists, create our own art."
Hibernian House, with its walls covered in work from touring graffiti artists over the years, felt like a natural home. "I think if you are a touring graffiti artist and you come to Sydney, you've done work in this building. This feels like an epicentre for that street art scene."
The name Gallery Brave speaks to something deeper of the creative process. "The very nature of creating something is such a personal, such an emotive thing for people to do," Leggett reflects. "Every artist goes through a journey, quite a profound and personal journey to create something. And then they put that thing out to the world for others to see, to judge. That takes incredible bravery."
The approach seems to be working. The gallery kicked off with a statement-making launch featuring work from American contemporary artist and OBEY founder Shepard Fairey, arguably one of the most prolific global graffiti artists.
And this month, Gallery Brave is hosting Among the Brave, a group exhibition in partnership with creative collective KRVNM & midsöle, a crew who've been shaping Australia's underground art scene since 2013. The show brings together over 30 artists, including Peque, Ink Hunter, Sindy Sinn, GBFZ, Silly Pear and RJ, celebrating the kind of community-driven, unfiltered expression that thrives outside traditional gallery spaces.
KRVNM & midsöle have built their reputation through signature exhibitions that dive deep into subcultures, and have garnered widespread support — from skull-themed shows backed by Young Henrys to sneaker-focused projects with Trollyd. Their work has appeared across Sydney's contemporary art circuit, from M2 Gallery to aMBUSH Gallery, consistently championing both established names and the emerging artists defining the next wave of Australian street art.
"Among the Brave is where art drops the filter — it's community-driven, gritty and alive," says Ladyj wüllf, founder of KRVNM.
For Leggett, Gallery Brave's mission is straightforward: "If Gallery Brave was supporting and complementing the art scene in Sydney, that would be a good place to be. To help support and foster the street art scene in Sydney. We ask so much of artists to conceive and create things - we should be able to help them provide a platform where they can show their work to the world."
Gallery Brave is open from 4–6pm Wednesday through to the weekend, offering a fresh after-work gallery hang for art lovers, culture chasers and anyone curious enough to see what's happening inside Hibernian House.
Among the Brave opens November 13, 2025 at Gallery Brave, Hibernian House. Follow @GalleryBrave and @_krvnm_ for artist announcements and event details.
Images: Supplied