Create NSW

With just one month to go, now’s the time to catch the final weeks of @Biennalesydney ! Presented across five major exhibition sites from @whitebaypowerstation , @campbelltownartscentre , @penrithregionalgallery and between, this festival brings world-class contemporary art right across the city. There’s still plenty to see and do, including arts workshops, poetry slams, markets and a special Art After Dark collaboration with @VividSydney . 🗓️ Closing 14 June 2026. 🔗Link in bio for full program #CreateNSWSupported #BiennaleOfSydney #ArtsAndCulture __ Image Credits: Living Histories 2026 by @nikeshabreeze . Photo: Document Photography

Got a project that celebrates culture and community? Funding is now open through Cultural Access - Priority Area Projects, supporting arts and cultural projects across NSW’s diverse communities. This is the only funding round for this year, so don’t miss out if your project is happening before the end of 2027. 🗓️ Applications close 25 May 2026 ✨ One of several AFCP Projects Funding currently open 🔗 Apply now via link in bio #CreateNSW #CulturalAccess #ArtsAndCultureFundingProgram #ArtsFunding #ACFP __  Video Credits: Image courtesy of Tantrum Youth Arts Crystal Nguyen performing in ViV!, Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, produced by Arts OutWest. Photo: Henry Simmons Dead Horse Gap. Crimson Rosella. Photo: David Rogers Displace I Call Home. Images courtesy of Byron Community Centre Emmanuel Asante. We Are Studios x Art Gallery of New South Wales. Photo: Ebony Wightman Images courtesy of Studio A

Just announced: Congratulations to the winners of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2026! @richard_lewer , a six-time #ArchibaldPrize finalist, takes out the Archibald Prize 2026 for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara Elder, senior artist and ngangkari (traditional healer) Iluwanti Ken. Yolŋu artist Gaypalani Waṉambi, is a first-time finalist and now winner of the #WynnePrize 2026, for her artwork ‘The Waṉambi tree’. The striking large-scale double-sided etching on metal, depicts Wuyal, an important ancestor of the Marrakulu clan. NSW artist @lucyculliton has been awarded this year’s #SulmanPrize for her painting of ‘Toolah, artist model’, an intricately detailed painting of her beloved rescue greyhound. See these incredible artworks, along with all the finalists, at @artgalleryofnsw from tomorrow until 16 August 2026, before the Archibald exhibition tours across NSW and Victoria. 🎟️ Plan your visit via link in bio. __ Image Credits: Winner Archibald Prize 2026, Richard Lewer Iluwanti Ken, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 198 x 198 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter Winner Wynne Prize 2026, Gaypalani Waṉambi The Waṉambi tree (recto and verso), spray paint on etched steel, 240 x 240 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter Winner Sulman Prize 2026, Lucy Culliton Toolah, artist model, oil on canvas, 137.6 x 137.1 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio #ArtsandCulture #Portraiture #NSWArtsandCulture #ArtGalleryofNSW #ArchibaldPrize

A new wave of talent is stepping onto the runway 👠 This @afcaustralianfashionweek , First Nations and rising NSW designers are taking centre stage on the runway, spotlighting the distinctive voices shaping the future of Australian fashion. With NSW Government backing, these designers are supported with mentorship, industry support and production costs, to bring their designs to the global stage. From solo shows by First Nations designers @buluuymirrii and @van_ermel_scherer , to The Frontier group showcase featuring @haluminous_official , @themadrenatura , @parisjadeburrows , @suzaanstander and @ouse.world , the future of fashion is here. 💥 📅 Australian Fashion Week: 11–15 May 2026 #AustralianFashionWeek #AFW2026 #AustralianFashionWeek2026 #EmergingDesigners #FirstNationsFashion #CreateNSW __  Image (L-R): Marianne Perkovic, Jackie Galleghan, Hannah Kim, Verity van Ermel Scherer, Kellie Hush. Photo Credit: DCITHS.

