Creative Art Central

Creative Art Central is an annual Council-led commissioning program open to Central Coast professional and emerging creative practitioners.

This year up to six commissions will be available, with four professional and two emerging creative practitioners being awarded up to $20,000 for a new work that engages with the community. 

Since 2018, Creative Art Central has commissioned new works by 10 creative practitioners within the fields of theatre, performance, visual arts and film.  

For more information, visit the Creative Art Central page.

Gosford Art Prize and Gosford Ceramics Prize

The Gosford Art Prize and Gosford Ceramic Prize is the annual prestigious art prize staged by the Gosford Regional Gallery. Held since the early 1970s, the Art Prize now regularly attracts around 550 entries and up to 40,000 visitors to the Gallery precinct. The Art Prize has lauded many incredible local artists. For more information, visit the Gosford Art Prize and Gosford Ceramics Prize page. 

Bakers & Builders 

Sydney Craft Week is a 10-day program delivered by The Australian Design Centre. The theme of the 2022 program is 'Climate Emergency’, to promote sustainability through creativity and community engagement participatory opportunities.

Bakers & Builders is an exploration into traditional crafts that have built local work skills and benefited lifestyles for generations. This year, a focus on sustainability will be investigated through five workshops that utilise and encourage the use of affordable and accessible resources. The exciting calendar of workshops will include local plant fibre propagation and weaving, traditional woodworking, pasta making and bread making.

To find out more about these workshops, and to view the full program, visit the dedicated event listing on our What’s On page. 

Grandma Moses Art Competition and Exhibition

Grandma Moses is an annual arts event that takes inspiration from the life and work of Anna Mary Robertson, better known as Grandma Moses, who became widely famous for her evocative paintings depicting American rural life, after taking up painting in her seventies. The competition has been running for more than three decades and celebrates the works of artists over 50 years of age who are residents of the Central Coast.

Entries for the 2022 competition are now open. Find out more and download your entry form from the 2022 Grandma Moses Art Competition page. 

Maliga

Maliga, which means 'Shine' in Darkinjung language, has created a platform to share stories connected to place and identity through the visual, performance and literary arts.

Maliga is guided by local Indigenous elders and by an Indigenous resident artist-in-community program where site-specific cultural stories are translated into new contemporary works. 

Since 2015, Maliga has engaged over 250 First Nations young people and children 3-18 years of age across early childhood centre, primary and secondary schools. This has resulted in the delivery of place-based and culturally significant initiatives, including:

• Performances and art exhibitions at The Art House in Wyong
• Flag installations along the main streets of Wyong, Tuggerah, Umina, Toukley, The Entrance Bridge and Long Jetty
• Artworks transferred on NBN Nodes in residential areas
• Inflatable installations in Tuggerah Lakes during Lakes Festival
• Illustration paste-ups in Toukley Library

For more information on Maliga, contact Madalyn Trypas by emailing Madalyn.Trypas@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au or calling 0436 923 702

Youth in Performing Arts

Youth in Performing Arts is part of the annual program for Laycock Street Community Theatre at Gosford. The program provides an opportunity for Central Coast youth with outstanding talent to perform in a professional venue, promoting and fostering their development in the live performing arts.

For more information on the program, eligibility and dates, visit the Laycock Street Community Theatre.