The place where artistic endeavour converges

CONVERGE Open Day is on tomorrow, offering the chance to meet local artists and engage with art in the making.

CONVERGE is Lismore’s temporary artist-in-residency space and professional development program.

As a disaster recovery initiative, the program aims to bring life and energy to the CBD to support the continued growth of the city as a thriving cultural hub, celebrating its unique character, community, and world-class creative industry.

Over the past three months, it has transformed a large, high profile, vacant space in the heart of the CBD into a hub of colour, textures, creating, making, connection and learning.

The open day is part of a weekend of arts and culture in Lismore with the highly anticipated reopening of the Lismore Regional Gallery from 6pm today.

Meet the 11 artists at the CONVERGE space and connect with Lismore’s vibrant makers and creators, immerse yourself in the behind-the-scenes experience of a working artist’s studio, and enjoy tunes, performance art, installations and conversations.

The CONVERGE Open Day program features Paul Walker performing ‘Dance and Draw’, Adrienne Kenafake with her performance piece fresh from Cementa Festival, Chris Lego behind the screen-printing carousel and the decks, mix mud with Matt O’Brien, clay play with Antoinette O’Brien, celebrate subtle textures with Michelle Gilroy, digital dreaming with filmmaker Karenza Ebejer, mingling in mosaics with Stefanie Mirkilis and more.

The CONVERGE program is led by Lismore City Council and funded by the NSW Reconstruction Authority to support the arts sector in the wake of the 2022 floods.

Lismore MP Janelle Saffin said it was exciting to see the results of this artistic pop-up.

“At the launch of CONVERGE in June, I spoke to the artists about the creative projects they were about to dive into,” she said.

“As well as supporting the business and general community in their flood recovery, it’s important to see the artistic community flourishing again.”

CONVERGE Studio Open Day is on tomorrow from 10am to 3pm at 123 Woodlark Street, Lismore.