Amber Morris is a Gumbaynggirr artist, born and raised in Grafton, and is now living in a community in Nymboida, NSW. She creates her art on Country, foraging and collecting materials from the local area to make jewellery and other geometric art.

Amber works with animal bone and echidna quills, creates gumnut, crystal, and leather jewellery, and crafts statement macrame pieces featuring hand-fossicked, high-quality crystals, as well as large 'geometric spheres’—eye-catching 3D artworks.

Amber’s connection to her work runs deep. Her art is an extension of herself and of Country flowing through her and into her creations.

Tim and Jasmin Stanford are the creative forces behind Dreaming of Country. Tim and Jasmin, Gamilaraay and Githabul artists respectively, create art from their Kyogle home studio. They work across multiple art forms, including large-scale painting with acrylic and ochre, wood carving, sculpture and ceramic pieces that are both cultural and functional. Drawn to the natural world, their connection to and deep love of Country is reflected in works that celebrate the native plants of the region and reference shifts in the landscape from wet to dry.

A key milestone for Jasmin this year was her debut as part of the Women of the Rivers collective at Country to Couture, Australia’s largest annual showcase of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fashion held in Darwin, where her textile and clothing collection received a national platform.

Casino Wake Up Time is a group of Bundjalung and Kamilaroi women: Kylie Caldwell, Margaret Torrens, Janelle Duncan and Sonya Breckenridge, who are committed to preserving and sharing traditional fibre arts, weaving, and native plant-dyeing.

For more than a decade, the group has supported one another through creative practice while reconnecting culture with Country. Using traditional and contemporary weaving techniques and natural materials, they create handcrafted baskets, hats, handbags, jewellery, mats, garments, naturally-dyed silks and original artworks. Their work is exhibited and sold locally, regionally, and nationally, and more recently has expanded to include original screen prints.

Kay Lee Williams is a Kamilaroi woman, multi-disciplinary artist and educator. Born in Narrabri and raised in western Sydney and Cairns, her love of exploring, listening and responding to Country has shaped her creative and cultural expression. Kay’s practice flows through many forms including drawing, installation, bush-dyeing, printmaking, video, and mark-making with ochre, with each process becoming a way of listening to Country.

Examining a range of natural mediums, Kay carefully and respectfully gathers materials such as coloured plant fibres, leaves and roots from the many places she travels. She weaves these elements into bush-dyed scarves, wraps and headwear, carrying stories of place and connecting her to culture.

Tania Marlowe is a Nyangbal woman from Cabbage Tree Island with a passion for creating art and experimenting with many different mediums. Passionate about weaving, she enjoys gathering and preparing bush fibres, connecting with the natural environment and feeding her spirit as she creates baskets, wearable woven items and other art forms.

She offers weaving workshops around the region, providing the opportunity to learn and share in the knowledge of the local native fibres of Bundjalung Jugan, and continues to weave for her Elders.

Bernie Harada is a Japanese and Indigenous multidisciplinary artist based on Bundjalung Country. His artistic practice encompasses weaving, woodworking, acrylic on canvas and music. Working across natural fibres and reclaimed materials, Bernie's practice reflects a quiet reverence for Country, inviting moments of reflection through objects made slowly and intentionally by hand.

Mark Cora is a proud Minjungbal man based in the Tweed Shire. He is an independent artist and cultural educator who develops art pieces that represent his country, encompassing the mountains, rainforests, the beach and its shoreline.

His wind dancers and paintings are inspired by the shapes and energy of natural materials, igniting his imagination and that of the onlookers. Mark makes art about natural systems that occur during particular seasons to remind viewers of nature’s workings and how our involvement with the environment contributes to the ongoing health or destruction of these systems.

Mark is also nursery manager of First Nations-led Bundjalung Alliance Native Nursery, growing bush foods and creating Indigenous employment, training pathways, food sovereignty, and cultural knowledge-sharing for future generations.

Wollumbin Dreaming is a 100% Aboriginal-owned and run family business inspired by the sacred mountain of Wollumbin on Bundjalung Country, where artist Nathan Falk, a proud Ngemba and Wiradjuri Aboriginal man lives, plays and works. He remains deeply connected to culture, Country and local mob, focusing on sharing his culture with everyone.

