No images? Click here
Over seventy events this Creative Open!
Sat 13, Sun 14 & Sat 20 Sun 21 Aug
Choose your own adventure this winter – visit a new exhibition, join an artist studio tour, enjoy live music or see our local artists and designers in action.
Join us for Happy Hour @ MAG&M
Fri 12 Aug, 5-8pm
Manly Art Gallery & Museum
Celebrate the launch of Creative Open. Mingle and soak up the Environmental Art & Design Prize exhibition while listening to the sounds of DJ Max Durham.
Hear from Kit Willow and other fashion industry leaders as they discuss their practices, sustainability and the slow fashion movement.
Image: Kit Willow. Photo by Duncan Killick for Vogue Australia.
Exhibitions
Contemporary painting exhibition
Sat 13 - Sun 14 Aug, 9am - 5pm
HAKE House of Art
Lots to explore at HAKE House of Art, a double story loft home to a range of multidisciplinary creative businesses.
Image: HAKE House of Art
Reconnect exhibition
Sat 13 Aug, 12pm - 4pm
Sun 14 Aug, 10am - 4pm
Our Place, Brookvale
Visit artist Jaimee Paul's exhibition of new work and see signature black-and-white large scale watercolour animal portraits.
Image: Jaimee Paul. Photo by Joelan Wong
Makers' event
Meet local makers and designers
Sat 13 Aug, 10am - 3pm
Manly Library
Buy locally made from a range of pop ups that are taking over the library floor. Find something unique from handcrafted jewellery, artworks, home wares and more.
Image: Lee Pick Up Ceramics
Open studios
Open Studio: Gina Fenton
Sat 13 - Sun 14 Aug, 10am - 3pm
Curl Curl Creative Space
Spend some time with the artworks of Gina Fenton, exploring the fluidity of time via the mediums of printmaking, sculpture, photography, and painting.
Image: Courtesy of Gina Fenton
Open Studio: Loobylou candles
Sat 13 - Sun 14 Aug, 10am - 4pm
Loobylou HQ, Manly Vale
Visit Kere Baker in her Loobylou headquarters. Experience the aromatic concoctions crafted by Kere for her hand poured candles.
Image: Courtesy of Loobylou
Open Studio: Girl & Grain
Sat 13 - Sun 14 Aug, 10am - 3pm
Girl & Grain Studio
Meet the maker behind Girl & Grain, Northern Beaches furniture maker and local woodwork instructor Kate Stafford.
Image: Katie Stafford, Girl and Grain
Open Studio: La Crème
Sat 13 - Sun 14 Aug, 10am - 3pm
La Crème Creative Inc
Walk through the studios of La Crème Creative Inc, with 10+ creative residents and a range of creative practices.
Image: La Creme Creative Inc.
Performances and events
Don't miss the Element Ensemble
Sat 13 Aug, 7 - 8pm
Curl Curl Creative Space
Immerse yourself in soundscapes and visual projections inspired by the local environment and created by Element Ensemble, Noah Bloom, Finlay Hogan and Peta Morris.
Image: Courtesy of the artists
Workshops and talks
Weaving on the lawn
Sun 14 Aug, 10am - 1pm
Manly Art Gallery & Museum Lawn
Drop by for a free session with Tegan Murdock from Ngumpie Weaving. Learn traditional skills in Aboriginal weaving.
Image: Tegan Murdock. Photo by Belinda Mason
Cooking with bush flavours
Sat 13 Aug, 11am - 3pm
Bush to Bowl Nursery
Join the team from Bush to Bowl for an informative cooking session using native plants grown in their bush tucker garden.
Image: Courtesy of Bush to Bowl
Local author's table
Sat 13 Aug, 9am - 5pm
Harry Hartog Bookstore
Have any questions for successful local writers? No matter what your favourite read, there’s a Northern Beaches author who writes it. Stop by and meet the authors that call the Beaches home.
Image: Courtesy of Zena Shapter
Metaverse and NFTs – the future of art
Wed 17 Aug, 6 - 8pm
Manly Art Gallery & Museum
Curious to know more about the world of NFTs (non-funglible tokens)? Here’s your place to start, with a presentation led by NFT/Metaverse experts.
Image: courtesy of the presenters
Jewellery: the big business
Sun 14 Aug, 3 - 4:30pm
Manly Art Gallery & Museum Lawn
Hear from local jewellery designers as they discuss what it takes to survive and thrive as an independent jewellery designer.
Image: Courtesy of Leonie Simpson
Still life painting
Sat 13 - Sun 14 Aug, 11am - 4:30pm
Forest Community Arts Centre
Artist Joanna Gambotto will guide you through a two-day workshop, sharing skills to reinvigorate your painting practice.
Image: Courtesy of Joanna Gambotto
Don't forget - grants applications close soon
Applications close Mon 8 Aug, midnight
The Arts and Creativity grants support a range projects and initiatives to enhance our local creative sector.
Grants are available to individual artists, creative practitioners and arts and cultural organisations.
Image: Manly Man, Billy Bain. Exhibition Being Manly at MAG&M. Arts and Creativity Grants recipient 2021.
Connect and share your creative posts with us #creativenorthernbeaches
