KickArts Open Studio Maker Space | Free | All Ages

Cardboard Creative is back — and the KickArts Open Studio Maker Space opens Tuesday 6 January!
This free, drop-in creative space invites makers of all ages to cut, build, invent and imagine using one of the most versatile materials around: cardboard.

At the heart of the space is Paperpelago — an ever-evolving cardboard island. It’s currently a somewhat deserted island, ready and waiting for creators to bring it to life. Visitors are invited to add their own constructions to the island using our tools and materials.

Think fish, ships, resorts, beach shacks, stingrays, palm trees, seagulls, pirates — or something completely unexpected. Anything goes. Don’t forget to explore the tunnel and cave while you’re there.

Participants can use one of our 8 Chompsaws (thanks to Chompshop) and Makedo cardboard construction tools (by Makedo) to safely cut and connect cardboard pieces. A big thank you to the local makers and creators who helped kick-start the island with fish, palm trees, skulls, treasure chests and more.

Building on the legacy of previous Triennials - The Alternative Archive (2019) and Open Borders (2022) - this third iteration turns its gaze forward with the theme of Radical Futures. 

Radical Futures: Unearthed brings together eight local artists — Athena Boast, Shannon Bowen, Pam Burgess, Cait Edwards, Rani Fankha, Elaine Fewings, Giorgia Stefania and Naomi Stanitzki. Through diverse mediums and perspectives, these artists were encouraged by this year's Triennial theme to imagine new ways of living, connecting, and creating. In a collaborative effort, the group began by discussing local challenges and reflecting on what a future without those challenges could look like.

This local exhibition is one of 15 taking place across regional Western Australia, showcasing more than 120 artists and 30 curators whose work reflects the diversity and vitality of regional practice. Each exhibition contributes a distinct perspective to a collective imagining of what lies ahead - a future shaped by creativity, collaboration, and care.

Radical Futures: Unearthed runs from Saturday 20 December to Sunday 22 February (closed 25 December - 1 January).

Join us for a Celebration Event on Thursday 8 January from 6pm - a relaxed evening of art, conversation, and connection. All welcome.

Loren Kronemyer’s Materiel World at the Cannery Arts Centre

Cannery Arts Centre and SPACED are keen to share that our Circular Economies resident artist, Loren Kronemyer, is returning the products of her e-waste buy-back scheme to Cannery Arts Centre with the fully charged screening of the film Materiel World.

Following on from her e-waste buy-back-scheme event at Cannery Arts Centre initially prompted by the WA Government's gun buyback scheme, Loren Kronemyer has been researching the theme of forging new solutions to finite resources.  

Materiel World explores the physical, logistical, and social lives of objects via a highly loaded question: is it possible to put it back in the ground? 

It’s time for The Cannery Arts Centre’s biannual 9x5 Fundraiser - our biggest event of the year and an essential part of keeping the doors open and creativity flowing. By purchasing an artwork, you directly support our ongoing exhibitions, workshops, and community programs.

The 9x5 tradition hails from the Heidelberg School in Melbourne, whose artists famously exhibited paintings on cigar box lids measuring nine by five inches. Every two years, we invite artists from across WA and beyond to continue this tradition, contributing small works that collectively make a big impact.

With more than 200 artworks on display - spanning ceramics, painting, textiles, drawing and more - there’s something for every taste and budget.

Key Dates
🖼️ Artists preview invite only: Thursday 13 November
🖼️ Exhibition opens: Friday 14 November
✏️ Pencil bidding: 14 November – Saturday 13 December, 4pm
🔨 Live Auction: Sunday 14 December, 10.30am for 11am bidding.

Step into a vibrant showcase of imagination, skill, and innovation at An Exhibition of Creative Works, celebrating the artistic talents of students from Year 7 to Year 11 at Esperance Senior High School.

From expressive painting and drawing to intricate jewellery, ceramics, textiles, photography, woodwork and metalwork — this diverse collection highlights the breadth of our specialist programs and the high-quality teaching behind them.