Brought up on Bundjalung Country, Nathan creates meaningful works grounded in his roots that honour culture, heritage and storytelling. Drawing on stories shared by Elders alongside contemporary influences, each original artwork, artifact, jewellery, piece of clothing or burnt kangaroo skin carries its own story and reflects Nathan’s deep connection to Country.

Scott Cowan is a Gambangyir and Banjalung woodworker specialising in custom-made pieces, including jewellery boxes inlaid with abalone shell, chopping boards, boomerangs and didgeridoos using locally harvested forest red gum and silky oak.

Scott also creates paintings on canvas and is investigating a new technique using flourescent paints to create images of leaf-tailed geckos, fish and sea turtles.

Val Smith is a Widjubal woman living on and deeply connected to Bundjalung Country. She is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator whose storytelling is expressed through painting, fine art prints, photography, fashion and textiles, ceramics and songwriting. Combining clashing and complimentary bright colours, Val’s work reflects her childhood, motherhood and her connection to self and community.

Val’s recent debut at the Country to Couture fashion showcase in Darwin as part of the Women of the Rivers collective was a significant career milestone, bringing her textile and clothing range to a national stage.

Kristina Davis is a proud Yuwi Cobble Cobble and South Sea Islander woman from Mackay with blood ties to English, Vietnamese and Chinese ancestry. Kristina embraces all parts of her diverse identity and heritage, which influence her spirituality and artworks.

Her desert and predominantly coastal upbringing with her mother on the Great Barrier Reef, surrounded by Country and coral, informs her designs. She incorporates the bright and beautiful colours of Country into large acrylic canvas paintings and Dreamtime creations on surfboards.

The Kinship Doobai Dancers are a contemporary dance collective of Aboriginal women and girls that share traditional and contemporary stories of culture through song and dance. Their work is grounded in kinship, Country, and community wellbeing, providing a culturally safe space for women and girls to move, create, and lead.

Many of the dancers are also practicing visual artists who create paintings, woven pieces, botanical art, jewellery made from feathers, seeds and pods, screen printed t-shirts, upcycled wearable art and natural skin products.

Nan-n-Nay are Vickki King, a multi-disciplinary artist of Yaegl descent, and granddaughter Nay, who is of Yaegl and Bundjalung descent. Both live on Widjabal Wiabul lands. Nay learnt all her creative skills from her Nan.

Vickki works mainly on transferring images of her original artworks onto tiles of various sizes, ceramics and t-shirts, and also creates jewellery using native seeds. Nay creates hand-sewn fabric bags using Aboriginal prints. She also creates graphic designs of her Nan’s art works to enable the transfer of the images onto tiles.

Tracey Piccoli is a contemporary Indigenous artist who aspires to create work that connects us to one another and to her Country – Galibal, Bundjalung Country. Her practice combines pattern, colour and immense detail to reflect her own personal stories.

Using acrylic, foraged ochre, watercolour, paperbark, linen and canvas, Tracey’s work is inspired by everyday joys, nature and surroundings and by her unique journey as an Indigenous woman. She creates original artworks, jewellery and weavings.

She is constantly inspired by Country, the people around her, the stories she has been taught and the things she sees in everyday life, sharing culture and connection through her work.

George (Maxwell) Johnson is a Barkji man who has been living, working, playing and learning on Bundjalung Country. He is an Aboriginal cultural facilitator with lived cultural knowledge and hands-on experience delivering culturally safe workshops for Aboriginal young people and community members.

His strong community connections, positive role modelling, and practical facilitation skills focus on cultural reconnection, wellbeing, and life skills.

George’s artworks include a range of bowls, earrings, walking sticks, paintings and woodwork.

Berimbah Art + Culture is a collective of local Clarence Valley artists, makers and entrepreneurs sharing culture, dreaming together and building sustainable futures grounded in culture and self-determination.

Based in South Grafton, their goals are to strengthen the continuation of Aboriginal culture, language, and connection to Country, and create real career pathways and support professional development for Aboriginal people.

The collective will showcase an assortment of original artwork, prints, cultural objects, as well as homewares, clothing, jewellery, woven pieces and natural fibres.

Arminel Nagas is an artist from Bundjalung (Wahlubal and Gullabul), with South Sea Islander heritage. Her work is an extension of her ancestry and cultural experiences. A contemporary Aboriginal artist, Arminel uses art to tell stories, celebrate culture and Country, and continue the legacy of her parents and grandparents.

