*Yulimba (To come back), 2024, Single-channel video, sound, colour. duration: 8:49 sec.

*Yulimba (To come back), 2024, Single-channel video, sound, colour. duration: 8:49 sec.

In a world of hard edges, how do we observe softness? On the inverse, how do we find a stable footing on soft surfaces?

‘Soft’ is at once grounding and unstable, in the ever-changing fleshy vessels that hold us (our own and of others), the porous boundaries between imaginary and visceral worlds, or the socio-political terrains that conceal slippages of shifting ground. Hardness is easily defined in its rigidity, oppression, and the absolute. Softness is more elusive: softness is slippery, subjective, and often taken for granted.

Softness is the methodology in this group exhibition of interdisciplinary practices, installation, moving image, video, film, and animation. Against harsh realities of personal and environmental disasters, or the unyielding grind of time, softness manifests itself as subversion, surrender and resistance. Tread gently at The Lock-Up and uncover softness through time-based practices. A soft space to stand includes works by Jamie Bastoli, Jasmine Craciun, Alysha Fewster, Fiona Lee, David Lobb, Ali Noble and Nicole Smede. Consider with us what it means to respond to the social, environmental and existential crises of living.

*Yulimba (To come back), 2024, Single-channel video, sound, colour. duration: 8:49 sec.

The Wollongong Art Prize first dazzled the local arts scene in 1956, long before Wollongong Art Gallery was established in 1978, and continuing on-and-off until the present. In its early years, it celebrated artistic brilliance with prize-winning acquisitions for Wollongong City Council including Col Jordan, James Hall and Lorraine Holmes cementing its place as a cherished cultural tradition.

Wollongong Art Gallery has carried the torch of this legacy, hosting art prizes in various incarnations, including FLOW Contemporary Watercolour Prize. Now, the Wollongong Art Prize is making a triumphant return. This reimagined competition embraces a bold, contemporary vision, welcoming artists across all mediums with a focus on access, inclusivity, and community.

The stakes are higher than ever! The acquisitive top prize (affectionately dubbed The Top Gong for the Gong) is $25,000. Local talent won’t go unnoticed, with the Wollongong Art Gallery Friends offering a local artist award of $5,000, while art lovers get their say with a $2,000 People’s Choice Award.

Get ready to be part of the Illawarra’s next great artistic chapter!

Presented by Wollongong Art Gallery.

*New work premiere - Barraliyn

Ngarra Burria - First Peoples Composers 2025 Showcase Presented by EO.

Each year, Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers – the award-winning collaborative First Nations artist development program – brings exciting new artistic voices into the spotlight - you can discover them for yourself in this concert at the Eugene Goossens Hall (Sydney). Hear new instrumental works from the 2025 cohort alongside music by Mark ‘Munk’ Ross and join the celebration of stories reflecting culture, country and connection to the here and now.

Nicole Smede - new work (2025) Brenda Gifford - new work (2025) Gary Watling - new work (2025) Troy Russell - new work (2025) Mark Ross – Loss and Lost (2022) Will Kepa – Sleepless Dreaming (2022) Aaron Wyatt – Cumulus (2022) Mark 'Munk' Ross - new work* (2025) Marlene Cummins – Starting Over (2021)

• World premiere

Performers: Claire Edwardes (Artistic Director, percussion) Jason Noble (clarinets) Ronan Apcar (piano)

*Soundscape for Woody Grasslands Installation for Illawarra Nature Festival

*Soundscape for Karla Dickens Solo Exhibition

*Group residency

*New work premiere - Ngurabaa

Reflections of Home Curated by Laura Case and Lamorna Nightingale

Echoes of ancient landscapes, resonate with the spirit of the land that has witnessed millennia. "Reflections from Home" is a testament to the enduring connection between First Nations people and the landscapes that have shaped their stories. Experience a night woven with threads of land, memory, and resilience, in an artistic tapestry that invites you to delve into the depths of First Nations' connections with home and heritage through the transformative power of the arts.

*Artist in Residence

*Solo Exhibition