The Shoalhaven holds a rich history of culture, inspiration and artistic endeavour – from the traditional custodians of the Shoalhaven, the people of the Yuin Nation, to the legacy of artists who have been inspired by the unique beauty of the region.

Today the City is generously catered for in art places including the Shoalhaven City Arts Centre, Entertainment Centre, the School of Arts, Civic Centres, the Lady Denman Heritage Complex, and a range of vibrant smaller community museums and galleries.

Council strives to create opportunities in which people can express themselves, exchange ideas and work together to build a strong arts and heritage culture for the city and a greater understanding of our sense of self and place.

View our smART Spaces Arts and Cultural Heritage Strategy 2010-2014 (990kb. PDF)

Shoalhaven Arts Centre

The Shoalhaven City Arts Centre is a hub of vibrant and creative arts activities located in Nowra, NSW.  Its facilities include four exhibition galleries, a gallery shop and a meeting room. 

Exhibitions

Exhibitions feature works from National and Regional collections, the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery and the Shoalhaven City Art Collections, specifically curated shows and exhibitions by Shoalhaven artists and community and are changed regularly – typically every four weeks in the Grey, Access and Foyer Galleries and in the Main Gallery every six weeks.  For upcoming exhibitions, view the latest gallery Exhibition Brochure via the Arts Centre website (new window).

Art Competitions & Scholarships

The Shoalhaven Mental Health Fellowship Open Art Competition 2012 is an open art competition to help raise the awareness of mental illness, mental health and promote psychological recovery in the Shoalhaven region - with this year’s theme - "Out of the Darkness - into the Light". You do not need to have a mental illness to enter but must reside in the Shoalhaven and surrounding regions (See Entry Kit for details). Entry Kits are available from Jon Strang at The Junction or the Shoalhaven City Arts Centre, 12 Berry St, Nowra.
First Prize: $1,000.00
Second Prize: $100.00
Two (2) x Third Prizes: $50.00.
Delivery of Entries on Tuesday 1st May 2012 - ONLY - 10.00am – 4.00pm at Shoalhaven City Arts Centre

21C Women: Art Competition & Exhibition This competition has the theme 'Experiences of being female in the 21st Century'.  Details can be viewed at My Community (new window).  Closes 3pm on 27 February 2012.

Cancer Outpatients Appeal Acquisitive Art Awards 2012 - The Cancer Outpatients Appeal of Milton Ulladulla Inc. is organising the COA Acquisitive Art Awards 2012 to offer artists and our community in the southern Shoalhaven the opportunity to contribute to the comfort and accommodation of patients from this area who will be attending the Shoalhaven Cancer Care Centre in Nowra, due to be completed in 2013.  Entries close Monday, 19 March 2012 - contact the Dunn Lewis Centre Alley Gallery on (02) 4455 7725 for further details.

The Veolia Creative Art Scholarships 2012 are inviting expressions of interest from creative artists working in any arts discipline who live and work in the Veolia Mulwaree Trust area, being Goulburn Mulwaree, Palerang, Upper Lachlan, Wingecarribee, Oberon, Wollondilly, and Shoalhaven.  There are two scholarships available - Arts Practice $3,000 and Arts Study $3,000.  Guidelines are available from http://www.mulwareetrust.org.au/ or by phoning (02) 4822 2786.  Submissions close on 21 March 2012.

Gallery and City Art Collections

The Shoalhaven Regional Gallery and Shoalhaven City Art Collections have grown over the past 40 years into substantial regional collections containing excellent examples of Australian art by Arthur Boyd, William Robinson, Max Dupain, David Voigt, Dennis Adams and a large collection of late 1800s watercolours and photographs by Samuel Elyard.  The Collections have been developed to enhance, enrich and educate as well as stimulate awareness and appreciation of visual arts practice in contemporary Australia and the Shoalhaven.

Information for artists

Artists, arts organisations and community cultural groups are invited annually to submit an expression of interest to present exhibitions of arts, sculpture, installation work, photography, 3D works, pottery and ceramics, cultural heritage, fabric and textile art, video/multimedia film and community cultural projects at the Shoalhaven City Arts Centre.  Expression of Interest to Exhibit kits are available this year from 1 June and applications close end of July.  2012 Expression of Interest to Exhibit Conditions (PDF 525kb) & Forms (PDF 229kb).  Apply between 1st June and 31st July 2012 to exhibit in 2013. 

Volunteers

If you would like to be a volunteer and become active in the arts in our City, there are many tasks and activities in which you can be involved. These include gallery sitter, guide, assisting in hanging exhibitions, newsletter mail-outs and reception duties.  Become an Art Centre Volunteer application form (PDF 50kb), or read more about volunteering opportunities with an online form to register your interest. 

Venue hire

A range of facilities are provided by the Council to support creative activities in the region including the Shoalhaven City Arts Centre meeting room and the Nowra School of Arts and Annex.  

The Shoalhaven City Arts Centre offers a range of spaces for hire.  As well as the meeting room there is an internal timber-decked courtyard and the Gallery itself - available for low key events up to 100 people.

The heritage listed Nowra School of Arts offers the hirer a range of flexible spaces to suit a wide range of activities.  The main building (hall) is a charming environment - providing a perfect location to hold a small stage production, wedding reception or expo-style event.  The adjacent Annex is another venue suitable for hire by dance or community groups at a slightly cheaper rate.  These venues offer reduced hire fees for not-for-profit organisations and are available for a wide variety of activities.