Western Plains Cultural Centre

TEACHERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ~ NATIONAL GALLERY Join National Gallery artist educators on 26th June for a full-day professional learning program at Western Plains Cultural Centre. The program includes creative learning strategies for engaging with works from the national collection, with a focus on Yayoi Kusama's THE SPIRITS OF THE PUMPKINS DESCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS. This session is open to early learning, primary, secondary and tertiary educators, and other youth and arts professionals. Morning Tea and Lunch provided. For more information and to register head to: https://connect.nga.gov.au/24565/26489 Image: Central Goldfields Teacher Engagement, 2025. Photo by Angela Tucker. #DubboEvents #Dubbo #DubboRegion #NSW #RegionalNSW #RegionalAustralia @dubbocity @dubboregionalcouncil @nationalgalleryaus

MINIMAKERS ~ ON THIS WEEK Join us this week for Minimakers - the Western Plains Cultural Centre’s preschool program where we introduce your 2-5 year old to the wonders of museums and galleries! Create, make and explore with your little one in this free program on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am-11am. No registration required. #DubboEvents #Dubbo #DubboRegion #NSW #RegionalNSW #RegionalAustralia @dubbocity @dubboregionalcouncil

OUT OF PLACE~ On exhibition until 27 September 2026 Out of Place explores the odd, the curious and the wonderfully weird from within the collection of the Western Plains Cultural Centre. Asking the question of, what happens when the world rearranges itself and things get a little mixed up or out of place. The perfect spot for your kids to enjoy a quiet reading space within a gallery setting. ​Free entry, open daily 9am to 4pm (6pm daily). Image credit: Installation view, Out of Place exhibition, Western Plains Cultural Centre, 2026. #DubboGallery #WhatsOnDubbo #DubboExhibition #GalleryCollection #LocalArt

HANDMADE CERAMIC WORKSHOP ~ BUILD A BOWL Last chance to book your tickets for the midweek Handmade Ceramics workshop: Build A Bowl on the 27th May. Learn how to make and decorate your own unique bowl from clay using hand building methods in a fun and safe environment with our experienced tutor. All materials are provided, including glazing and firing of your piece to keep! Book now, spots are limited! Link in bio. #DubboEvents #Dubbo #DubboRegion #NSW #RegionalNSW #RegionalAustralia @dubbocity @dubboregionalcouncil

FREE NGA YOUTH ART LAB ~ With Fashion Designer Nixi Killick Art Labs is a series of artist-led workshops connecting young audiences with artists, artmaking and the National Gallery collection. In this free Art Lab for young people aged 13-18, join fashion designer and artist Nixi Killick and like-minded creative peers for a sculpture-making workshop inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s THE SPIRITS OF THE PUMPKINS DESCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS. Nixi Killick is a fashion designer, artist and self-described “Imagineer” known for creating vibrant, psychedelic and futuristic wearable art worn by the likes of Lady Gaga. For more information on Nixi Killick head to: /pages/about Tag a young person who would love to be involved in this creative opportunity! All art materials provided. Bookings Essential. Date: Saturday 27th June 2026 Time: 12:30pm - 3:30pm For more information and to book, head to: https://connect.nga.gov.au/24663/26333 This program is generously supported by the National Gallery’s Learning & Digital Patron, Tim Fairfax AC. THE SPIRITS OF THE PUMPKINS DESCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS is now on display at the Western Plains Cultural Centre, NSW until 10 November 2027, as part of the National Gallery of Australia's Sharing the National Collection initiative. Image Credit: Yayoi Kusama, THE SPIRITS OF THE PUMPKINS DESCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS, 2017, installation view, Art Gallery of South Australia, 2022, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2018 with the assistance of Andrew and Hiroko Gwinnett © YAYOI KUSAMA, courtesy Art Gallery of South Australia.

Congratulations to all the Winners in this year's Waste 2 Art competition! EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 2D: Preschool Possums - Community Kids Dubbo, ‘How Folklore Starts’ 3D: Kookaburras JP – Community Kids Dubbo, ‘Eastern Long Necked Turtle’ Functional: Kookaburra Room – Stepping Stones Early Learning Centre, ‘Little Hands, Big Weaves’ PRIMARY 2D: Dru Martinez, ‘Help - We are Drowning!’ 3D: Lola Houghton, ‘Lil Waste Warriors’ Functional: Rain, Gracie, Tyla, Charlotte, Sansa, Maddie and Willow-May, ‘Totally ‘Sic’ Bag’ SECONDARY 3D: Molly Jones, ‘Our Street’ Functional: Year 9 - Central West Leadership Academy, 'For the Future Generations' COMMUNITY 2D: Ellen Scott, ‘Wildflowers and Last Days’ 3D: Caroline Tarr, ‘Against the Tide’ Functional: Bernadette Jump, ‘Vases’ OPEN 2D: Margaret Lynch, ‘Box Office Wordage’ 3D: Alan Stanger, ‘A Staple Diet’ Functional: Margaret Lynch, ‘All Keyed Up’ Make sure to check out all the winning works, along with all the amazing entries, now on exhibition until 9 August. Dubbo Regional Council is a proud NetWaste member and supports commitment to re-use and recycle through creative expression. Sponsored by Access Metal Recycling

