After School Drop In and Create
2023-10-11 14:00 - 16:00, 2023-10-18 14:00 - 16:00, 2023-10-25 14:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-01 14:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-08 14:00 - 16:00 (Australia/Sydney)
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Begin your own creative project and access the green screen, digital recording booth, editing equipment and get support and inspiration.

Bring your own project or learn new skills in this weekly, creative, drop-in session at the Digital Studio.

Learn how to make your own films, podcasts, 3D or AR development and get the latest tips and tricks to get your creative project to the next level.

Bring your own content or media capturing devices like DSLR Cameras or Smart Phones or you can use Digital Studio equipment.

Peggy's Live Tufting Demonstrations
2023-10-15 11:00 - 12:00
Peggy’s Live Tufting Demonstrations

Exhibition

See first-hand how Peggy creates her work at these playful and inspiring demonstrations.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Peggy Zephyr’s exhibition, Please Walk on the Grass, is a colour-filled world, with vibrant artworks full of conversation, play, creativity, and imagination.

Plan your visit to this fantastical world when Peggy is demonstrating her contemporary textile work and tufting at YAM.

Be captivated by Peggy’s creative process and learn firsthand how she creates her signature work.

This is a fun event suitable for people of all ages.

What is tufting?

Tufting is defined as the act of a needle punching through a backing material in the form of a loop. Depending on loop heights, these loops can add texture, dimension, and, if cut, the “cut pile” can add a velvet like appearance to the tufted area.

Tufting is used to create a variety of textile products, including carpets, rugs, and upholstery fabrics. Historically, tufting was a technique use to make warm garments and other practical pieces.

Today, tufting is used more widely to create textile art forms and other decorative pieces.

A tufting gun is a tool which is now more commonly used to automate the tufting process.

Peggy with her tufting gun

RELATED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

Please Walk on the Grass

16 Sep – 29 Oct 2023
Exhibition
Please Walk on the Grass invites you to enter a world of play with local artist Peggy Zephyr’s hyper-coloured paintings and tactile textiles.

Peggy’s Pass the Parcel

28 Sep 2023 at 11:00 am–12:30 pm
Program
Join Peggy for an “old-school” game of Pass the Parcel.

Teachers Tour of Yarrila Place
2023-10-31 16:00 - 17:30
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Join a Teacher’s Tour to see the new Yarrila Arts and Museum and Harry Bailey Memorial Library at Yarrila Place. This tour has been designed to inspire teachers with new art, resources and ideas.

Led by experienced Education Facilitator, learn about the 12-month exhibition calendar, educational opportunities, resources, and website.

Two identical sessions to choose from:

Wednesday 20 September 4 – 5.30pm OR Tuesday 31 October 2023 4 – 5.30pm

Please register your attendance and dietary requirements with Eventbrite to assist with afternoon tea catering. This event is free for teachers. Numbers are limited, so please book early. RSVP Friday, 15 September.

Digital Storytelling Workshops
2023-11-01 10:00 - 12:00, 2023-11-08 10:00 - 12:00, 2023-11-15 10:00 - 12:00, 2023-11-22 10:00 - 12:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

Become a digital storyteller in a weekly workshop series in the Digital Studio, Yarrila Place.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Become a digital storyteller in this weekly workshop in the Digital Studio, Yarrila Place.

These two hour workshops , for ages 16 plus, covers all aspects of digital storytelling including imagery and story creation.

“…digital storytelling combines the best of two worlds: the new world of digitised video, photography and art, and the old world of telling stories” said Dana Atchley, Digital Storytelling pioneer. “The multimedia story or narrative that you create may include text, photos, video, audio, social media posts and interactive elements”.

Equipment: Bring your own content or media capturing devices such as DSLR Cameras or Smart Phones or use those at the Digital Studio. Archival material such as hard copy images, slides or documents can be scanned at the library.

The Digital Studio is equipped with the latest Mac & PC computers to drive your next creative work!

City of Coffs Harbour acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land, the Gumbaynggirr people, who have cared for this land since time immemorial. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging, and commit ourselves to a future with reconciliation and renewal at its heart.

When in Rome
2023-11-02 00:00 - 2023-12-10 23:59
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Gareth Budge, CURATED-CULT-URE, 2023, photograph.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Images and advertising saturate our urban environments. Budge is interested in how patterns and layers begin to emerge from the practice of wildposting, which sees the mass installation of posters to draw people’s attention. Both natural and social forces influence the layering and decay of old posters, which results in new forms.

