Jackson McLaren Art Guide Bookstore

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The Art Guide Bookstore, conceived by the team behind Art Guide Australia magazine, sits in the back streets of Northcote. It stocks books from the best independent arts publishers in the country, including artist, gallery and museum publications that can otherwise be hard to find.

Manager Jackson McLaren is an artist and arts-worker who wears a few different hats, and becoming a bookseller wasn't one he expected to wear.

Jackson moved to Northcote at 17, and has lived in the area for half his life since, including stints in Northcote, Thornbury, Alphington and now a little further down the Hurstbridge line, in Ivanhoe. The main thing that has kept him in the neighbourhood is the pockets of green, trails and waterways of the Darebin Creek, Merri Creek, and Yarra River.

Managing the bookstore has been a steep learning curve for Jackson, but one of his highlights was hosting the bookstore's first ever music performance, when visual artist and musician Jon Campbell set up his full band in and around the shelves while the audience spilled into the office.

We speak with Jackson about his connection to the area, and how it plays an important role in his work and daily routines.

(Photos from Art Guide Bookstore, Sebastian Kainey and Mosey Guide)

Mosey Guide (mg): What is your connection to Northcote?

Jackson McLaren (jm): I’m originally from Warrnambool in Southwest Victoria and I moved to Northcote when I was 17. The first house I lived in was a shopfront on Victoria Road—a stone’s throw from the bookstore. Returning to this neighbourhood all these years later has got me thinking about circularity, place, and memory.

(mg) What does Northcote mean to you?

(jm) Northcote is a very welcoming and inclusive place where you can be yourself and do your thing. Historically it has been a hub for creatives of all kinds. I remember someone told me years ago that Northcote has more musicians per capita than any other place in the country. I wonder if that’s still true. It’s a very beautiful suburb that has everything except a beach.

Northcote is a very welcoming and inclusive place where you can be yourself and do your own thing. Historically it has been a hub for creatives of all kinds.

A live band performing inside Art Guide Bookstore in Northcote, two guitarists playing cherry red electric guitars before a twinkling dot-lit dark wall, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling shelves of colourful art publications, vintage timber furniture, and a signature yellow tote bag hanging in the background, the intimate space transformed into an electrifying live music venue with amplifiers and a drum kit tucked between the bookshelves.

(mg) How does being in Northcote shape what you do?

(jm) I feel very connected to the Darebin Creek and surrounding area. The daily practice of running along the creek has been key for me to work through thoughts, ideas, and letting things become unstuck. Tuning in to the experience of the landscape in different weather conditions or time of day, smelling the eucalypts, spotting a variety of birdlife and other creatures—snakes, blue-tongues, occasionally kangaroos, does wonders for the senses.

(mg) What makes Northcote different from other places you've lived or worked?

(jm) Probably the live music culture that is still going strong. There is something on most nights of the week. You don’t get that in Ivanhoe!

(mg) What does your perfect day in Northcote look like?

(jm) Coffee from our next-door neighbour Ellis’ Belly, perusing the op-shops and record stores on High Street, checking out Suitcase Rummage at Northcote Town Hall. Then I would eat Vietnamese food for lunch, catch an afternoon film at Westgarth cinema, with a glass of wine out the back of Joe’s Shoestore, dinner at Goodwater and go to a gig at Northcote Social Club, or Wesley Anne.

(mg) Who are the other makers, creators, or people in the neighbourhood that inspire you?

(jm) A few of my favourite local publishers specialising in visual art are Tall Poppy Press, Sonntag Press, Monash University Museum of Art, Surpplus, and Discipline.

A few favourite local artists are Madeleine Peters, Jim Roche, Matlok Griffiths, Caitlin Aloisio Shearer, Hannah Maskell, and Jon Campbell.

I feel very connected to the Darebin Creek and surrounding area. The daily practice of running along the creek has been key for me to work through thoughts, ideas, and letting things become unstuck.

Two scenes along Merri Creek in Melbourne: on the left, a rocky creek bed winding through a dense corridor of eucalyptus and native scrub reflected in the still water beneath a vivid blue sky; on the right, a dappled dirt path curving through towering silver-barked gums casting long shadows across lush green grass in warm morning light, together evoking the wild and restorative character of this much-loved urban bushland trail.

(mg) What is the most memorable trip you’ve taken?

(jm) Spending a month travelling Japan in 2018.

(mg) Where is your next travel destination?

(jm) It might be the extreme heat we have been experiencing but I can feel Tasmania calling. I’ve had many great trips tthereover the years.

(mg) If you could recommend anywhere in the world for a mosey, where would it be?

(jm) The current exhibition Hany Armanious: Stone Soup at Buxton Contemporary in the city. Look closely, there is more than meets the eye.

Local knowledge

Go-to spot to reset or find inspiration:
The Creek!

Favourite time of day in Northcote:
I’m a fan of Saturday mornings; it’s nice watching people walk by on their way to get breakfast and discovering our bookstore.

Neighbourhood’s best kept secret: 
The Art Guide Bookstore!

24 hours in Northcote: 
The Merri Creek Tavern for a pint.