South Coast Arts

04/09/2026

Next up...CREATIVITY & CHANGE
Join anthropologist, educator and TEDx speaker Dr Monty Badami for a raw, honest look at why arts and culture matter — not as a "nice to have," but as the glue that holds communities together and helps us adapt through change.

Monty has spent his career studying what it means to be human — from living with the Paniya community in South India to serving as an Army Reserve officer to (yes) singing jazz. Expect big ideas, zero corporate fluff, and a conversation that'll leave you thinking differently.

📅 Wed 16 Sept
💻 Online via Zoom
🎟️ Free — Registration needed
https://events.humanitix.com/creative-gathering-creativity-and-change/tickets
Hosted by South Coast Arts

01/09/2026

Meet Craig Green — finding a voice through recovery. 🎤
A local writer, poet and sculptor, Craig found his recovery from schizophrenia through writing his memoir Calling in the Dead, printed with support from a South Coast Arts grant. Now a public speaker of 30 years, he brings understanding to mental illness and the struggles artists face.

Catch him at Lightning Talks
Saturday 5 September, 1:30–4:30pm
Ulladulla Civic Centre
Tickets at https://events.humanitix.com/creastive-gathering-talk-rescheduled/tickets

27/08/2026

Meet Zoe Po***ck — why culture shouldn't stop at the city limits. 🎤
A cultural leader and arts strategist with 18+ years in festivals and regional cultural development, Zoe passionately believes that regional communities deserve the same creative ambition as our cities.

Catch her at Lightning Talks
Saturday 5 September, 1:30–4:30pm
Ulladulla Civic Centre
Tickets — https://events.humanitix.com/creastive-gathering-talk-rescheduled/tickets

26/08/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Michele Barker, National Regional Arts Fellow 2026! 🎉
Based in Callala Beach, NSW, Michele is an award-winning visual artist known for immersive experimental moving image and acoustic works exploring human and more-than-human experience.
https://sensesofperception.info/

Her Fellowship project, "Poles Apart," will spend 12 months exploring how a melting Arctic — warming six times faster than the global average — connects to her own region on the NSW South Coast, through fieldwork, studio experimentation and community engagement.

Michele's acclaimed practice includes 'Struck' (developed during her A.I.R. at Eyebeam, New York, later exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW), 'évasion', 'HokusPokus', and her ongoing 'ecologies of duration' series — using aerial and underwater drones to make geological time visible, most recently with 'ecologies (Arctic)', shown at ISEA24/QUT Art Museum and the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale.

We can't wait to see where this project takes her.

25/08/2026

Meet Brendan Harding — from soldier to meditation teacher. 🎤
A former Australian Army soldier turned Vedic meditation teacher, Brendan will share how a simple daily practice rebuilt his resilience and energy, and how he now teaches it to others facing their own challenges. Catch him at Lightning Talks.
Saturday 5 September, 1:30–4:30pm
Ulladulla Civic Centre

Tickets — https://events.humanitix.com/creastive-gathering-talk-rescheduled/tickets

25/08/2026

Meet Nick McLaren — uncovering new takes on Wollongong's darkest untold stories.

An ABC Illawarra journalist with deep knowledge of the region's crimes and misdemeanours, Nick's digging into Dark Wollongong — from the Frank Arkell case to a still-unsolved abduction from over 50 years ago.

Catch him at Lightning Talks
Saturday 5 September, 1:30–4:30pm at Ulladulla Civic Centre

https://events.humanitix.com/creastive-gathering-talk-rescheduled/tickets

25/08/2026

Explore the very serious business of whimsy — with Gemma Hart
A community arts and cultural development practitioner, Gemma believes creativity and play are the tools we need to tackle uncertainty — from interactive theatre and puppetry to storytelling with young people.

Saturday 5 September, 1:30–4:30pm
Ulladulla Civic Centre
Free - book now
https://events.humanitix.com/creastive-gathering-talk-rescheduled/tickets

17/08/2026

AI & the Arts — With Sophie Penkethman-Young
At the moment it feels like ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (better known as AI) is taking over the world. Or is at least dominating the conversation worldwide. But still, it remains perplexing. Is it going to replace you at your job? Is it going to fill the internet with soulless slop? Can we trust what it tells us? Is it secretly plotting to kills us all? Or is it actually a useful tool to help us be more productive and do the things that we don’t want to do? For artists especially understanding AI is increasingly important because of what it could mean for the creative industry.

We want to help answer all your AI questions! Join us at our next online workshop with self-proclaimed ‘Art Ho and Tech Bro’ and guest presenter Sophie Penkethman-Young.
Sophie brings a wealth of experience in both the digital and creative worlds and will take you through all the basic info you need to know about AI

📆 Friday 18 September
⏰ 10am – 12pm
📍 Online
🎫 FREE for RANSW Community Members, $30 for non-members
https://events.humanitix.com/online-workshop-ai-and-the-arts

17/08/2026

*Rescheduled Event*
Spend an afternoon with South Coast creatives, artists, thinkers and doers…sharing and connecting with people who get it. Come as you are, bring your curiosity, and leave with new connections

Our Lightning Talks are connection without the awkward bits — there’s no speed-networking, and no standing in the corner balancing a cup of tea and a muffin while you work up the courage to say hello. Instead, we'll guide the afternoon with a bit of structure and a lot of warmth, so connecting feels easy and natural.

Creative Gathering — Lightning Talks
Saturday 5 September, 1.30–4.30pm
The Lounge, Ulladulla Civic Centre
FREE — Get tickets

A great opportunity for South Coast artists, creatives and thinkers to present their practice, project, idea, or passion, in short lightning talk presentations.

12/07/2026

Join us for our next Creative Gathering
Connect with fellow creatives, hear and share stories, ideas, and conversations that get us thinking, creating and doing.
Whether you're looking to meet new people, explore fresh ideas or simply spend an afternoon in all things creativity, we'd love to see you there.

📅 Saturday 25 July, 1:30–4:30pm
📍 Cupitt's Estate, Ulladulla
Save your spot at https://events.humanitix.com/creative-gathering-talk/tickets

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Interested in sharing your story?
Submit a Lightning Talk expression of interest through the link in our bio.
If you've learnt something the hard way, discovered a new way of working, overcome a challenge, or have an experience that might inspire someone else, we'd love to hear from you. You don't need to be a professional speaker—just someone with a story, idea or insight that could spark new thinking in others.

🎟️ Submit your talk idea at https://form.jotform.com/director975/lightening-talks-application