Watch the video below, Gareth Budge provides a brief insight into Coffs Harbour and how it shaped him as an artist and an individual.

RELATED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

Wild Designs in the Digital Studio

26 Sep 2023 at 10:00 am – 2:30 pm
Workshop
Be part of the exhibition When in Rome at Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM), Yarrila Place!

Ngarraanga ngaanya junaaygirr
hear me speak

16 Sep – 26 Nov 2023
Exhibition
Ngarraanga ngaanya junaaygirr hear me speak presents compelling artistic voices, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and contemporary practices of Gumbaynggirr artists.

STILL: National Still Life Award 2023

7 Oct – 3 Dec 2023
Exhibition
Now in its fourth iteration, STILL: National Still Life Award is a biennial, acquisitive award for still life artworks across all mediums.

Yaamanga (around here)

Ongoing
Exhibition
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.

First Nations Curator Walk and Talk
2023-11-04 11:00 - 12:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

First Nations Curator Tori Donnelly

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Join First Nations curator Tori Donnelly, in conversation with exhibiting artists Brentyn Lugnan and Alison Williams, for a curator walk and talk of Ngarraanga Ngaanya Junaaygirr Hear Me Speak at Yarrila Arts and Museum.

Tori will discuss the development, themes and significance of artworks in Ngarraanga Ngaanya Junaaygirr Hear me speak. Learn how this major exhibition, featuring new work by First Nations artists of Gumbaynggirr Jagun (country), came together.

Each talk will feature one of the artists exhibiting in the show.

Saturday 30 September 2023 – 11amJoin Tori Donnelly in conversation with exhibiting artist, Brentyn Lugnan.

Saturday 4 November 2023 – 11amJoin Tori Donnelly in conversation with exhibiting artist, Alison Williams.

This is a FREE, non-ticketed event.

Please meet at YAM reception area at least 5 mins prior to the talk.

This is a FREE, non-ticketed event.

This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

Brentyn Lugnan. Photo: and the trees photography

Alison Williams. Photo: and the trees photography

RELATED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

Ngarraanga ngaanya junaaygirr
hear me speak

16 Sep – 26 Nov 2023
Exhibition
Ngarraanga ngaanya junaaygirr hear me speak presents compelling artistic voices, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and contemporary practices of Gumbaynggirr artists.

Donna Brown Contemporary Jewellery Making Short Course

22 Oct 2023 at 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Workshop
Create contemporary jewellery inspired by the beauty of nature and local culture.

Seabastion Toast Workshop
2023-11-18 09:30 - 16:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Seabastion Toast, Postcards from the Edge, Oil on Canvas, 1200 x 1500mm, 2023.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Join Still Exhibition 2023 Finalist Seabastion Toast in this Still-inspired painting workshop at Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM). This workshop places emphasis on light, composition, and foundational skills which will benefit both beginners and experienced artists. Participants will leave with new insights, improved painting techniques, and a deeper appreciation for the art of still life painting.

Exercises can be completed in oil or acrylics. Acrylic paints, painting mediums, brushes and Canson canvas paper are provided in the workshop fee. (Oil paints are not included in the workshop fee. If using oils, please bring your own supply.)

Spaces are extremely limited, so book now to avoid disappointment! We look forward to creating with you in The Workshop!

Recommended for ages 15 years +

Workshop fee: $70 per participant

About Seabastion

Seabastion Toast lives and works on the Mid North Coast NSW, Australia. Among her achievements she recently won the $10,000 Darcy Doyle Landscape Award, was in the top 8 finalists of the Evelyn Award for painters under 45, a double award at the 2019 Glover Prize and is regularly a finalist in many prominent art prizes.

Co-existing with her very active outdoors lifestyle, Toast’s paintings embody a very physical approach to the subject, with layers built up, scraped down and obscured. Toast has a degree in Fine Art from SCU including an exchange placement with the Pratt Institute in New York.

She also loves teaching, running up mountains, surfing, her dog, Audrey, and horses.

Artist Seabastion Toast

RELATED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

STILL: National Still Life Award 2023

7 Oct – 3 Dec 2023
Exhibition
Now in its fourth iteration, STILL: National Still Life Award is a biennial, acquisitive award for still life artworks across all mediums.

