Discover exhibitions, art prizes, workshops, artist opportunities and visual arts news — with Hornsby, the Upper North Shore and Northern Sydney always first.
Create an original soft pastel artwork and enter Clairefontaine’s Instagram competition. There are 13 prizes, including travel vouchers and art supplies.
Hornsby · Ku-ring-gai · Upper North Shore
See 86 finalist works across painting, sculpture, photography, drawing and printmaking at Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre. The free exhibition runs from 16 October to 1 November, Tuesday–Sunday, 10am–4pm, with prize winners announced on opening day.
Prize & exhibition details →Emerging artists explore fabric at Grace Cossington Smith Gallery in Wahroonga. The Event of a Thread runs from 3–24 October, with free entry Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–5pm. Find the gallery at Gate 7, 1666 Pacific Highway.
Exhibition details →Ku-ring-gai Art Society’s spring show comes to The Gallery at St Ives Shopping Village from 26 October to 8 November. Member entries closed on 9 October. Check the society’s website for exhibition details.
Exhibition & member entry details →Discover emerging Australian artists across a range of disciplines at Art Space Gallery, The Concourse. The Willoughby Emerging Art Prize finalists’ exhibition runs from 9 October to 1 November at Art Space Gallery, The Concourse, with a $15,000 prize pool.
Exhibition details →Hornsby · Roseville · Northern Beaches
Build a regular painting practice with Cheree Connolly at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Community College. The Thursday morning course welcomes beginners and experienced painters, with nine sessions from 15 October to 10 December, 9.30–11.30am.
Course details →Develop ceramic objects using sculptural forms, wheel work and hand-building in a flexible adult course at Ku-ring-gai Art Centre, with guidance from an expert potter.
Course details →Ku-ring-gai Art Centre’s adult masterclass develops watercolour technique, proportion, depth, light, tone, perspective and still-life composition across a nine-week term.
Course details →Explore flowers and botanical forms through observational drawing, painting and hand-cut paper collage in this all-levels Ku-ring-gai Art Centre course.
Course details →Learn hand-building and surface-treatment techniques while developing an individual ceramics style. Beginners and experienced makers are welcome.
Course details →Create decorative and functional works using clear, coloured and recycled glass, with on-site firing at Ku-ring-gai Art Centre.
Course details →Artists of all levels can practise observational drawing, colour mixing and layering while studying flowers, leaves and stems at Ku-ring-gai Art Centre.
Course details →Explore woven textiles and try weaving or spinning equipment at 28C Chester Street, Epping. The remaining open day is 18 October, 10am–4pm, with a loom talk from 10–11am and spinning talk from 2–3pm. Entry is free.
Open studio details →Local first, then opportunities across NSW
Kindergarten–Year 6 students living or attending school in Willoughby can create a festive street flag. Use the official A3 portrait template and deliver the design and completed entry form to Council at 31 Victor Street, Chatswood, by 5pm on 16 October. Up to 40 designs will be selected.
Eligibility, template & entry details →Selected visual arts events worth the trip
A decade of Michael Muir’s paintings comes together in a free survey exploring colour, memory and place. The exhibition continues at Manly Art Gallery & Museum until 29 November.
Exhibition & artist talk →Exhibitions and art events across the state
Explore works by NSW women artists responding to Meroogal, its history and the lives of the women who called it home. Finalist artworks are displayed throughout the historic house in Nowra. Check the museum’s opening days before travelling.
View exhibition →Goulburn Regional Art Gallery hosts a National Gallery touring exhibition of Clarice Beckett paintings through 21 November. Visit the gallery’s current exhibitions page for opening hours and details of the other shows running alongside it.
Gallery exhibition details →Wagga Wagga Art Gallery is showing a National Gallery touring exhibition exploring the graphic art, design and visual culture of music posters. Entry is free.
Touring exhibition details →The National Gallery’s Skywhales Across Australia program lands at the South East Centre for Contemporary Art in Bega on 17 October, bringing a major free touring art event to regional NSW.
Touring event details →Current exhibitions from leading public galleries
A major NGV exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre revisits the influential Australian modernist artist and her distinctive approach to colour, design and printmaking.
Visit NGV →GOMA explores 70 years of creative process, puppetry, character-making and world-building in an exhibition developed with The Jim Henson Company.
Exhibition details →Guides from Art Supplies Australia
Learn how to control gouache consistency, paint smooth areas of colour and layer without lifting. Includes paper tips and a simple botanical exercise.
Read the latest guide →Know about an exhibition, workshop, prize or artist event around Hornsby or Northern Sydney? Send it to Art Supplies Australia for consideration.
Submit your art news →Explore professional and student art materials from leading brands, plus LUCA surfaces exclusive to Art Supplies Australia.
Shop all collections →Art News is curated for artists and art lovers. Event dates and details can change; please confirm with the organiser before attending. External stories remain the property of their respective publishers. External news cards are presented text-first without third-party imagery unless reuse permission is clearly established.
