Bathurst has been selected as the host city for the 2026 SWITCH Conference, a gathering of library staff, Councillors, trade delegates and industry professionals from across NSW.
Have you thought to yourself: I’d get more art made if moved off the kitchen table into my own studio? Orange painter Tara Coey did just that and the move paid off. She opened her first full solo show, Place, at Peisley Street Gallery this month.
Long-time Parkes Musical and Dramatic Society director, writer and leader Lyn Townsend has been named the 2026 Central West Adult Volunteer of the Year at the NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards.
Award-winning Bathurst playwright Disapol ‘Oakie’ Savetsila will see his latest work, AMAH AND NANNA, in Sydney Theatre Company’s 2027 season, following the play’s recognition with the 2026 Patrick White Playwrights’ Award.
FILM TO WATCH. Grenfell Artists Inc are also one of the groups that have been supported in the Central West by a microgrant from the Arts OutWest Cultural Fund.
Silence, 2010, by acclaimed Australian landscape artist Sophie Cape, a significant work in the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery (BRAG) Permanent Collection, will be on display for the first time in Bathurst from 14 November 2026 to 28 February 2027.
Central West theatre company Lingua Franca has received Create NSW Projects funding to develop and adapt Tracy Sorensen’s second novel The Vitals into a full-length stage play.
Draw Portland returned in 2026 on Saturday 24 October. With it came new visitors along with artists returning to this event at The Foundations, Portland to draw and explore onsite. “Incredible! The whole property is such a great subject to draw – it’s the perfect place for this kind of event!” wrote one artist, experiencing Draw Portland and The Foundations for the first time.
The little village of Newbridge put on a show with Spring into Art and the 5th annual Newbridge Art Show. Attracting 235 entries from across the state, the judges noted the high quality of the award winners and the importance of promoting regional art and artists in an industry with a noticeable metropolitan bias.
Four of this years SBTS Bondi artists made their works at The Foundations Portland including Harrie Fasher winner of the major $70,000 Aqualand Sculpture Award and Barkindji and Malyangappa artist David Doyle recipient of the inaugural NRMA Insurance Indigenous Artist Program.
Congratulations to all the Central West NSW exhibition projects and engagement programs nominated for Museums & Galleries NSW for IMAGinE Awards in 2026: Cowra Regional Art Gallery, Mudgee Arts Precinct, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange Regional Museum, Chifley Home and Education Centre and Arts OutWest, The Glen Museum (Portland).
SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER, 2026 at The Foundations Portland. During the ‘Draw Portland’ day, meet with Arts OutWest executive director Kylie Shead.
What might you meet about? Get support or advice on funding, project development, auspicing, creative industry issues, arts business skills, get support or chat about your work or projects.
Sat 24 October. The creative precinct will be open to the public to explore and draw its extraordinary natural and industrial settings.
Kids – join artist Alice Martin in a 1.5hr drawing workshop.
Closes 11.59pm Friday 23 October 2026
Arts OutWest and Health Infrastructure are seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from visual artists to create artworks for the Bathurst Hospital Redevelopment.
With a Squatter’s Residency at The Foundations Portland on the agenda for Jessica Ann Leffley, a Central West based Wiradjuri artist, the opportunity arose to lead two workshops at St Josephs Catholic Primary School in Portland this August 2026. With generosity and no doubt much flapping behind the scenes, she turned up prepped with materials and Bird Girl Creations cut-out-bird-template-pieces to start the students soaring from the get-go.
The 2026 winner of the Calleen Art Award is Anthony Cahill with his large oil painting A Question of Timing, 2025, announced Saturday 5 September 2026 at Cowra Regional Art Gallery.
AusArt Day is 22 October.
Support brings creativity to life. Donate to the Arts OutWest Cultural Fund.
A grant might be the beginning.
What happens next can be so much more.