First Nations Curator Walk and Talk

4 Nov 2023 at 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Program View all event dates
Join First Nations curator Tori Donnelly, in conversation with Ngarraanga Ngaanya Junaaygirr Hear me speak artists.

When in Rome

2 Nov – 10 Dec 2023
Exhibition
When in Rome presents Gareth Budge’s photography series capturing the ever changing form of urban wildposting that produces untraceable layers and chance formations.

Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2023
2023-12-01 10:00 - 2024-02-04 14:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

My Country Burns, by Samuel Markham, Overall Winner 2023 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

This breathtaking exhibition allows us to witness the unique beauty of the flora, fauna and landscapes of our own backyard and the world around us.

See nature up close through stunning images by professional, emerging and junior photographers who have shown impeccable timing, patience, artistry and technique to capture incredible moments in time.

The 2023 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year, a South Australian Museum exhibition.

RELATED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

Halfway

8 Dec 2023 – 11 Feb 2024
Exhibition
Halfway invites us on a collective journey to explore the changing identity of Coffs Harbour, a regional City undergoing cultural and physical transformations.

Never Neverland

14 Dec 2023 – 4 Feb 2024
Exhibition
Never Neverland presents works by Karlee Rawkins in collaboration with her son Raj, exploring the perceptions, expectations and profound joy that being the mother of a son with a disability has brought.

Yaamanga (around here)

Ongoing
Exhibition
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.

Artist talk with STILL: National Still Life Award 2023 Winner Alana Hunt
2023-12-02 10:30 - 12:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Alana Hunt, …and fled swiftly (i and ii), 2022 35mm film / archival digital print, 800 x 530 mm (each)

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Visit the STILL: National Still Life Award 2023 exhibition at Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM) on Saturday 2nd December at 10.30am to meet this year’s STILL Winner Alana Hunt. Alana will be joining us to discuss her award-winning work “…and fled swiftly (i and ii) 2022” as well as her broader interdisciplinary arts practice.

During this artist talk, Alana will discuss her most recent body of work and take you on a journey to explore the development, themes and significance of her practice in contributing to social commentary on the impacts of colonisation in Australia.

About Alana

Born 1984, Gadigal Country, Sydney. Lives and works on Miriwoong Country, East Kimberley, Western Australia.

Alana Hunt is non-indigenous artist and writer. Currently based on Gadigal Country in Sydney, over the last twelve years she has lived on Miriwoong and Gija Countries in the North-West of Australia.

Her work examines the violence that results from the fragility of nations and the aspirations and failures of colonial dreams, both within the area she lives and in the context of her longstanding engagement with South Asia.

Her distributed art practice moves between publishing, exhibition making and public intervention. She communicates with a broad network of collaborators and peers in the development of her interdisciplinary works and regularly contributes to social commentary through podcasts, discussions and publishing.

Visit Alana’s Instagram to learn more @alanavhunt

STILL Major Sponsors

STILL Supporting Sponsors

Halfway
2023-12-08 00:00 - 2024-02-11 23:59
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Peter Wade, Mood Banana, 2023, White Beech, acrylic, ink

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

The exhibition explores how distance, time, speed, and space shape people’s perceptions of a place, and how an identity associated with being the ‘halfway point on the highway’ evolves over time.

Halfway embraces the evolution of Coffs Harbour by using contemporary art to explore the impact of major infrastructure projects and reflect on its shared history.

This exhibition is supported by the Dobell Exhibition Grant, funded by the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation and managed by Museums & Galleries of NSW.

RELATED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

The 2023 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

1 Dec 2023 – 4 Feb 2024 at 10:00 am–2:00 pm
Exhibition
Celebrate the natural heritage of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea with the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year. A South Australian Museum exhibition.

Never Neverland

14 Dec 2023 – 4 Feb 2024
Exhibition
Never Neverland presents works by Karlee Rawkins in collaboration with her son Raj, exploring the perceptions, expectations and profound joy that being the mother of a son with a disability has brought.

Yaamanga (around here)

Ongoing
Exhibition
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.

Halfway artist talk: Jane Skeer and Yannick Blattner
2023-12-09 10:30 - 12:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Left: Jane Skeer. Photo Sam Roberts @samrophoto RIght: Yannick Blattner. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Halfway invites us on a collective journey to explore the changing identity of Coffs Harbour, a regional City undergoing cultural and physical transformations.

Jane Skeer will discuss her large-scale installation, True Blue. Comprised ofratchet straps, demonstrating her fascination with materials that come from the landscape and wear the landscape embedded in their surface.