🚐✨ The Museum is hitting the road! ✨🚐 This week the MoW (Museum on Wheels), a vintage caravan packed with real objects, hands-on exhibits and immersive storytelling rolled out of Murwillumbah on a five‑week journey to some of the most remote classrooms in northern NSW. Connected: Signal to the Stars, part of Tweed Regional Museum’s Museum on Wheels program, officially launched this morning at Woodenbong Central School — the first stop on a tour visiting more than 20 small and under‑served schools, from Woodenbong to Toomelah. Inside the caravan, students explore the history of communication — from early signalling and postal systems to the digital age — through interactive displays designed especially for primary school learners. For some schools, with just four or five students, the Museum has even arranged travel so no child misses out. We are so proud of our team and our educators Nat and Paul Barrett, seeing this project come to realisation! 💡 Proudly funded through a $96,000 @creatensw Cultural Access Grant ✅ No cost to ratepayers 🌏 Big ideas, small schools, long roads — and a whole lot of curiosity 👉 Learn more: Museum on Wheels | Tweed Regional Museum #MuseumOnWheels #ConnectedSignalToTheStars #RegionalLearning #AccessAndEquity #NSWClassrooms TweedRegionalMuseum photos by @sallysinghcreative

Taking creativity on the road 🚐 Regional Arts Touring is one of the exciting Create NSW funding opportunities currently open for applications. This program supports bringing diverse arts and cultural experiences to communities across regional NSW. Key information: • Round 1 Applications are open until 2pm, 25 May 2026. • Grants of up to $75,000 for individuals and $120,000 for organisations Ready to take your work on tour? 🔗 Apply now via link in bio #CreateNSW #RegionalArtsTouring #ArtsAndCulture #Funding #RegionalNSW __  Video Credits: The Queen’s Nanny, Ensemble Theatre. Saplings by Hannah Belanszky, Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP). Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali Exhibition opening, Grafton Regional Gallery, 2024. Photo: Chloe Van Dorp, Simon Hughes. Sydney Youth Orchestra. Photo: Craig Proudford.

A major milestone for Powerhouse Parramatta and Western Sydney ✨ Powerhouse Parramatta is one step closer to opening its doors, with main building works now complete. Set to become Western Sydney's first state cultural institution and the largest museum built in NSW, @powerhousemuseum Parramatta will be a major new destination for culture, creativity and community. Work now turns to exhibition fit out and installation, ahead of the museum’s opening later this year. #PowerhouseParramatta #WesternSydney #ArtsAndCulture #Museums __  Image Credit: 1&3) Photo: Rory Gardiner 2) Video courtesy of Infrastructure NSW 4)Photo: Iwan Baan

✨ Deadline Extended! ✨ There’s still time to submit your Expression of Interest for Keller House public art opportunity. NSW and ACT First Nations artists are invited to respond to an EOI for powerful public artwork honouring the stories, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors. The commissioned artworks will be embedded at the Keller House Keeping Place on Burramattagal Land in North Parramatta. ⏰ EOI close 12pm (noon), 28 April 2026 🔗 Apply via the link in bio #FirstNationsArt #PublicArtNSW #CreateNSW #TruthTelling #PublicArtOpportunity __ Image credit: Sketch of site by Anton James

*UPDATE - APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED* 📣 Calling First Nations Artists! Another significant public art opportunity is currently open. NSW First Nations artists are invited to submit an Expression of Interest for site-specific artworks in the refurbished Downing Centre. Led by Department of Communities and Justice with Create NSW, the project includes five distinct locations within the courthouse. Artworks will respond to themes of strength and resilience, connection to Country and Culture, family and community, and shared histories. One artist or artist group will be selected for each location.  📅 EOI close: 2pm, 18 May 2026  🔗 Apply now via link in bio. @nswdcj #FirstNationsArt #PublicArtNSW #CreateNSW #PublicArtOpportunities  __  Image Credit: Downing Centre Cleansing Ceremony 2025, Image Brendan Blacklock.