For the last 80 years, Regional Arts NSW (RANSW) has been supporting, advocating for and leading
the arts and cultural sector in regional New South Wales. Art in the Bush: 80 Years of Regional Arts
NSW is a celebration of this legacy and the artists that have been central to this mission since the
beginning.
The Village Voice newspaper is expanding and so is our monthly full page What’s On calendar. From Thursday 24 Sept there’ll now be a Mid-Western Region version, in addition to the Lithgow, Oberon, Bathurst, Blayney version.
With the Victoria Pass detour continuing we’ve changed opening days at Kew-Y-Ahn Aboriginal Gallery.
Now open Thursday-Sunday, 10am-4pm in the NPWS visitor centre at 51 Old Great Western Highway, Hartley.
August 2026. HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS of arts and cultural moments, actions, wins and stories are happening all the time across the NSW Central West. Here’s our now quarterly dip into some of those stories.
The winners of the 2026 Banjo Paterson Writing Awards have been announced, with two writers sharing first prize for the prestigious Short Story category.
The Inland Astro-Trail Project and Bogan Gate Primary School are co-hosting an evening of stargazing with some of the region’s most experienced amateur astronomers on Thursday, 13 August 2026, 6 pm to 9 pm, as part of National Science Week.
You may have seen a lot of chat about Payday Super and new requirements for musicians and other gig artists to be paid super (and what that means for, say, festivals and music venues).
Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre received 22 entries for the annual competition.
“We were blown away by the quality, creativity and calibre of our regional talent. Choosing our finalists was no easy task – but after much deliberation, we’re excited to reveal our Top 14!” they announced.
Bathurst Regional Council is seeking community feedback on the Strategic Framework for the future revitilisation of the Bathurst TAFE Heritage Precinct.
Congratulations to Nigel Helyer who is the recipient of the inaugural Full Circle International Residency Award 2026, a partnership with Orange Regional Gallery.
Local community groups and organisations will benefit from a significant boost in funding, with Council increasing its annual Community Funding Program allocation to $175,000.
Parkes Shire Council is excited to announce the recipients of Round 1 of the Events Financial Assistance Program (EFAP) for 2026. The round was popular with seven applicants requesting over $45,000 in support.
Parkes Shire Council is pleased to announce the four successful recipients of its 2026 Cultural Grants Program, with funding supporting a diverse range of cultural events and activities that celebrate the creativity and cultural heritage of communities across the shire.
Wanda’s artwork was picked from almost 40 other outstanding works from artists in the region. It has now been acquired by Cabonne Council to become part of the Cabonne Council Art Collection
That Sarah Randall found time to lap up plein air site offerings during weekends at The Squatter’s Residency in 2025 and 2026 is testament to her focused work ethic.
Kandos will once again become a meeting place for artists, locals and visitors when Cementa26
Contemporary Arts Festival returns from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 September 2026.
Kandos Artist Fleur MacDonald has released her first novel, a dark comedy crime story under the nom de plume of Betty Stewart. Her editor’s description “It’s like a mashup of a CWA doco with the series of The Sopranos in which all the wives relocate to country NSW. There’s a little bit of War of the Roses to it too.”
The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts has received a major boost, with Destination NSW awarding $90,000 over three years through its Regional Event Fund – Flagship Event Stream, recognising the festival as one of New South Wales’ premier regional events and supporting its continued growth. The Funding Amount must be expended on costs that enhance the marketing and promotion of the festival.
This collaborative reflection not only honours the creativity and messages of past decades but also empowers our students to carry these inspirations forward. We are proud of their thoughtful engagement and look forward to seeing how they will continue to express these values in their journey ahead.
Lithgow City Council is delivering a major boost to safety, vibrancy, and local activation in the CBD, with more than $1.25 million secured to transform Main Street and surrounding public spaces.
In partnership with Bathurst Regional Art Gallery (BRAG), Artspace will present As Above, So
Below by Maddison Gibbs as part of Artspace’s ongoing Banner Series.