Artist Yannick Blattner will share insights into his work Formal Arrangement For Casual Leisure 2023. An artworkcomprising of polyester camping chairs sealed and made rigid using materials typically found in auto-mechanic workshops ie; car filler, fibreglass resin and black car paint. As a practical object, the modified chairs facilitate the Australian penchant for leisure. Presented en-masse as an art object the work becomes a repetitive symbol of the ever-present intersection between labour and leisure.

Embrace this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the artistic visions and inspirations of these talented artists.

Saturday 9 December 2023

10.30am – 12pm

This is a FREE event, but bookings are required.

This exhibition is supported by the Dobell Exhibition Grant, funded by the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation and managed by Museums & Galleries of NSW.

Jane Skeer. Photo Sam Roberts @samrophoto

Yannick Blattner. Image courtesy of the artist.

Book your tickets to the artist talk here

Never Neverland
2023-12-14 00:00 - 2024-02-04 23:59
Never Neverland

Exhibition

Never Neverland presents works by Karlee Rawkins in collaboration with her son Raj, exploring the perceptions, expectations and profound joy that being the mother of a son with a disability has brought.

Karlee Rawkins, Drifting Away, 2023, Acrylic on cotton canvas, 1370 x 2100 mm

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Karlee’s paintings explore the power of symbols and iconography to create a fantastical world of islands, tropical birds and portals of love, growth, resilience and transformation. We invite you to enter a world where imagination reigns supreme and freedom is celebrated.

Wild Summer Creative Journal 23/24
2023-12-20 10:00 - 2024-01-31 16:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

From 20 December 2023, these journals can be found at all three library branches and Yarrila Arts and Museum.

This Creative Journal is a journey into the world of local artist Sally Hook’s captivating ceramics. Bursting with fun, it includes family charades, DIY sculptures, collaging, and a step-by-step flipbook guide for an enriching experience. Dive into Sally’s ceramic-making process and discover the fascinating birds along the Coffs Harbour coast.

But the Summer fun doesn’t stop there! The library team has handpicked books and resources to boost creativity, explore birds, and embark on exciting new adventures.

Win: Don’t miss the chance to win another creative journal prize! Answer the question on the back of the journal and return the form to your local library branch by 31 January, 2024.

In addition to the Creative Journal, City of Coffs Harbour’s Summer holiday line-up features a diverse array of hands-on, interactive activities designed to immerse kids in enjoyable and novel experiences.

Explore the program listings on our Coffs Harbour Libraries and YAM websites for a complete overview of the exciting events. Secure a FREE spot for each child by booking through our websites.

Wild Summer Holiday Program
2023-12-20 10:00 - 2024-01-31 17:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Karlee Rawkins, Scarlet-tailed Macaw, 2023.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Visit the YAM and Coffs Harbour Libraries Eventbrite for more information and book these activities.

All SummerWild Summer Creative Journal inspired by Sally HookAll SummerSelf-led activities – in The WorkshopAll SummerSummer Reading Challenge10, 17 & 24 JanuaryCoffs on Film13 JanuaryOur Wild World of Reptiles reptile day13 JanuaryReptile Portraits15 JanuaryDigital art and t-shirt design16 JanuarySong and Beat making workshop16 JanuaryPirate Parrots creative workshop with Karlee Rawkins17 JanuarySewing basics and animal textile activity20 JanuaryHalfway: Show ‘n Shine Family Day22 JanuarySurreal Nature Photography23 & 24 January3D modelling, scanning, printing workshop24 JanuaryMy Two Blankets – author reading and creative workshop25 JanuarySummer Reading Challenge Celebration31 Jan & 7 FebHalfway: Tiny Tyres, Big Screens

YAM Eventbrite

Library Eventbrite

Ok! Motherhood
2024-02-08 00:00 - 2024-03-24 23:59
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

Richilde Flavell, en caul universe, 2023, ceramic, wax, oil pigment, 610mm x 430mm. Photo by And the Trees Photography.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Explore the connection between the mundane and the extraordinary by delving into the themes of parenthood and the transformative power of change through artist Richilde Flavell’s captivating ceramic works.

From large vessels to a raw clay installation, these artworks evoke reverence and warmth through their generous forms, representing the flow of change, a movement from one state to another, showcasing the beauty and transformative power of clay.

