Creativity shines in every class and celebration
Artea - Art School & Party Venue in South Melbourne offers imaginative art classes and birthday celebrations for children. Reviews praise a safe, welcoming space with friendly, attentive staff and a flexible, stress-free party planning experience. The venue is described as raw, creative, and hip—a true artist's haven where kids can freely explore their creativity. Some feedback notes logistical and safety concerns, but overall Artea is celebrated for fostering creativity.
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2 Alfred Pl, South Melbourne VIC 3205, Australia
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Structured art lessons in painting, drawing, and clay modeling, designed to nurture creativity and skill development in a fun, educational environment.
Creative workshops and activities during school breaks, offering safe, engaging art experiences where children can socialize and create take-home projects.
All-inclusive party planning with art activities, face painting, games, and catering, providing a unique, stress-free celebration in our hip studio space.
Specialized sessions focusing on themes like quirky houses or miniature clay art, led by experienced art teachers to inspire young artists.
Supervised art sessions for children, allowing parents flexibility while kids engage in creative play and learning in a monitored setting.
Overall rating
bernie pennington
My grandsons attended the ARTea school holiday program yesterday and I was so impressed. They came home bubbling with excitement, proudly showing us the beautiful art they had created. As a grandparent, it means so much to see them in a place that is safe, welcoming and truly brings out their creativity. The staff were kind and attentive, and it’s clear they really care about the children. Such a wonderful experience – we’ll definitely be booking them in again next holidays
Rose Clarkson
Not impressed. They didn’t feed my 6 year old daughter, even though we paid for the lunch option. They implied it was the responsibility of the kids to come up and ask for food, which you can’t expect a shy six year old to do, and they had no system of checking off who gets food and who brought their own from home. The drop off was also pretty bad, none of the teachers introduced themselves to either parents or kids or welcomed us in, so it was an intimidating environment for a kid to walk into. I would recommend giving it a miss, certainly for younger kids.
Belinda Gringlas
Thank you Helen for hosting a beautiful and entertaining party for my 5 year old daughter. Face painting, drawing, painting, afternoon tea, pass the parcel, and a disco party. What more could we ask for. It was very well organised. All the kids had a wonderful time.
Michelle Maree
We recently had my son’s belated birthday party at Artea, and I couldn’t have been more impressed! After coming home from an overseas holiday, I was exhausted and couldn’t think of anything worse than planning a party. Thankfully, Helen and her team at Artea took care of everything, making the whole process stress-free and enjoyable. Nothing was ever too hard for Helen—she was incredibly flexible and always happy to help. I even had the chance to chat with Helen during the party, and I was so surprised to learn about her impressive qualifications. Not only does she have a BA: Fine Art a MA: Art in Public Places & also a MA: Teaching (Primary)! So impressive, she also is a mum to 3 young boys, god knows how she does it.. Her professionalism, along with her team’s, really shone through. She really knows her stuff , and it shows in the classes she provides. The venue itself is fantastic—it’s not all puff and polish. It’s raw, creative, and hip, exactly what you’d expect from an art studio. It’s a true artist's haven, where kids can let their creativity flow freely. The kids had a absolute ball. After reading a previous review online, I checked with Helen to ensure all the teachers had their Working with Children Checks, and they absolutely do! I’m not sure what the previous reviewer was on about, it even mentions it in the class bento website.. but everything was in perfect order. I highly recommend Artea for anyone looking for a unique, creative, and safe party experience!
Cassie Norman
It is with deep regret I write this review as this was something our children and I were very excited to attend after coming across ARTea Studios on Small Ideas. After travelling 55 mins to the studio with a friend and our four children we arrived at the studio where there was one teacher/adult supervisor who was in the process of playing a game with a large amount of children already present whilst also trying to setup for the art activity. I assisted with the pass the parcel game as it was a lot for one person to be managing. A short time later, the activity began which was “Quirky Houses with Gardens” to which the description stated “design and make miniature clay houses” Another teacher/adult supervisor joined and the children were presented with a piece of paper and some pencils and texta’s which were in very poor condition. When we questioned where the clay was, we were told there was none. That the staff working are only contractors and go with what the owner ‘Helen’ drops to them. After a phone conversation with Helen raising my concerns about the above, I was told “that the teachers are very experienced art teachers with lots of experience and I need to stop complaining to allow them time to complete the class and that she would contact the teachers to get some clay out” When I asked if the clay would be available for all 21 children present I was advised this would only become available for our children and “I need to stop worrying about the other children present and worry about my own children” It proved very difficult to care for only my own children with the amount of safety concerns presented to all the children there. - 21 children (the youngest child being 4yo) present and two instructors who were highly stressed and overwhelmed for the majority of the session. Children asking my friend and I for assistance throughout the entire session. - Glass double doors open with allowing access for children to be able to leave or a predator to be able to enter. Staff would not have noticed if this happened. On several occasions I closed the door only for it to be reopened. - A toilet with no lockable door After several attempts to contact Helen, she did agree to a refund. Although failed to address or respond to any of the safety concerns raised including: - Childcare credentials - Working with children checks - First aid certifications It is very unfortunate this was our experience and I would not recommend this to anyone, especially people who plan on leaving their children there without them.
