South West Arts Inc

17/06/2026

👩‍💻 WORKSHOP - Business Essentials for Creatives

Being an artist isn’t just about making the work, there’s also the business side of sustaining a creative practice.

Regional Arts NSW is offering 'Business Essentials for Creatives', a practical online workshop series designed to help artists feel more confident with the admin that comes with creative work.

Across three sessions, RANSW CEO Tracey Callinan will break down the essentials, including ABNs, GST, getting paid properly, superannuation, budgeting, accounts, tax returns, CVs and portfolios.

Participants will also receive templates and resources to help simplify the process and support their creative business.

📅 Mondays 22 June, 29 June & 6 July
⏰ 10am – 12pm
💻 Online
🎟 Full series: $50 for RANSW Community Members / $125 non-members
Single session tickets also available.

A great opportunity for artists and creatives across the Far West to build confidence, get organised, and spend more time doing what they love — creating.

Register here: https://regionalartsnsw.com.au/ransw-online-workshops/

17/06/2026

12pm Today!!

AMPLIFY YOUR REACH // ONLINE WORKSHOP TODAY

Did you miss our face-to-face workshops? Join us online!

Calling all artists, makers and tourism operators across the Outback Arts region!

Join us for a FREE online workshop, AMPLIFY YOUR REACH, designed to help you strengthen your digital presence, promote your work with confidence, and connect with new audiences and opportunities.

Wednesday 17 June (today)

12:00pm

Online via Zoom

In this practical 90-minute session, you'll learn:

• How to showcase your work effectively online

• Tips for growing and engaging your networks

• Strategies to increase visibility, sales and opportunities

• Simple ways to build a stronger social media presence

Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand your reach, this workshop will provide practical tools and insights to help take your creative or tourism business to the next level.

🎟️ Places are limited – RSVP essential.

📧 RSVP: [email protected]

17/06/2026

An evening under the Southern sky — and it's free
South West Arts invites Riverina communities to a one-night event combining world-class astrophotography, live music, astronomy talks and supper under the stars.

This June, South West Arts is taking Deniliquin residents on an evening they won't forget — by free bus, into the Riverina countryside, for a night of art, science and genuine human connection under some of the darkest skies in Australia.

The Night Sky Wellbeing Project: Art, Astronomy and Connection takes place on Saturday 27 June 2026, beginning at 5:30 pm at Booroorban Hall with the opening of The Southern Sky — a major astrophotography exhibition featuring the best images from the 2025 David Malin Awards, presented in partnership with the Powerhouse Museum and CSIRO. Guests will browse the exhibition over canapés while harpist Roderick McLeod sets the mood with live music.

At 6:30 pm, the evening moves to Burraburoon Farmstay — a working sheep property on the edge of the outback — for the second chapter of the night. Around a campfire, guests will hear from two of Australia's foremost voices in astronomy and dark skies advocacy: Dr Fred Watson AM, Australia's first Astronomer-at-Large and former Astronomer-in-Charge at Siding Spring Observatory, and dark sky advocate Marnie Ogg. Artist Mel Anderson will lead hands-on light painting and smartphone astrophotography workshops — practical, accessible and genuinely fun for all ages and skill levels. Supper, more live music, and the kind of conversation that only happens around an open fire round out the evening.

Buses return to Deniliquin at 9:30 pm.

South West Arts Project Coordinator Carlee Rundell-Gordon said the event was born out of a simple idea: that people in regional communities deserve access to the kind of cultural experiences usually reserved for cities.

"We have something extraordinary out here that most people never slow down enough to notice — these incredible dark skies. This evening is about bringing the community together to look up, make new connections, and feel genuinely good about where they live."

The event is free. Buses from Deniliquin depart at 4:30 pm and seats are limited — bookings are essential.

Book now at https://www.trybooking.com/DMWBT

Event details
Date: Saturday 27 June 2026
Time: 5:30 pm onwards (free bus departs Deniliquin 4:30 pm)
Venues: Booroorban Hall, then Burraburoon Farmstay, Booroorban NSW 2710
Cost: Free — ticketed, bookings essential
Bookings: trybooking.com/DMWBT

Media enquiries
Carlee Rundell-Gordon, Project Coordinator
South West Arts
Ph: 0438 413 270
Email: [email protected]

Photo by Rob Embury

16/06/2026

We're excited to be offering our July Professional Development Workshop: Cultural Tourism.
Workshop date: Wednesday 1 July from 10:00am–11:00am.