Fluttering on the Surface
2024-02-08 00:00 - 2024-03-24 23:59
Fluttering on the Surface

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Sarah Mufford, Detail of Nasir ol Molk, 2021, India Ink, Pigmented Ink, watercolour, graphite, and polymer gesso on cotton rag.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Mufford’s work invites the viewer to engage with a dynamic interplay of shapes and colours that constantly shift and transform without one element dominating. This sense of movement is enhanced by the artist’s use of negative space, allowing the eye to rest and refocus, creating a sense of rhythm and flow.

Fluttering on the SurfaceSarah Mufford

A response to Sarah Mufford’s exhibition by Associate Professor in Art History and Visual Culture at Charles Sturt University, Sam Bowker

Sarah Mufford’s creative practice seeks to understand holistic processes of visual culture. Her work reveals subtle sensory structures that inform our perception of harmony and balance. Using a ruler, compass and vivid colours, she encourages us to see how geometry, colour, field and rhythmic forms interact as rich spaces for sensory imagination.

Across this delicate, colourful and ambitious exhibition, our vision is intricately interrupted by solid semicircles. Each is isolated from even more complex potential patterns. The visible under-drawing is intentional, for Mufford’s labor-intensive process emphasizes the importance of geometry as a profound foundation, both visually and conceptually. Her reverence for the historic pursuit of geometric forms in art history is drawn from her extensive fieldwork across India, southern Spain, Italy and Iran. Her experiments are related to the Pattern and Decoration (P&D) movement in American postmodernism, which drew on a similar array of sources across broadly Islamic, Persianate, and South Asian art – which were, and still are, collectively under-represented in Australian contemporary art – yet her finished work is distinctly of her own time and place.

Through this ongoing creative practice research, Mufford has studied diverse interpretations of geometric design and the history of sensory perception. Rather than simply copying specific examples or illustrating regional practices, she has compared their objectives and variations through their own contexts, and arrived at a coherence that is entirely her own.

For generations of artists and artisans, mathematics has served as an extension of philosophy, religion and visual culture. Mufford is part of this continuity, drawing from the rich depth and breadth of art history to offer a new way of seeing. Her work is not descriptive, but imaginative, acknowledging sources as a testament to a more connected, coherent model of international creative practice. Sarah Mufford’s paintings are inventions rather than replications, posed on the continuous question ‘what if?’, and moving toward new possibilities.

In reflecting on Mufford’s exhibition, I offer interpretation about four paintings featured in Fluttering on the Surface.

In Jali (2023) the precisely cut structure of carved screens are evoked, drawing from a solution to allow the permeation of moving air through architecture. The jali is a Persianate design, notably preserved in the intricate dark pink and warm red masonry of Akbar’s abandoned capital city Fatehpur Sikri in Agra, India. But comparable structures have been developed elsewhere – such as meshrabiyeh timber latticework screens, shamsiyya gypsum screens, or even Frank Lloyd Wright’s (somewhat brutalist) usonian open-cinderblock walls. Mufford’s approach moves beyond any of those specific contexts. Perceptively, she asks what do we see and feel when experiencing these decorative screens? What was intended by their makers in-situ, rather than those who subsequently disconnected and moved them into the rarified rooms of museums?

Through semicircles, we see blue sky, we see green foliage, we feel faint air in subtle motion.

Ottoman tents were appliqued and embroidered with lustrous threads and luxurious textiles to evoke the sensory ideal of a garden – a landscape transformed on humanity’s terms. As mobile architecture, the illusion of place moved with the tent, even when a new view could be borrowed by the act of re-location. Mufford’s work reminds me of that sensory representation. Her memories are evoked and allude through the ambiguity of abstraction, which is richer than tromp l’oeil realism.

The intensity of Leheriya (2023) acknowledges a similar quality, but this time it is situated via the resplendent textiles of south Asia. The term leheriya is a Rajasthani form of woven fabric, worn as a saree or turban, defined by a persistent wave-like or zig-zag pattern. Across Mufford’s characteristic blue and green semicircles you may discern groups of squares, but moving your eyes between each ‘square’ creates the trickling flow of water, tentatively seeking passage over an open field. Water is heavier than air, and thus far more intense colours have been chosen.

Kashan (2023) situates a geographic point of origin – a city in the province of Isfahan, Iran. However, that place has been informed by centuries of inherited culture and subsequent transformations. It is an analogy for a past and a future as a form of symmetry and asymmetry. When viewing this work, you may note the abstract forms in dark tones are nearly symmetrical against a pale green field. But look more closely at the secretive pattern across the semicircles – are they palindromes?