Congratulations to Western Sydney Sri Lankan playwright and storyteller S. Shakthidharan (@shakthidharan ) on being awarded the 2026 Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama 👏 This major international prize recognises Shakthi’s powerful body of work, including theatre epics Counting and Cracking and The Jungle and the Sea. Shakthi is the director and co-founder of Western Sydney theatre company Kurinji, creating and performing work reflecting the richness of South Asian culture in Australia and redefining Australian storytelling. Create NSW is proud to have supported Shakthi’s productions and Kurinji, most recently through ACFP Cultural Access project funding, a funding program currently open for applications. A well-deserved win, and a proud moment for NSW’s creative communities 🌏✨ #WindhamCampbellPrize #ArtsAndCulture #Theatre __ Image supplied by S Shakthidhara. Photo: Alex Vaughan.

📣 Big opportunities for NSW artists and cultural practitioners! Applications for 2026 Arts and Cultural Funding Program (ACFP) Projects Funding and 2026 Regional Arts Touring - Round 1 are now open. Together these five funding rounds will support creative projects, professional growth and cultural connection across the state. 🎨2026 ACFP Project Funding Available this year in one round across four categories: ⚫️ Creative Steps- New Work: funding to develop new creative work (individuals and groups only) ⚫️ Professional Development- Next Steps: support for professional and skills development (individuals only) ⚫️ Creative Nations: First Nations-led arts and cultural projects (individuals and organisations) ⚫️ Cultural Access –– projects engaging NSW Government strategic priority areas and target populations, namely First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, young people, disability and d/Deaf communities, LGBTQIA+ and communities located in Western Sydney and regional NSW. Available to both individuals and organisations. 🚐 2026 Regional Arts Touring Fund (Round 1) Supporting individual artists and organisations to bring arts and culture to regional communities. 📆 Applications close 2pm, 25 May 2026. Whether you’re developing new work or taking a project on the road, there’s support available for your next creative step. Apply now via the link in our bio! #CreateNSW #ArtsAndCulturalFundingProgram #ACFP #ArtsAndCulture #ArtsFunding  ___ Image Credits: 1) Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali Exhibition opening, Grafton Regional Gallery, 2024. Image credit: Chloe Van Dorp, Simon Hughes. 2) It’s Already Happened, We’re Just in the Past by Emily Parsons-Lord and Shan Turner-Carroll. Liveworks, 2024 at Carriageworks. Image courtesy of the artists. 3) 2025 Breaking Ground: Women in Arts & Creativity Symposium. Image credit: Isabella Moore for Diversity Arts Australia. 4) Smoke, Arts Northern Rivers, 2024. Image credit: Kate Holmes. 5) Crystal Nguyen is ViV! Written and Directed by Catherine McNamara, presented by BMEC 2025. Image credit: Henry Simmons. 6) Saplings, Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP). Image credit: Clare Hawley.

✨ Award win for Ngabu! ✨ We’re thrilled to share that Ngabu, the giant shell bridge installation at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct during @sydney_festival 2025, won the Digital Placemaking Award and also received a Highly Commended – Indigenous Placemaking and at the Place Leaders Asia‑Pacific Awards. Developed by Aunty Lola Ryan, Ngabu is a homage to her mother’s iconic shell harbour bridges, now held in the collections of our major cultural institutions. The large-scale, climbable bridge invited visitors to walk up and over the giant Dharawal shell art arches, taking in the sweeping views of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Extending the experience, the Ngabu augmented reality treasure hunt unlocked videos and stories across the precinct 🐚 Artist: Aunty Lola Ryan Designer: Joey Ruigrok van der Weven Fabricator: @pinkcactusprops Curator / producer: @citypeoplesydney AR design: EyeJack #WalshBayArtsPrecinct #Ngabu #SydneyFestival #Placemaking #PublicArt #FirstNationsArt - Image credit: Powerhouse Museum.