Acknowledgement of Country

Dharug

Bayadyinyang budyari Dharug yiyura Dharug Ngurra.
Bayady’u budyari Dharug Warunggadgu baranyiin barribugu.
Bayady’u budyari wagulgu yiyuragu Ngurra bimalgu Blacktown City. Flannel flowers dyurali bulbuwul.
Yanmannyang mudayi Dharug Ngurrawa. Walama ngyini budbud dali Dharug Ngurra Dharug yiyura baranyiin barribugu.

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English

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this Land, the Dharug people, and their continued connection to Country.
We pay our respects to Elders from yesterday to tomorrow.
We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Blacktown City where the flannel flowers still grow proud and strong.
We will walk softly on this land and open our hearts to Country as the Dharug people have for tens of thousands of years.

Credit to: Dharug woman Rhiannon Wright, daughter of Leanne ‘Mulgo’ Watson Redpath and granddaughter of Aunty Edna Watson

Loading Events

Get out and about and connect with your creative side with Winter Making.

Join some of our regular favourites and a suite of talented local artists for a jam-packed program of workshops and studio sessions across collage, drawing, zines and more.

Everyone is welcome to yarn with local First Nations Elders at Elders in Residence on Friday mornings. On Wednesdays, join 2023 Archibald Prize finalist and mentor Patrice Wills at Open Studio.

Want to try something new? Join artist Stan Florek for a special one-off Still Life Drawing workshop inspired by his exhibition Bread and Longing, and celebrate International Zine Month at a Zine Making workshop with we are the mainstream founder Priyanka Bromhead.

For kids, experiment with materials at a Storytelling through Collage workshop with artist Raneen Shamon presented alongside her exhibition Arabic Treasures.

 

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Open Studio

Open Studio

Be a part of our thriving creative community at Open Studio!

Join 2023 Archibald Prize finalist and mentor Patrice Wills at our established Open Studio program. Patrice brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you develop your skills and support you with your individual projects.

Bring along an existing project or start something new in a welcoming, social, and supportive environment.

Now is the time to get involved, with participating artists boasting a growing list of achievements including Creative Arts Fund recipiencies, Blacktown City Art Prize finalist-picks, and recent group exhibitions From The Studio and Snapshot.

All experience levels are welcome

Ages 16+
Basic materials provided, canvas available for purchase.

Wednesdays, 7 June to 28 June, and 19 July to 30 August
10.30 am to 1.00 pm

Elders in Residence

Elders in Residence

Get to know local First Nations Elders Uncle Wes Marne, Uncle Greg Simms, Uncle Danny Eastwood and Uncle John Farrington on Friday mornings at Elders in Residence.

Acknowledging our place on Dharug land, Elders in Residence is the place to connect with First Nations culture. Grab a cuppa and some damper, and have a yarn with these knowledge holders and valued members of the local community.

All welcome
Damper and beverages provided.

Fridays, 9 June to 30 June, and 21 July to 25 August
10.30 am to 12.30 pm

Storytelling through Collage with Raneen Shamon

Storytelling through Collage with Raneen Shamon

Kids, tell your story through collage with local artist Raneen Shamon.

Take a tour of Raneen’s exhibition Arabic Treasures and learn about the techniques and materials she uses in her own work.

Find out about the different types of collage, including paper collage, découpage, photomontage, and assemblage. Use second hand magazines, newspapers, books and other scrap materials to express yourself and create a colourful and unique artwork.

Visit The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre to check out Raneen’s solo exhibition Arabic Treasures until 1 July 2023.

Still Life Drawing with Stan Florek

Still Life Drawing with Stan Florek

Join local artist Stan Florek for a drawing workshop presented alongside his exhibition Bread and Longing.

Discover the expressive nature of materials like charcoal and pastels by experimenting with colour, form and composition and techniques including hatching, blending and stippling.

Be inspired by Stan’s body of work and explore methods of storytelling through art.

All experience levels are welcome.

Ages 16+
Materials provided.

Thursday 20 July
6 pm to 8 pm

Zine Making with Priyanka Bromhead

Zine Making with Priyanka Bromhead

To celebrate International Zine Month, join writer, artist and we are the mainstream founder Priyanka Bromhead for a hands-on zine workshop.

Learn about the history and significance of zine-making, and work with Priyanka to develop your ideas into your own zine.

Your zine can be anything from a comic or short story to a cookbook or instruction manual, using a range of media including collage, writing and illustration.

All experience levels are welcome.

Ages 14+
Materials provided

Saturday 29 July
10.30 am to 1.00 pm

Bios

Patrice Wills has an extensive professional background working and training in visual arts, education, and health, traversing work in public arts programming. Patrice brings this life experience to her artistic practice which reflects on and explores the human condition and spirit.

Patrice is an award-winning artist and producer of the Blacktown Arts Open Studio program. Patrice’s work is exhibited regularly, and frequently selected as a finalist in art awards and accrued in private and public collections.

Priyanka Bromhead is an eela thamizh writer, antidisciplinary artist and recovering teacher who lives and works on Darug land.

Priyanka has worked with young people across south west and western Sydney for fifteen years, having reclaimed curricula in English and HSIE classrooms.

Her experience within middle and high schools has since taken her into the tertiary system as an educational consultant, namely University of Technology and University of Newcastle on developing anti-caste and anti-racist teaching and learning experiences for young people and adults alike.

Priyanka is also an arts and cultural worker and has worked in various creative spaces leading community engagement strategies, facilitating arts initiatives and building cross-community solidarity. She is the lead facilitator of Reframing Autism’s Intersectional Advisory Committee.

Priyanka is committed to radical peace and radical love.

Presented by Blacktown Arts with support from Blacktown City Council and the NSW Government through Create NSW

Image Credits:

Image: Open Studio, by The Western, Open Studio, 2022, courtesy Blacktown Arts
Uncle Wes by Eliya Cohen, Mosca Media Australia
Collage by Raneen Shamon, Stan Florek, courtesy of Blacktown Arts
Family Day, 2022 by Liza Moscatelli, Mosca Media Australia
Patrice Wills, courtesy the artist
Priyanka Bromhead by Kas
Raneen Shamon, courtesy the artist
Stan Florek, courtesy the artist

I’m an Artist

I’m an Artist

Blacktown Arts supports artists through annual opportunities across prizes, exhibitions, funding opportunities, and studio spaces for local creatives.

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Blacktown City Art Prize

Blacktown City Art Prize

Blacktown City’s annual acquisitive art prize open to artists across Australia, with a prize pool of over $23,500.

Learn MoreBlacktown City Art Prize

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