About
Located on Gumbaynggirr Country along the mid-north coast of NSW, Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM) proudly opened its doors in September 2023.
YAM is at the heart of Yarrila Place, a new contemporary cultural hub, designed by Coffs’ own Matthew Blair of BVN Architecture and built around a 150-year-old Hill’s Weeping Fig (ficus hillii) in the Coffs Harbour CBD.
The name Yarrila, pronounced, YA-re-la, is a Gumbaynggirr word that means “illuminate / brighten / light up / illustrate”. This encapsulates YAM’s vision of illuminating knowledge, arts, heritage, and community creativity.
A testament to decades of dedication, YAM’s journey traces back to the opening of the first museum in 1980 and Council’s acquisition of its first artwork in 1974. This commitment has seen the collection grow to include more than 18,000 objects, artefacts and archives as well as more than 600 artworks.
YAM presents a vibrant and dynamic program of internationally and nationally recognised contemporary art and social history exhibitions across five galleries. This includes major in-house curated and touring exhibitions and a dedication to featuring Mid North Coast artists. Exhibitions change regularly ensuring an enriching experience for different audiences across varying disciplines.
Yaamanga (around here) is an ongoing exhibition exploring the history and identity of the Coffs Coast through themes of place, community and belonging, with Gumbaynggirr culture at its heart. This interactive exhibition features hundreds of objects, photographs, artworks and films from the Yarrila Arts and Museum collection. A key highlight of Yaamanga (around here) is the short film, Daalga Nginundi Wajaarr (Sing Your Country), which is informed by Yuludarla’s (Gumbaynggirr Creator) journey from north to south exploring miirlarl (sacred places), culture and history through song and cinema. Created by Alison Page and Nik Lachajczak of ZAKPAGE with Gumbaynggirr community consultation, the artwork is dedicated to the Gumbaynggirr people; it is their ancestral lands upon which we live and work; they who are so generous with their cultural knowledge and lore in the making of this film.
YAM is also host to STILL: National Still Life Award. The biennial acquisitive award was established in 2017 to support and showcase contemporary still life practice and is open to artists at all stages of their careers. The award aims to highlight the diversity, innovation and ongoing relevance of this genre across a wide range of media.
Yarrila Arts and Museum invites you to embrace the warmth of Gumbaynggirr Country and join us in an exploration of arts, history and culture.
You can also explore YAM’s rich collection of artworks, objects and archives on Coffs Collections, an online platform providing digital access to the breadth of this material.
COntact Us
News and Media
policies and reports
