In line with NSW public health orders, The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre will remain closed until 12.01am Saturday 28 August.
Stay creative this lockdown with our digital program on offer for people of all ages. Learn to draw with Kristone Capistrano, get fabulous with Kolour Me Kweer, virtually explore the Eleni – Navigators of Polynesia exhibition or drum with Yaw and Friends.
Click here to explore the program.
The Blacktown City Art Prize is back in 2021, with a full suite of activities designed to engage and excite residents and visitors alike. From the prestigious award itself through to a summer-long art exhibition, workshops, talks and more, the Blacktown City Art Prize offers an opportunity to connect with Blacktown’s vibrant, diverse, creative community.
Click here to read the Blacktown City Council Sponsorship Policy
Click here to read the EOI – Blacktown City Art Prize Sponsorship
Submissions close Monday 19 July.
Photo credit
Jennifer Leahy
Due to updated NSW Health requirements, all visitors to indoor venues are required to wear face masks until Thursday 1 July. Please remember to bring and wear your mask during your visit at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Your health is important and we appreciate your cooperation.
All programs, workshops and performances will continue as scheduled.
Children under 12 are exempt but are encouraged to wear masks where practicable.
Blacktown Arts has the right to exclude patrons from entering the venue. Conditions of entry to exclude patrons exhibiting flu-like symptoms, unwell, have been tested and are awaiting results, positive COVID-19 cases, those required to self-isolate by NSW government, those returning from overseas, those not wearing a face mask (children under 12 years of age will be exempt) and those refusing to register their details for contact tracing.
Watch highlights from the opening of our Songlines and Sightlines exhibition at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre including Mayor of Blacktown City, Councillor Tony Bleasdale OAM and local First Nations Elders Uncle Wes Marne and Uncle Greg Simms.
The walls are filling up fast with all your drawings and notes for Blacktown — past, present and future. Visit us today to take part in this free interactive drawing and colouring-in gallery.
Did you know you can listen to audio by the artists and read about the images and stories in the exhibition? Click here to learn more about Songlines and Sightlines.
Songlines and Sightlines – Colouring in Blacktown
22 May – 19 June 2021
Free admission
Click here to register your visit
Images and video
Hypereel Brand
Blacktown Arts would like to congratulate Debbie Higgison, our Solid Ground Education Program Officer, for winning the 2021 Chifley Woman of the Year award at the Coral McLean Awards.
Debbie was recognised for her work with the local community – Elders, young people, schools and artists.
We’d also like to congratulate the winner of the Coral McLean 2021 Award Jennifer Beale and Chifley Young Woman of the Year Teagan Hodges.
The Awards were presented by Federal Member for Chifley, Ed Husic, on Tuesday 20 April.
The Awards are an opportunity to say thank you to inspiring women in our area and there’s no better role model to name the Awards after than the late Coral McLean who volunteered more than 100,000 hours in the Mount Druitt area.
Coral sadly lost her 20-month battle with breast cancer in 2011. In her honour, all proceeds raised at the breakfast will be donated to the McGrath Foundation.
If you would like to donate to the McGrath Foundation, you can do so here.
Photo credit
Image by Justin Sanson, The Daily Telegraph
On Saturday 17 April we hosted Stories from 2148, a reading and panel discussion facilitated by Winnie Dunn featuring Evelyn Araluen, Maryam Azam, Sarah Malik and Joy Adan.
Stories from 2148 was curated and hosted by Tongan-Australian writer, editor and Mount Druitt local Winnie Dunn, celebrating the sovereignty, diversity and creativity present in women artists who have grown up and reside within Blacktown city. Featuring Evelyn Araluen, Maryam Azam, Sarah Malik, and Joy Adan, Stories from 2148 took audiences through the backstreets of Blacktown discussing why the area is such a potent source of inspiration.
Tea and sweets were served at the Afghan Tea Corner by Maryam Zahid of Afghan Women on the Move.
The event was livestreamed on our Facebook and can be viewed below.
Winnie Dunn
Winnie Dunn is a Tongan-Australian writer and arts worker from Mount Druitt. She is the general manager of Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Sydney University. Winnie’s work has been published in the Sydney Review of Books, The Saturday Paper, The Griffith Review, Meanjin Quarterly, SBS Voices, Southerly and Cordite. She is the editor of several anthologies, most notable Sweatshop Women – Australia’s first anthology entirely written, edited and designed by women of colour. Winnie is currently completing her debut novel as the recipient of a 2019 CAL Ignite Grant.
