Throughout it's long and colourful history Trades Hall has been a great
advocate of the arts. This commitment followed the tradition of the
Working Mens Colleges in England as espoused by Ruskin, Rossetti
and Burne-Jones.

In 1867 the Painters and Decorators Union established the Artisans School
School of Design in the small, wooden building that was the original Trades Hall.
These classes continued in the new building from 1874 under the tutelage
of Louis Buvelot and William Bugg amongst others. The alumni included Tom
Roberts and Fredrick McCubbin, the fathers of modern Australian landscape
painting.

The enduring relationship between the arts and unionism continues to this day
embracing painting, ceramics, graphic arts, writing, poetry, artist exchanges
and grants, theatre, music and publishing.