Join us on opening night for a special treat, as our talented music students take the stage to demonstrate their skills and set the tone for an inspiring evening.

Experience the creativity shaping the next generation of makers, performers and artists — all in one place, for a limited time.

Since 1984, the Esperance Pottery Club has brought people together through the shared joy of working with clay. From beginners to experienced makers, the community has grown into a lively hub where everyone can get their hands dirty and bring ideas to life.

Expressions of Earth is an exhibition celebrating the talent and passion of our local ceramic artists. Featuring a diverse mix of sculptural and functional works, the show also includes a collection of firepit-fired ceramics - pieces shaped by flame and earth in a local communal firing.

This vibrant exhibition reflects the textures, tones, and stories of our region. From delicate forms to earthy vessels, each work invites you to experience the beauty of clay in its many expressions.

Free entry. All welcome.
Opening: Thursday 2 October from 5pm to 8pm
Exhibition dates: 2 October – 2 November 2025
Opening hours: Tues to Fri 10am to 4pm, Sat 12pm to 4pm

B Whimsical is the second solo exhibition by self-taught local artist Lorraine Kindma. This vibrant collection bursts with playful spirit, featuring characterful bees whose cheeky, enchanting personalities are sure to make you smile.

Lorraine’s works are painted in acrylic, with some pieces blending layers to create dynamic, textured canvases.

Alongside the paintings, you’ll find double-sided jute bags hand-painted in acrylic—a joyful mix of colour and whimsy, offering a feast for the eyes and a celebration of creative fun.

Local artist Tracey Bareli has spent over thirty years exploring the art of quilting. From her first Singer sewing machine to the creative freedom of a Long Arm Quilting Machine, her work now spans traditional, modern, upcycled and nature-inspired designs.

Stitch by Stitch celebrates Tracey’s creative journey, inviting visitors to follow her evolution as a quilter through a vibrant collection of works.

Unframed is a joyful celebration of creativity, community, and inclusion, presented by GIFSA . As Esperance’s local NDIS provider, GIFSA supports people with disability through a range of personalised services. One of these is a weekly art club, where participants are encouraged to express themselves, build confidence, and connect through art. 

This exhibition is proudly neurodiverse and family-friendly. Visitors are invited not only to view the work, but to get involved. Contribute to a growing LEGO installation, thread some wool, or engage with other sensory elements designed to spark curiosity and creativity. It’s an experience you can step into, not just observe.

You’ve visited The Lester Prize—now it’s your turn to get creative!

Step inside The Art Room Gallery and join in a relaxed drawing activity where everyone is welcome to contribute. Add your own self-portrait to our growing wall of faces, strike a pose for someone else to sketch, or draw your Very-Important-Person. No experience needed—just bring your curiosity.

This free drop-in experience will be open from the second week of the school holidays and continues through to mid-August. Whether you have five minutes or an hour, you’re invited to pick up a crayon, pencil or pen and spend some time observing, doodling, and having a go.

Dates: 15 July – 15 August
Times: During gallery hours
Cost: Free
All ages welcome

Come down, enjoy some creative play & make your mark.

Fresh from her 2024 Esperance Art Awards win, local conceptual artist Elaine Fewings presents a playful and reflective new body of work exploring the quiet chaos of domestic clutter. From fridge tops to forgotten drawers, Elaine transforms overlooked objects into curious and compelling compositions.

Running 19 June – 13 July at the Cannery Arts Centre, with the artist present for informal Thursday Q&As.

The prestigious Lester Prize, one of Australia’s leading portraiture awards, is touring regional Western Australia, exhibiting at the Cannery Arts Centre in Esperance this June-July. The exhibition features an extraordinary selection of finalist works, providing insight into the depth and diversity of contemporary portraiture in Australia. Thanks to the generous support of the Mt Burdett Foundation, this exciting regional showcase brings nationally recognised portraiture directly to the people, making high-quality art accessible to the Esperance community and visitors alike – all with free entry.

