Calling all Creatives
Celebrating a festival born from community, connection, and creativity
Registrations and Entries
NOW OPEN!
We are delighted to officially open this year’s Festival Program and Art Prize. We celebrate a festival born from community, connection, and creativity.
Now in our 21st year, River of Art proudly reaffirms its founding values: to champion local talent, activate regional spaces, and celebrate the diverse voices and practices that shape the creative soul of the South Coast.
This year’s program reflects our grassroots spirit more than ever. From open studios and vibrant shopfronts to intimate performances and hands-on workshops, the 2025 Festival invites everyone to step inside the creative process — to meet the makers, walk the trail, and experience art where it lives.
We honour the artists, volunteers, and supporters who continue to breathe life into this festival. Together, we’ve shaped a program that is raw, real and regionally grounded — a true reflection of the cultural heartbeat of Eurobodalla.
What’s New at River of Art
Streamlined, simplified, and artist-led
We know we’ve kept you waiting — and we truly appreciate your patience.
We’re excited to introduce a major update to how we manage registrations and entries. As a volunteer-run organisation, this year has brought big changes to both our team and our systems. With limited resources and a Festival that spans 125km of coastline and hundreds of artists, we needed a smarter way to make it all work.
Say Hello to User Led Profiles
From now on, participants will manage their own listings through personalised user profiles. Need to update your images, change your opening hours, or reword your listing? You can now log in and do it all yourself, anytime.
This new system will save hours of admin and free our team from behind-the-scenes screens and spreadsheets — so we can get back to what we love most: talking art, engaging with the community, and building something special together.
Thanks for bearing with us — and welcome to the next chapter of River of Art.
Festival 2025 – 25 September – 5 October
FESTIVAL ENTRIES
Inclusion in the Program, also referred to as the ART TRAIL, is open for all artists, makers, performers, musicians, the literary, and arts related educators held in venues from Durras in the north across the Eurobodalla to Cobargo & Bermagui in the South.
ART DIRECTORY
For our South Coast Region resident Artists* be a part of our free local art listing – this is your space to promote your practice. Add a bio, link to your socials, your website, your preferred method of contact and the all important images. Make this page your own.
RIVER of ART PRIZE
ARTIST OPEN CALL
Artists and makers from across Australia — within and beyond the Eurobodalla — are warmly invited to enter the 2025 River of Art Prize.
This year marks 21 years of celebrating creative excellence on the South Coast, and the Prize remains a central feature of the Festival.
The Prize is open to all mediums, from painting, drawing, and sculpture to mixed media, watercolour, and photography — inviting bold ideas, fine craft, and fresh perspectives.
$5,500 in total prize money:
First Prize: $3,500
Runner-Up: $1,500
Highly Commended: $500
People’s Choice Award announced at Festival close
Finalists will be selected by our judging panel from digital image submissions, and their work will be featured in the River of Art Prize Exhibition, running across all 11 days of the Festival. Winners will be announced at the Festival Launch.
VOLUNTEER
Helping Hands – Can You Lend Yours?
We’re excited to be shaping up a fantastic lineup of community events for this year’s Festival — but to bring it all to life, we need a little help.
Can you spare some time to volunteer?
We have a range of roles available across the Festival period — from helping with set-up in the lead-up (from 24 September) through to pack-down on 7 October. We’re also looking for helping hands with program and poster distribution across the shire in early September.
If you’re keen to get involved, we’d love to find a role that fits. Every bit of time, energy and support helps make the Festival something special — and we deeply appreciate your generosity. Volunteer roles typically involve a specific task or period, if you have more to give please consider joining the committee.
Get in touch and join us in creating something unforgettable.
Committee
It might feel a little early to be thinking about Festival 2026 — but we’re always on the lookout for people with passion & talent who’d like to get involved behind the scenes.
If you’ve got time, skills, and a love for the arts, we’d love to hear from you! Whether you’re curious about joining the committee or just keen to dip your fingers (and toes!) into this year’s Festival to get a feel for it, you’d be most welcome. Committee roles typically require a few hours a week and availability during the festival period.
Reach out and let’s have a chat — we’re always happy to grow our team of dedicated, creative volunteers.
Support the Festival – Every Bit Helps
River of Art is powered by passion — and made possible through the generosity of supporters like you. As a volunteer-run festival, we rely on sponsorships and donations to help us celebrate creativity, elevate local artists, and bring art to life across the NSW South Coast. Whether you’re a business looking to give back or an individual who loves the arts, your contribution — big or small — makes a real difference. Your support helps us to:
Be part of something vibrant, meaningful, and proudly regional. |