SCOREBOARD ~ 2026 Yindamarra Darrambal Binjang Program! Three paths, One Purpose We are pleased to announce that our newest work as part of the Scoreboard program is now available at the entrance to the Western Plains Cultural Centre. Created by Wellington artist, Asher Milgate, in collaboration with Jeff Amatto’s More Cultural Rehabs, Less Jails organisation and with participants from the Yindamarra Darrambal Binjang Program, the artwork focuses on using photography to honour the young people involved, the strength they carry, and the ongoing impact of Jeff Amatto’s More Cultural Rehabs Less Jails program and the team behind it that makes it a success. Scoreboard is supported by funding provided by Create NSW. On Display until 27 April 2027 #DubboEvents #Dubbo #DubboRegion #NSW #RegionalNSW #RegionalAustralia @dubbocity @dubboregionalcouncil

🖼️ I was honoured last week to be part of the unveiling of the new artwork that will grace the “Scoreboard” space at the entrance of the @wpccdubbo Western Plains Cultural Centre for the next year. The work, Yindamarra Darrambal Binjang Program - Three Paths, One Purpose, is by Wellington-born artist Asher Milgate, in collaboration with Jeff Amatto, whose innovation and lived experience are helping to change and shape young lives through the More Cultural Rehabs Less Jails program. The artwork was created through workshops with the program, and is about “presence, identity, resilience and connection to place”. The series of portraits made on 35mm film, honours “presence and possibility” according to Asher: “It’s saying “This is us and here we are.” 👏 Congratulations to Asher, Jeff and all the young people for what is a powerful project and artwork. 📌 (The Scoreboard space aims to select a local artist from within our LGA who works with a community group to create the artwork. It’s funded by Create NSW.) @mcrlj_ac @dubboregionalcouncil @ashermilgate Deputy Mayor Philip Toynton

2DU ~ AT YOUR SERVICE FOR 90 YEARS From Royal visits and flood warnings to sporting events and public appeals, 2DU has remained committed to telling stories that matter deeply to us. For 90 years 2DU has been a trusted voice within our community. Learn the history of radio in Dubbo within this exhibition, currently on display in our Museum space. Open daily, 9am to 4pm (6pm Fridays). Image: 2DU announcer Reg Ferguson with guest, announcing at outdoor event, c.1952, courtesy of 2DU Archives, 2025_274_DIG. @‌2DU #WPCC #Dubbo #LocalRadio #2DU

SCOREBOARD: 2026 Thank you to @dubboregionalcouncil @jeff_amatto , @walker.bec.23 More Cultural Rehabs Less Jails Aboriginal Corporation, the leaders and the young people involved in the programs. I’ve had the privilege of walking beside parts of Jeff’s journey, gathering fragments of it through film and photography. Listening carefully. Because that is what storytelling is to me. Becoming a vessel. A conduit. Living in trust and holding enough space for people to reveal something of themselves that already exists beneath the surface. This work grew through the commissioned SCOREBOARD and time spent with the young people involved in More Cultural Rehabs Less Jails @mcrlj_ac . Together we explored light, perception and portraiture. We slowed down long enough to notice how light moves across a face, how presence changes when someone feels seen, and how a portrait can hold dignity, strength and vulnerability all at once. The eyes became important to me. Eyes carry experience. The resilience, humour, protection, hope. No matter how fragmented the work became through tearing, sewing and reconstruction, the eyes remained steady. Looking back at us. Asking us to stop long enough to truly see. This work is.. @wpccdubbo It is about visibility. About presence. About belonging. About what becomes possible when people walk beside each other with trust, patience and care. I hope this work honours the young people involved, honours Wellington and honours the quiet but powerful work being done within this community every day.

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ~ Did you know that the WPCC has Education resources free to download on our website? 🙋‍♀️ Great for use in the classroom or learning environment, standalone lessons, special interest projects, home learning or paired with a visit to the WPCC - subjects cover Visual Art, Technology, STEM, History, HSIE and Geography. Head on over to our LEARN page and browse through Education Packs for students from Kindergarten to Year 12.📚 Website link in bio. Tag or share this post with your favourite teacher or educator! #DubboEvents #Dubbo #DubboRegion #NSW #RegionalNSW #RegionalAustralia @dubbocity @dubboregionalcouncil

MINIMAKERS ~ ON THIS WEEK Join us this week for Minimakers - the Western Plains Cultural Centre’s preschool program where we introduce your 2-5 year old to the wonders of museums and galleries! Create, make and explore with your little one in this free program on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am-11am. No registration required. #DubboEvents #Dubbo #DubboRegion #NSW #RegionalNSW #RegionalAustralia @dubbocity @dubboregionalcouncil