“Niminjarra is the two brothers transforming into a snake so they can come back home to Ngayartakujarra (Lake Dora). They were in training for ceremony, those two brothers, but they were kept too long, and nobody was there to release them. They waited then they decided to transform into snakes to travel back to where they came from, because their mother was waiting for them. This is Jukurrpa (Dreaming story).”
Desmond Taylor, 2019

Jila Kujarra: Two Snakes Dreaming is a cross-cultural collaboration between Warnman artist Desmond Taylor and Boorloo-based textiles practitioner Mariaan Pugh, commissioned by Fremantle Arts Centre in partnership with Martumili Artists.

Taylor and Pugh have worked together to transform Taylor’s Niminjarra paintings, usually seen on canvas or paper, into highly tactile textile works, animating the important Niminjarra Jukurrpa (Dreaming).

This body of work is born of Taylor’s desire to see his artworks reimagined through a textile medium and is a contemporary crafting of important ancestral stories deeply rooted in Warnman Ngurra (Country).

In her debut solo exhibition, Swiss Sri Lankan artist Rani Fankha explores identity, emotion, and connection through layered black-and-white illustrations and vivid expressionist paintings. Inspired by her multicultural heritage and life in Esperance Kepa Kurl, Rani reflects on themes of belonging, displacement, and cultural legacy. Her work bridges personal and collective histories, inviting audiences to connect with shared human experiences.

Alex invites you to come to The Art Room and spend some time Tree Listening, and not only with your ears, but heart, brain and senses. Read a book, smell a branch, cure your tree-blindness, draw a leaf, remember a tree that’s been important to you or take a stethescope out into the Cannery gardens.

Welcome to the colourful world of Fi Wilkie

Surrounded by the native flora and fauna in Margaret River, Western Australia, Artist Fi Wilkie is drawn to observe the delicate change of seasons, the contrast of chaos and order in the bush landscape and the stories of connection that exists within it. 

In 2023 Fi visited the Cannery Arts Centre for a residency, hosting a collage workshop and exploring our natural environment for her Wander Out Yonder exhibition creating ‘Drinking in the Sunshine-Banksia speciosa’ a painted paper collage of our New Holland Honey Eaters in a frenzy of delight in a forest of Banksia speciosa (Showy Banksia) “When we visited Esperance in the late Summer - we walked and walked through an amazing jungle path lined on both sides with 4 metre high flowering Banksia speciosa-I’ll never forget it!” This is one of a series of artworks created for her Wander Out Yonder series. Her other Esperance inspired work is Rock Hop and Bloom at Lucky Bay, showcasing pig face, rock parrots and beach loving kangaroos, "if you visit Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand National Park just East of Esperance you might be lucky to see these lazy macropods lounging on the impossibly white and squeaky sand. Blue water is not a good description - the colour of the water in this part of the world is hard to describe...as is the landscape, the flora and the great people who live there."

Explore the unique elements of Esperance through an interactive, community-driven art project at the Cannery Arts Centre, Art Room Gallery. Running alongside the Esperance Art Awards 2024, this exhibition invites participants of all ages to express their connection to Esperance's wild waters, strong winds, and rugged landscapes.

Inspired by Oscar Munrillo’s The Flooded Garden, join us over the summer holidays to create a collaborative artwork celebrating the beauty and spirit of this incredible place.

Painting involved—dress for mess! Children must be supervised.

Tuesdays to Fridays ONLY

The Esperance Art Awards are the major visual arts awards open to artists living in the South-East Region of WA. It showcases and celebrates the works of emerging and established artists in an exhibition judged by an impartial arts professional. Since 1969 the Cannery Arts Centre has hosted this iconic event with support from multiple sponsors to the delight of artists and visitors alike.

The exhibition features 81 artworks from 66 artists, spanning from Norseman in the north, Beaumont to the east and Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe to the west. Open until the 9th February 2025, entry is free and artworks are available for purchase.

The Esperance Art Awards are the major visual arts awards open to artists living in the South-East Region of WA. It showcases and celebrates the works of emerging and established artists in an exhibition that is judged by an impartial arts professional. Since 1969 the Cannery Arts Centre has hosted this iconic event with support from multiple sponsors to the delight of artists and visitors alike.

