In many ways, Renew Adelaide General Manager and Flinders University graduate Lily Jacobs is a poster child for the organisation she leads.

Once a practicing lawyer, Ms Jacobs used her business acumen to find a way to turn her passion for art into a career.

As it happens, the resulting career turned out to be one in which she now does the same for others.

Ms Jacobs is articulate, poised and self-assured as she speaks about her work at the converted cottage that is Renew Adelaide’s headquarters on Waymouth Street.

There is an authenticity about the place, which is further reinforced when she proceeds to make some excellent “real coffee” in a stovetop Italian percolator.

Over the brew, she explains how she moved from the relative rigidity of a law career to a multi-faceted role in which she helps aspiring artists turn a variety of dreams into reality.

“I’ve always had friends who are involved in the creative side of the world, and I volunteered at Renew before I took it on fulltime,” she says.

“When the General Manager’s position came up at Renew Adelaide, I couldn’t imagine any better opportunity for where I was at the time.

“I just knew that this was just what I was meant to do.”

To her left, over an antique fireplace, is a brightly coloured and complex artwork donated by one of the artists Renew Adelaide has helped in its three and a half years of business.

A montage of images, she says it depicts the meeting of nature and science – which is fitting given that, in a sense, that is exactly what Renew Adelaide does by helping artists navigate the tricky terrain of contracts, business planning and research required to convert raw creativity into viable business opportunities.

“We work mostly with creative start-up groups,” she says. “A big part of what we do is work with them to transform their ideas into a practical reality.

“More specifically, we provide rent-free space, which is turned into premises which add to the artistic character of the city and renew not just the buildings themselves, but also the surrounding areas.”

It may seem a far cry from her days at Flinders University, but Ms Jacobs, who also sits on the Economic Development Board of South Australia, has fond memories of her time at the university’s Bedford Park Campus.

“It felt very open and approachable at Flinders, and the focus of the students tended to be around the social good they could do with the law,” she says.

“I also felt that I could talk to senior lecturers about the profession and that there was a very open minded approach to studying the law, which is quite a rigid discipline.

“It felt like there was a real curiosity among the teachers about the students’ ideas and an enthusiasm for us to share those with them.”

Asked if that experience might have fostered a belief in her ability to influence things more widely, and if it might have led to her taking up leadership positions in the community, she ponders the notion for a few seconds.

“It’s an interesting question, and one I haven’t thought about before, but no, I think I’ve always assumed that I can influence and change things,” she says.

“That’s not to say that there aren’t occasionally road blocks, but I suppose it must be a personality thing because I’ve always felt this way.”

Although her love of art is the primary driver for her work at Renew Adelaide, when Ms Jacobs puts on her Economic Development Board hat, it’s clear that there are wider benefits for the economy of Adelaide and South Australia.

“We are funded by the City Council and State Government, so our targets at Renew Adelaide support the objectives of Council and the Government,” she says.

“One of the ten priorities that the Premier has highlighted is that he wants to see Adelaide as the Heart of a Vibrant State, and our work revolves mostly around that,” she says.

“The long term goal is to encourage and develop attitudes which are more accepting of new art and design. Creativity is essential for that process and creativity has essential qualities of risk taking and living by your beliefs.

“Those attributes are also good for business, so encouraging and supporting them is good for business too.”

And what does the future look like for Renew Adelaide?

“In the last financial year we have worked with 30 different projects and more than 80 artists or creative entertainers, and we’ve already been so busy this year that we have more vacancies that we can get to,” Ms Jacobs says.

“We’ve grown from 1.6 full time equivalent staff to 3.4, which will soon be five, and we’re working on securing funding over a few years rather than annually.

“There is a lot of scope for us to activate more properties and to build our ability to mentor and develop creative enterprise.”

You can find more information about Renew Adelaide here.