0°C | Saturday January 31, 2026 
29 January 2026
A home can serve many functions—an office, restaurant, bar, hotel, studio, spa, salon and much more—but what about an art gallery? Neutral Bay locals Evelina Tarassova and Luke Halpin believe their two-bedroom apartment is an ideal space to host an art exhibition.
The duo will open their front door to the public on Saturday 7 February, showcasing over 22 artists and 92 pieces.
Locals may know these two as the hosts of art battles at the Crows Nest Festival, just one of the many ways they show their love for art. “I grew up in an engineering world and when I was taken to my first live art event, it blew my mind. I thought, ‘How come every event doesn’t have live art? This is amazing.’ When I moved to Perth at one point, and no one was doing it there. So I started activating events and supporting artists in WA,” Halpin explained.
After gathering a network of Sydney artists through several art battle events, they wanted to do more for the art community.
“They’re always looking for things to do. And we’re like, well, let’s just transform our house. We’ve never seen anybody do that before in Sydney since we’ve been here. We’ve been here for three years and we haven’t seen anyone do it. So we thought, okay, let’s just do it. Let’s create something unique,” Tarassova told the Sun.
Through this event, they hope to support local artists, help the community grow and create a space where people can connect through art. The pieces submitted so far total up to around $68,000 worth of art.
The line-up includes several local North Shore artists, including Ali Greene from Wave Art Crows Nest, sculpture and floral painter Daniele D’Aluisio, Ceramics by Sherelyn, and hand-drawn illustrator Raisa Kross.
Tarassova will also have some of her original work on display. Originally born in Russia and raised in Northern Italy, she gained a love of art as a “self-taught artist at home in the corner”. As she hosted more art events, she was inspired to grow her own craft. “I was watching the artists, how they create the art, fine-tuning my learning. And so I started painting more and more,” she said.
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Tarassova and Halpin particularly like painting and repurposing furniture from council clean-ups, with the majority of their apartment furnished through this sustainable approach.
If you would like to check it out, head to 439 Alfred St North, Neutral Bay on 7 February between 11 am and 8 pm. Defining art can be subjective, but so can defining what an art gallery is. For one day only, this modest Neutral Bay apartment will transform into the hottest art scene in Sydney.
RSVP HERE: https://events.humanitix.com/art-next-door