Arts & culture

Catch-up on some of the most popular books of 2024 at Wollongong Libraries

Thanks to Nina Jauncey and the team of librarians at Thirroul for sharing this list of good books. With social calendars filling up, make sure you’re not left out of reading conversations. Borrow these popular 2024 titles at the Library. Funny...

The Illawarra Flame

December 2024

Arts & culture

What will you be reading this summer? We asked 6 avid readers

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article

The Conversation

December 2024

Arts & culture

Behind the Lens with Linda Fury, president of Kiama Shellharbour Camera Club

Although living on the South Coast means she is spoilt for choice when it comes to snapping spectacular landscapes, award-winning photographer, Linda Fury from Albion Park, says her extensive travels have definitely played a significant role in the...

Lesley Roulston

December 2024

Arts & culture

We Mavericks to launch new album at Illawarra Folk Festival in January

By Nick Hartgerink, honorary publicity officer for the Illawarra Folk Festival Acclaimed folk duo We Mavericks don’t call Corrimal home these days, but in a nod to their time in the region they will be launching their new album at the Illawarr...

Nicholas Hartgerink

December 2024

Arts & culture

Claire Foxton’s colourful mural makes a splash at Shell Cove’s Waterfront Marina

Most of Illawarra would be familiar with local artist Claire Foxton’s spectacular 14m high mural of Shellharbour Matilda’s soccer star Caitlin Foord - located on a wall of Wollongong Central. It was unveiled to a flurry of media and public...

Lesley Roulston

December 2024

Arts & culture

Honk! Oz exhibition opens at Wollongong Library

The exhibition can also be viewed online

Jo Oliver

December 2024

Arts & culture

Wobble at Artspace: How cancer triggered the creative within

Tonight Bellambi dad Tim Donnelly will be celebrating the triumph of art over adversity, as he ends a year battling bladder and throat cancer with his first exhibition. Wobble – a collection of fantastical fish, jellies and other sea creatures –...

Genevieve Swart

December 2024

Arts & culture

Secret Santa: Sage McAteer gives back to SPAT with time-travelling panto

Sage McAteer, who first wrote a pantomime for the Stanwell Park Arts Theatre (SPAT) in 2017 at just 16 years old, returns to celebrate the theatre’s 50th anniversary with Secret Santa, a nostalgic and heartfelt production. Running on December 7, 8...

Zachary Houtenville

December 2024

Arts & culture

Santa’s Secret: It’s carols and panto time at SPAT

Lauren Mitsak shares the latest news from Stanwell Park Arts Theatre (SPAT). A priceless comment on our 50th anniversary celebration Our 50th celebration – featured in November’s article – was spectacular and magical and I thought this comment...

The Illawarra Flame

December 2024

Arts & culture

Meet Deborah Ellsmore of Shellharbour City Arts Society

Jamberoo-based creative Deborah Ellsmore has been “playing with clay”, as she describes her passion for ceramics, for about 10 years. Before she retired, Deborah was a textile and design teacher at Kiama High School

Lesley Roulston

December 2024

Arts & culture

Being Alive: 2024 Emerging Concert Artists series ends with songs from musical theatre

Music and Tea at the Wollongong Art Gallery will end the year with Being Alive, a concert on December 5 featuring songs from musical theatre starring Molly Margaret Stewart. Molly is a 23-year-old NIDA graduate passionate about musical theatre and...

Felicity Woodhill

November 2024

Arts & culture

Eric Bogle, 80, returns to Illawarra Folk Festival with songs of a lifetime

Scottish-born Bogle has written some of Australia’s best-loved songs, from his ode to his adopted land Shelter, his tribute to a struggling farmer, Now I’m Easy, to the timeless songs about the futility and loss of war, And The Band Played...

Nicholas Hartgerink

November 2024

Arts & culture

Coledale student wins Poem Forest prize

Alice O’Leary, a 12-year-old student at Coledale Public School, has won the Wollongong Community Greening Local Prize in the 2024 Poem Forest competition.

Tyneesha Williams

November 2024

Arts & culture

Learn to write plays, scripts and escape to Bundanon

Applications close 15 December, apply here and read feedback from 2024 attendees

Elizabeth Heffernan

November 2024

Arts & culture

5 fun podcasts for when you need a break from the news

Playing down her smarts (she’s written for Vogue, Vanity Fair and more), McKinney goes for an enthusiastic/empathetic tone that allows us to vicariously enjoy the show’s vast array of predicaments, from the vagaries of upscale dog grooming to...

The Conversation

November 2024

Arts & culture

Flautist Annabel Wouters wins Pascoe Award

The Highlands Music Collective was founded in 2019 by Myee Clohessy, a professional violinist who is now the HMCollective’s Artistic Director. The chamber music ensemble was formed during Myee’s 9-year stint as Artistic Director of the Bowral...

Lesley Roulston

November 2024

Arts & culture

What a celebration! SPAT stages spectacular 50th birthday party

By SPAT president Sonia Westwood SPAT (Stanwell Park Arts Theatre) marked their 50th anniversary with a spectacular weekend of short performances, music, dancing, singing, food, laughter and friendship. Surrounded by nostalgia and memories in the...

The Illawarra Flame

November 2024

Arts & culture

Attention and Devotion: A workshop with Ailsa Piper

With each step around the room there’s a squelching exhale from her shoes as she insists, “Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing”. The sterile room is filled with people I won’t say much to; artists, a teacher, writers of various ilk...

Amanda De George

November 2024

Arts & culture

Jodi Edwards launches 6 Dharawal language books

On Saturday November 2nd, community gathered on Dharawal country at The Point Preschool in Oyster Bay to see the launch of Ezy Books. Written by Dr. Jodi Edwards and Illustrated by Amy-Lea Hill-Trindall, the six children’s books feature Ezy the dog...

Tyneesha Williams

November 2024

Arts & culture

True Story: Literary detective Michael Visontay to share quest for lost pages of rare book

By Melissa Burns Michael Visontay has worked for more than 30 years as a journalist, author and lecturer. He was a former assistant editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and deputy editor of the Sun-Herald, and is currently commissioning editor of The...

The Illawarra Flame

November 2024

Arts & culture

Merrigong Season 2025: From Love Stories to Strangeways

Want a gift to bring joy to your world? Merrigong Theatre Company recently announced its biggest ever season for 2025 and artistic director Simon Hinton has a hot tip for Christmas shoppers: Love Stories. “A season ticket makes a really great...

Genevieve Swart

November 2024

Arts & culture

True Story: Q&A with author of Aussie Rock Anthems

Glen Humphries is an award-winning senior journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. In a career spanning more than 20 years, Glen has published several books including Aussie Rock Anthems (Gelding Street Press, 2024). He combines storytelling uplift with...

The Illawarra Flame

November 2024