On a geometric perspective, the immediate present could be seen as a perpetual palindrome, extending infinitely in all directions. This is a critical point underpinning the philosophy of geometric design, allowing extrapolation into the infinite without glitches or disjointed continuity.

Neshan (2023) is a Farsi (Persian) word meaning a mark or target, or a seal (like a symbol or medallion). Within these billowing, cloud-like forms, notice the negative spaces between the semicircles, and how these form a pattern unseen in the rest of this exhibition, built through gaps like voids on a manuscript. The curlicues of coiling forms seem to trace the rhythmic movements of a murmuration of birds in flight, or the rise and fall of asemic script – that is, graphic forms that resemble words but do not contain their meanings. This type of abstraction was a foundation principle of the Hurrufiyya movement in Arab modernism, yet in Mufford’s work this is not intended as a commentary on calligraphy. Rather, her work is a study of time in motion through abstraction on a geometric frame, in which parallels are invited to be drawn by other observers.

Mufford’s paintings are the result of extended and careful listening, thoughtful observation, critical comparison, and creative practice research towards even more ambitious questions. This is a manifesto for insightful practice, acknowledging diverse sources with respect and attention to their underpinning processes, raising challenges to global art history through contemporary Australian art.

Download PDF of Fluttering on the Surface essay

Download PDF of Fluttering on the Surface essay

Sea Monsters
2024-02-23 00:00 - 2024-05-26 23:59
Sea Monsters

Exhibition

While dinosaurs dominated the land, giant reptiles and sharks prowled the seas, and they’re making a comeback at Yarrila Arts and Museum!

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Sea Monsters offers an exciting experience that combines real fossils from millions of years ago and giant replicas, including a 13-meter long Elasmosaurus and a 9-meter Prognathdon.

Dive into the secret lives of these fascinating creatures with interactive displays and immersive experiences.

Not for the faint-hearted, Sea Monsters will ignite the imagination of all ages.

It’s seriously scary and seriously fun.

Buy Tickets

Final Weekend Special Ticket Price (From Friday 10am until Sunday 2pm) $5 per person, Infants under 4 free.

Adult$15.00Child (4 – 16 years) $7.50Student/Concession $10.00Family (2 adults + 2 children) $40.00Infants under 4 years FREE

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Produced by the Australian National Maritime Museum in partnership with the Queensland Museum Network and Queensland Government.

Related Programs and Events

Night at the Museum: Sea Monsters

24 May 2024 at 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Event, Program, Workshop
Get ready for a Night at the Museum and see seriously scary Sea Monsters after dark at Yarrila Arts and Museum!

Sea Monsters Family Fun Day
2024-02-24 10:00 - 14:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Have fun with interactive performances with Erth’s Roaming Prehistoric Aquarium as they bring ancient sea creatures to life at Yarrila Place, Coffs Harbour!

Experience roving, interactive performances with master puppeteers Erth and their prehistoric marine reptiles at Yarrila Place.

Meet the playful Plesiosaurs and evade the fearsome Kronosaurus. Be careful not to be lured in by the mysterious Anglerfish!

For over 30 years, Erth have delighted, challenged, and inspired audiences around the world with their flagship shows Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo and Erth’s Prehistoric Aquarium.

Enjoy them for one day only – Saturday 24 February from 10:30 to 1:30 at Yarrila Place. Erth’s work blends exquisite puppetry and irreverent humour with scientific rigour, inspiring awe and wonder.

Let your imagination run wild and create a sea monster masterpiece!

Visit The Workshop at Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM) and explore the form and function of some of the incredible beasts that once dominated our oceans. Combine these forms to create your very own sea monster with its own unique function and name.

Join a special Sea Monster Storytime, with Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary!

Come along to the Story Space in the Harry Bailey Memorial Library at Yarrila Place. Listen to stories of the deep with the Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary and their friends. Storytime sessions start at 11am and 12pm and run for approximately 30 minutes.

Best of all, it’s free! Plus, don’t miss the chance to purchase tickets to explore the fascinating Sea Monsters Exhibition.

Save the date for a day of fun, discovery, and adventure!

Buy tickets for Sea Monsters here

Family Fun Day is presented by City of Coffs Harbour incorporating Yarrila Art and Museum and Coffs Harbour Libraries.

