Art & Culture Trails

The Shoalhaven’s stunning environment has captured and inspired the hearts and souls of artists and creatives for years. Iconic Australian artist Arthur Boyd even moved here to paint the landscape and has since gifted his beloved Shoalhaven properties as a legacy to artists and the general public. The region’s vibrant and diverse art scene has inspired seven unique art trails through the region and includes everything from street murals, to museums, galleries, and hands on workshops.

Top left: artist’s impression of Bundanon Trust’s new gallery at Riversdale. Left to right: Nowra street mural, This Old House workshop, Van Rensburg Galleries, This Old House, Kangaroo Valley Leadlight.

Art lovers will enjoy visiting Arthur Boyd’s historic Homestead and studio at Bundanon, located on 1000 hectares of gardens and bushland next to the Shoalhaven River. You can book a weekend tour of the Homestead which houses a collection of works from the Boyd family and their peers such as Sidney Nolan, Charles Blackman and Brett Whitely. In late 2021, an art museum with an exhibition program of modern and contemporary art will be open to the public from Wednesday through to Sunday. The new on site dramatic bridge, spanning a natural wet gully will also host creative learning programs and provide accommodation for on site stays. We’re very excited to see Bundanon open the new expanded facilities, making the Shoalhaven home to the only national art museum in regional Australia.

The Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, Nowra’s artistic heart, hosts work by local artists as well as touring exhibitions. Take to the alleyways of the CBD for street murals by world famous artists like Adnate and Smug. Regional villages can offer a surprising scope for the art lover, in Milton for example, the Van Rensburg Galleries showcases works by award-winning international and national artists while the Millhouse Gallery supports the local art community. The Jervis Bay Maritime Museum in Huskisson houses the last surviving wooden Sydney Harbour Ferry, alongside relics from Jervis Bay’s Indigenous and non Indigenous heritage. Explore Australia’s naval aviation history at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at HMAS Albatross, featuring a fun flight simulator. Take a trip to the iconic Milton Theatre and enjoy the intimate vibe and excellent live acts.

Craftspeople and artists often sell their locally made creations including paintings, leadlight features, and pieces of pottery and woodwork. Meet the maker at both Kangaroo Valley Woodcrafts and Kangaroo Valley Leadlight and catch a glimpse of them at work. How awesome would it be to take home a handmade souvenir? Get your creative holiday juices flowing by attending a ring making workshop at Appleye Jewellery Designs Workshops or an alcohol ink painting with Le Workshop in Jervis Bay. Check out the schedule of gigs, theatre showings and performances at the 900 person capacity Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre in Nowra, wherein the Box Office, you’ll find our friendly Visitor Services staff who have all the hot tips on what to do in the region including what shows to see!

Learn more at shoalhaven.com/art

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