We invite artists to submit works for delivery 4-8 November 10am-4pm each day with extension to 5pm on 8 November 2024.

Awards and Opening Night 21 November 2024 6pm

Exhibition 21 November 2024-9 February 2025

What The Eyes Cannot See is a community collaborative storytelling project facilitated by Fremantle based artists Audrey Fernandes-Satar and Arif Satar in partnership with the Cannery Arts Centre for the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial (IOTA24).

Community members are invited to participate in art making workshops creating a series of Story Books and Memory Objects reflecting their sense of identity, culture and connection to place. 

The Story Books will be fashioned as a Zine, short for Magazine, an innovative way of creating a small book by folding creasing and re-folding rice paper to create artistic books exploring the concept of ‘codified’ messages using a mixed media of collage drawing writing and painting.

The creation of Memory Objects by using the medium of ceramics will involve the development of skills in hand building techniques to create 3D objects as ‘codified’ forms that capture the essence of individual stories exploring the concept of What The Eyes Cannot See, leading to an abstraction when individual works are compiled into collective assemblages. 

Stitched and Bound is The West Australian Quilters Association Inc. (WAQA) Contemporary Exhibition. It is a biennial, juried exhibition showcasing the innovative range of work being produced by Western Australian artists who challenge the usual concept of the ‘quilt’ medium.

First Solo Australian Exhibition - Den L. Scheer

Monotype prints (monoprints), graphite drawings and assembled salvaged wool bags

Terra Ager is an assembly of sketches that use monoprint to explore the dynamism of animal movement and graphite anatomical studies to engage the eugenics of the cattle, horses and sheep. Referencing the Latin words for Land/Territory (Terra) and Farm (Ager), Den draws upon her farming heritage to negotiate how genetic traits can be tested and selectively integrated into herds to meet the needs of the farmer or the herd’s overall genetic stability. Her fascination with the process of selecting studs and culling herds informs her artistic practice, which focuses on how the animal body is influenced by human intervention and the selective knowledge necessary for this process.

Esperance Potters Club: Annual Pottery Exhibition

The Esperance Potters Club invites you to their highly anticipated Annual Pottery Exhibition, a celebration of artistic excellence and community spirit. This year’s exhibition showcases a stunning array of ceramic pieces, from functional wares to sculptural works, each crafted with skill and passion by our talented local potters.

Join us for a captivating exploration of art and nature through the lenses of two visionary artists, Vivian and Krystal Obschonka. Vivian’s journey began with an intention to challenge societal norms of feminine beauty, merging painted models seamlessly into the landscapes of Australia. Through his lens, he invites viewers to contemplate our shared origins and the profound connection between women's bodies and the Earth.

Krystal's artistic voyage started with a lifelong love affair with the untouched coastal lands of Adelaide, Kalgoorlie, and Esperance. From her humble beginnings in pottery to becoming a seasoned lecturer and ceramic artist, Krystal's work is infused with the essence of nature's forms and shapes. Inspired by the marine biologist Ernst Haeckel, her pieces reflect the intricate beauty of oceanic elements, capturing the essence of water, wind, and climatic erosions.

Together, Vivian’s and Krystal's artworks offer a profound reflection on our relationship with the natural world, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the beauty and complexity of our environment. Don't miss this unique exhibition that celebrates the interconnectedness of art, humanity, and the Earth.

An exhibition of textiles, ceramics, jewellery, sculptures, drawings and prints by renowned artists Mylene van Heijster and Naomi Stanitzki.

From Debris to Art: A Unique Showcase

An exhibition that transcends art's boundaries, resonating deeply with our commitment to community, environmental consciousness, and creative expression.

At the heart of this exhibition lies a profound transformation. Marine plastic, often seen as a blight on our shores, finds new life as stunning art pieces. These creations, born from dedication and creativity, will be on display at the Cannery Arts Centre in the Art Room Gallery. Every artwork on display will be available for sale, with all proceeds contributing to Tangaroa Blue, an organization championing marine environment preservation.