This is an open workshop, suitable for artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, community members, organisations, and tourism operators interested in exploring how arts, culture, and Country can create meaningful tourism opportunities.

Participants will gain practical insights into:
• Understanding cultural tourism and its potential in regional communities
• Learning from successful Aboriginal-led tourism initiatives
• Identifying tourism opportunities within their region
• Developing authentic experiences and partnerships
• Understanding visitor expectations while ensuring culture remains respected and protected

Whether you're already working in tourism or just curious about what's possible, this workshop will provide valuable information and inspiration.

For more information and registrations, visit:
https://www.araansw.com/projects/monthly-workshops

16/06/2026

🎂
This year Regional Arts NSW is celebrating their 80th anniversary, marking a lifetime of support for regional creatives in NSW. To celebrate, we want to share a little about their history.

They’re one of the oldest arts organisations in Australia!

Regional Arts NSW was founded in 1946 as the Arts Council of NSW and has worked hard to adapt to the needs of our community. In the words of the late Evan Williams in the foreword of 50 years in the Bush: The Arts Council Movement in New South Wales:

“The Council’s strength has been its capacity to change, to respond to new demands and circumstances...and to create – in the fullest and best sense of that unfashionable term – genuine community arts.”

Their purpose has changed significantly over the years, beginning as a body dedicated to bringing city-based culture to towns across the state. Now, their primary purpose is to support the amazing creative work that is already happening in regional NSW. They want to help foster local participation in the arts and stimulate activity in the towns and regions themselves because they believe that regional creatives deserve the same opportunities as their city-based counterparts.

And it is because of this change in strategic direction, and their dedication to this mission over the past 80 years that we’re still here as the oldest continually operating private arts organisation in Australia.

To this day, they work hard to ensure that these regional and rural creatives have a voice. They are so proud of their legacy and they would love to partner with you to help them with this mission, so that they can keep doing this work for the next 80 years.

With the EOFY coming up, we encourage you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to Regional Arts NSW in celebration of our 80th birthday.

15/06/2026

Deadline July 13th, 2026

The Windmill Trust Scholarship 2026
Deadline: Friday 13 July 2026, midnight AEST.

Applications are open for The Windmill Trust Scholarship 2026
For regional artists: professional development, exhibition opportunities or to deepen research with a $10,000
scholarship. The Windmill Trust Scholarship supports artists in various career aspects, including independent artistic research or practice, professional development, exhibiting and presenting work in new ways. Applications close Friday 13 July 2026, midnight AEST.

Established in 1997 in memory of the artist Penny Meagher, the emphasis of the Windmill Trust Scholarship is to support visual artists from regional NSW to take up career development and/or presentation opportunities for their work. Financial support encompasses studio rental, materials or labour costs, framing, space rental, promotion, artists’ fees, freight, installation, and documentation.

For more information or to submit an application visit: regionalartsnsw.com.au/windmill-trust-scholarship

15/06/2026

NAIDOC at the Foundry Art Space.

12/06/2026

Don’t miss this! Open until June 28 at the Peppin.

12/06/2026

🐦 Calling all artists! Flying High is coming to Balranald Art Gallery this August, and entries are now open.
The Fine Arts Competition celebrates Australian native birdlife across 8 sections — painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, printmaking and more — with over $15,000 in prizes, including a $5,000 Best in Show acquisitive award.
📷 Photography entries close 10 July

🎨 All other artwork closes 24 July

🗓️ Exhibition opens Friday 7 August 2026
Enter online: https://forms.gle/1tZGfoZDJb3HxBur5

Questions? Call Kyla on 0428 981 193

11/06/2026

✨ 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 ✨

As another week comes to a close, we're checking in with our creative community and we want to know what's your focus right now?

Maybe you're:
🎨 Working towards an exhibition
🖌️ Creating new work
📸 Building your online presence
💡 Developing a new idea
📝 Applying for funding
🤝 Looking for new opportunities and connections

Whatever stage you're at, we'd love to hear about it so drop your current focus in the comments and let us know what you're working towards. Sharing your goals can be a great way to stay accountable, connect with others, and celebrate progress along the way.

At ARAA, we're proud to walk alongside First Nations artists, makers, and creatives as they pursue their goals and grow their practice so please reach out to our team for FREE assistance or support.

Have a deadly weekend everyone!