Evelyn Araleun
Evelyn Araluen is Co-Editor of Overland, as well as a poet, educator and researcher working with Indigenous literatures at the University of Sydney. Her work has won the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize, and a Wheeler Centre Next Chapter Fellowship. Her debut poetry collection DROPBEAR is available now, published by the University of Queensland Press. Her work has been published extensively and Sweatshop is honoured to have published a poem of Evelyn’s in The Big Black Thing: Chapter. 2. Born, raised, and writing in Dharug country, Evelyn is a Bundjalung descendant.
Maryam Azam
Maryam Azam is a Pakistani-Australian writer and teacher who lives and works in Western Sydney. She graduated with Honours in Creative Writing from Western Sydney University and holds a diploma in the Islamic Sciences. Her debut poetry collection The Hijab Files (Giramondo, 2018) was shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore award and the Anne Elder award.
Sarah Malik
Sarah Malik is a Walkley-award winning journalist and writer who grew up in Western Sydney. Her most recent work ‘The Area’ – a three-part SBS series – explored the changing face of the region, and experiences of race, culture, class and immigration through conversations with locals in their favourite cafes and restaurants. She is passionate about storytelling and voice – and believes there is power and freedom in women and culturally diverse people taking control of, and telling their own stories and narratives.
Joy Adan
Joy Adan is a Filipino-Australian writer and emerging artist from Western Sydney. A business journalist by day and calligrapher and memoirist by night, Joy uses different mediums to tell stories and surface the colour and connection in our everyday experiences. She is published in Sweatshop Women: Volume One.
Curated by Winnie Dunn
Stories from 2148 is supported by Create NSW and Sweatshop is supported by Australia Council for the Arts, Packer Family Foundation, Crown Resorts Foundation, Blacktown City Council and Information and Cultural Exchange Centre.
Social media by Mark Mariano.
Traditional painter, carver and designer Faraimo Paulo of Tokelau is on a mission to record his people’s history and culture. Tokelau is made up of 3 coral atolls, Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo, 500km north of Western Samoa.
As emigration and rising water levels from global warming threaten to erase the traditional Tokelauan lifestyle, Paulo has embarked on a mission to realistically capture on canvas the culture, stories and scenes of Tokelauan society, often using his family members as models. Eleni – Navigators of Polynesia represents a major survey of Faraimo Paulo’s work over the last three decades.
Blacktown Arts and TVD.media present the 360° VR tour of Eleni – Navigators of Polynesia, an immersive virtual experience of the exhibition available anywhere in the world.
Photo credit
TVD.media
Please note, The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre will be closed over the Easter long weekend from Good Friday 2 April. We will reopen on Tuesday 6 April.
There are three more days to see Eleni – Navigators of Polynesia by Faraimo Paulo before it closes on Thursday 1 April.
The Elders in residence program will not go ahead on Friday 2 April or during the Autumn school holidays. This program will return on Friday 23 April.
Our Autumn school holiday program will begin on Wednesday 7 April. Click here to learn more.
Future-Proof, our new exhibition in partnership with Settlement Services International, will open on Friday 9 April. Click here to learn more.
Have a great long weekend and we will see you next week!
Sima Alikhani is a contemporary artist born in Iran and living in western Sydney. Sima completed her visual arts degree at the university of Tehran where she worked as an art teacher for many years. Since coming to Australia, she has worked as an education support worker in schools around western Sydney. Art is Sima’s passion and she uses her artmaking as creative therapy, helping students to express emotions and reduce stress.
Sima is interested in inspiring audiences and participants to look carefully at the world around them, and to discover beauty in unusual places. Her own artwork often focuses on women’s issues, nurturing, and imperfection. Sima has valuable experience working with local artists in the Blacktown area and has been involved in many collaborative projects involving children and families .