Sea Monsters is an Australian National Maritime Museum touring exhibition in partnership with Queensland Museum Network.

Roving performances by Erth. Dinosaurs and other puppets created by Erth Visual & Physical Inc.

Storytime with Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary

Related Events

Sea Monsters

23 Feb – 26 May 2024
Exhibition
Come and explore the fascinating world of Earth’s ancient oceans, where some of the largest, fiercest and most successful predators ruled the depths.

Ok! Motherhood

8 Feb – 24 Mar 2024
Exhibition
Explore the connection between the mundane and the extraordinary by delving into the themes of parenthood and the transformative power of change through artist Richilde Flavell’s captivating ceramic works.

Fluttering on the Surface

8 Feb – 24 Mar 2024
Exhibition
Lose yourself in intricate geometric abstractions. Fluttering on the Surface is a solo exhibition of Sarah Mufford’s complex pattern works, informed by Eastern and Western sources.

Artist Talk with Sarah Mufford - Fluttering On The Surface
2024-03-02 11:00 - 12:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Join artist Sarah Mufford for a discussion offering unique insights into her artworks featured in her current solo exhibition at Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM), Fluttering On The Surface and be inspired by her arts practice and current work.Fluttering on the Surface is a solo exhibition of Sarah Mufford’s complex pattern works, informed by Eastern and Western sources.Embrace this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the artistic visions and inspirations of this talented local artist.

This is a FREE event, but bookings are required.

Book a ticket for the Artist Talk with Sarah Mufford

Related Exhibitions and Events

Fluttering on the Surface

8 Feb – 24 Mar 2024
Exhibition
Lose yourself in intricate geometric abstractions. Fluttering on the Surface is a solo exhibition of Sarah Mufford’s complex pattern works, informed by Eastern and Western sources.

Ok! Motherhood

8 Feb – 24 Mar 2024
Exhibition
Explore the connection between the mundane and the extraordinary by delving into the themes of parenthood and the transformative power of change through artist Richilde Flavell’s captivating ceramic works.

Digital Studio Drop In and Create
2024-03-06 14:00 - 17:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Learn how to record audio, make music, edit photos & videos, design a poster, stop-motion animation, create digital art with an iPad, and much more.

Digital Studio equipment is available to use including guitars, bass guitars, midi-keyboards and percussion instruments.

The Digital Studio is free to access during Drop-In sessions. Let us know if you are wanting to use the recording booth during a specific session.

Bring your own project or learn new skills in this weekly, creative, drop-in session at the Digital Studio.

Unknown Elements
2024-03-23 11:00 - 12:30
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Visit Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM) to hear from National Marine Science Centre’s scientist Stephan Soule, who will take audiences on a journey to uncover the past, present and future of our ocean biodiversity in the face of climate change.

The deep sea is the largest ecosystem on Earth and one of the least studied. However, scientists are discovering that ocean acidification and climate change are bringing new threats to marine life which are predicted to rival the biggest mass extinctions in history.

Understand these accelerated processes in an easy to understand and practical way through laboratory demonstrations in The Workshop.

Stephan Soule- Manager, Outreach and Education. Southern Cross University and National Marine Science Centre.

Produced by the Australian National Maritime Museum in partnership with the Queensland Museum Network and Queensland Government.

Digital Photo Editing - Lunchtime Learning
2024-03-26 12:00 - 13:00
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Want to learn how to make your photos pop? Come and join one of two short workshops in digital photo editing using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

There are lunchtime workshops available on consecutive Tuesdays, 26 March 2024 and 2 April 2024. So whether you want to take your Instagram to the next level, or get some quick tips for professional development, sign up.

Inner & Outer Worlds
2024-03-30 00:00 - 2024-05-19 23:59
Deborah Kelly
CREATION

Exhibition

CREATION is a multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary artwork developed by contemporary artist Deborah Kelly. Born from collaboration with communities across Australia, it invites you to explore a queer, climate-conscious belief system that celebrates possibility, and collective dreaming.

Jo Elliott, Beacon, 2024, Mixed Media

Jeremy Sheehan, This Floating World, 2024, Mixed Media

Exhibition

Deborah Kelly
CREATION

When

22 Nov 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

AdmissionFree entry Plan your visitCREATION Performance

Unique insights and experiences resonate in each of their works. The artists use unexpected materials and objects, transforming them into something extraordinary, taking audiences on a journey traversing time, landscapes and other worldly realms with an immersive experience of light and form.