Find Sima Alikhani on Instagram @sima.alikhani2
Family painting – Canvas creations with Sima Alikhani
Cost: $20 per family of two (adult must accompany child) and $10 for each additional child
Age: All ages – children and families welcome
Dates and times:
Wednesday 7 April
10.30 am – 1.00 pm
Book now
Dr Fan Dongwang graduated from Shanghai School of Arts and Crafts following comprehensive training in traditional Chinese art forms. He obtained a Master of Art at COFA, (now UNSW Art and Design) and also a Doctor of Creative Art at Wollongong University. He has been awarded the Mosman Art Prize, Festival of Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Liverpool City Art Prize, Willoughby City Art Prize, Ian Potter Cultural Trust Grant, and the Art on The Rocks Prize. Fan also designed two large Dog lanterns as part of City of Sydney’s Lunar New Year Lantern Exhibition in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Find Fan Dongwang on Instagram @fandongwang
Plum blossoms – Chinese ink brush painting workshop
Cost: $30 per child
Age: Primary school aged children
Dates and times:
Thursday 8 April
10.30 am – 1.00 pm
Book now
Daniela Cristallo is an emerging contemporary abstract artist who lives and works in Sydney. She predominantly works with acrylic and oilstick on canvas and board, with a long time interest in drawing with mixed media on paper. Daniela is known for her richly textured paintings that are inspired by the Australian landscape which strongly draw upon her plein air studies. Back in the studio, she explores these places with deeper mediations using the materiality of paint to allow these original forms to meet in a more primal and inventive way.
Her connection to the many places travelled and experienced attempts to convey an intimate subjectivity that evokes emotion and a sense of place through the language of colour, texture, mark and mood. Daniela’s work is exhibited regularly and has been a finalist in a significant number of art awards and accrued in private collections both nationally and internationally.
Find Daniela Cristallo on Instagram @danielacristalloartist
Making Your Mark with Daniela Cristallo
Cost: $15 per child
Age: 7 – 12 years old
Dates and times:
Friday 9 April
10.30 am – 1.00 pm
Book now
Irina Iris is an artist and art educator, born in Belarus and now based in Sydney. She studied at art school as a child, graduated architectural college and received a Bachelor of Architecture in Europe. In Australia, she graduated from a Diploma in Visual Art with Distinction from Nepean Art and Design Centre. Irina is interested in realistic and intuitive art and loves nature and Plein Air painting. Her passion is also in illustration and painting in a decorative style.
Irina is the founder of Iris Art Studio for children where she runs online and in–studio workshops and term lessons for children. She firmly believes that art makes everyone happy and every child must have the chance to be an artist, to explore the world through visual images and unlock their own unique creativity.
Find Irina Iris on Instagram @iris_art_studio
Fun with Ceramics and Drawing
Cost: $15 per child
Age: Primary school aged children
Dates and times:
Tuesday 13 April
10.30 am – 1.00 pm
Book now
Elaine is an Irish Australian visual artist and mobile arts educator located in both the Blacktown and Hills area of western Sydney and in Wallerawang, Regional NSW Australia with over 26 years experience. Through her company Fun Time Art, she offers a variety of art educational programs designed to be a unique, inspiring, and creative learning experience for everyone young or old. In addition, to teaching art, she is also an established visual artist, mural artist, art therapist, children author and book illustrator.
Find Elaine Butler on Instagram @funtimeart
Creative Roar – Mixed media wall sculpture
Cost: $15 per child
Age: 5 – 8 years old
Dates and times:
Thursday 15 April
10.30 am – 1.00 pm
Book now
Born in 1993 and based in Sydney, New South Wales, Teresa Small paints contemporary realism, fluid based abstracts and fragmented surrealism. Reluctant to be constrained by any singular set style or subject, Teresa’s paintings range from landscapes, portraiture to abstractions of natural forms. In every instance, she strives to capture a sense of balance, harmony and aesthetic charm in her work.
With 13 years of study and painting experience and a background in secondary education, Teresa is passionate about teaching the joy of creative expression through painting. Breaking away from the school environment, Teresa focuses on sharing her technical knowledge and playful spirit in weekend workshops, private tuition and technical demonstrations for adults. Teresa is the resident Artist for Chroma Australia and is represented by Gallery 11:11.
Find Teresa Small on Instagram @teresasmallart
Our Oceans – Acrylic pouring with Teresa Small
Cost: $20 per child
Age: 7 – 16 years old
Dates and times:
Friday 16 April
10.30 am – 1.00 pm
Book now
Based in western Sydney, Nico is an emerging mixed media artist and painter, primarily focused on painting abstract works in which he intuitively develops compositions. Nico is a recent Bachelor of Arts graduate from the National Art School where he majored in painting and is a valued member of the Blacktown Arts community.
Nico enjoys the prospect of not having a clear cut conclusion to his artwork before beginning the painting process, finding a visual harmony and sense of balance between the varying formal qualities in his works.
Nico will be supporting the artist facilitators during the workshops.
Find Nico Bauer on Instagram @niicomakes