Her work spans canvas painting, design and wearable art, including jewellery and screen-printed clothing. Arminel’s practice shows the next generation of mob how to develop their own creative vision and share knowledge of Country with community and beyond.

Nestled on the northern lowlands of Gumbaynggirr Country, the ancestral lands of Mirlagalgi people and the Garby elders, Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre is a place of learning, sharing and celebration, a space where everyone is invited to slow down, reconnect and gain a deeper understanding of Gumbaynggirr culture.

The centre’s Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery showcases the incredible talent of regional First Nations artists, celebrating stories, culture and creativity through powerful exhibitions and unique artworks. The Jalumbo Cultural Heritage Keeping Place displays a vast and precious collection that reflects over 6,000 years of Gumbaynggirr life with ancient tools and artefacts, stories, artworks and cultural objects that highlight the strength, knowledge and survival of the Gumbaynggirr people.

Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre represents over 60 NSW First Nations artists, with works varying from jewellery, prints, clothing, paintings, sculpture, ceramics, traditional tools and skins.

Liz Dargin is a Wiradjuri women living on Widjabul Wia-bal country and working in environmental management. She[and] is also involved in the Ballina Players Theatre, a community-based amateur theatre group. Liz's creative works include hand-painted hanging artworks and magnetic ornaments depicting native Australian animals, as well as tote and beach bags created in vibrant prints. Liz hand-sews soft toys of dugongs, whales, kookaburras and echidnas with clashing Indigenous-print fabrics.

Gurehlgam Connection is a group of local Goorie women and men of Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr descent who come together to sew and create products for sale. The collective includes Elizabeth Hegedus, Maxine Hegedus, Joanne Randall, Jannay Daley, Caroline French, Melissa French, Gloria Strachan, John Skinner, Jan Skinner and Ann Skinner.

The collective is supported by Gurehlgam—an Aboriginal-led and owned not-for-profit with an almost all-Aboriginal board, management team and staff. Gurehlgam works to build a stronger, empowered, and culturally connected community across Yaegl, Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr Country.

Gurehlgam Connection will showcase handmade signature bags, children's and adult t-shirts and pillowcases.

Dylan Bolt is a professional artist whose work explores his fascination for the ocean, surreal marine wildlife and environments. Facing his fear, he now paints with oil paints on Belgian linen, marking a significant evolution in his artistic approach. When Dylan paints, he is fully absorbed in the process, envisioning himself immersed in the seascapes he creates.

With a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Southern Cross University, Dylan has exhibited works across the Northern Rivers, Melbourne and in 2025 had his first solo exhibition at Saltwater Freshwater gallery in Coffs Harbour. He has work in the permanent collection of the Lismore Base Hospital and is currently undertaking an art residency with The Returning. he first resulting exhibition will be at Elevator ARI, Lismore. His second solo show is scheduled for March 2027.

Dylan's artwork conveys the essence of thriving coral reefs, utilizing a palette that spans deep blues, bright greens, and coral pinks. Each colour represents not just the physical beauty of the sea but also the emotional depth it holds.

Steven West is a Bundjalung man originating from the Darug Mob, who paints, screen prints and makes ceramic sculptural and functional pieces. Steven takes inspiration from the natural environment of the Northern Rivers, its trees, rivers, waterfalls and diverse wildlife.

Steven’s original paintings in acrylic on canvas, ceramic sculptures, mugs, bowls, plates feature plant and animal representations in highly decorated, colourful abstract designs.

Karen Phee (family name Towney) is from Peak Hill, Western NSW and is of Wiradjiri and Red Dust Mob. She has lived on Bundjalung Country for over 40 years. Karen has recently completed a Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts at Lismore TAFE and facilitates art and wellbeing workshops for Aboriginal women.

Karen’s focus is on her 'Little Dresses' series of artworks, which she has painted for almost ten years. These paintings are representative of her early childhood, when her mother Dorothy would dress her in little dresses and she'd run freely in the scrub and on the mission. Those were the happiest years of her life. After her removal she never forgot those times. In her forties, she started painting again and her little black girl and the little dresses came to life. She also works with photography and monoprint.

Baylee Carlyon is a proud 16-year-old Yorta Yorta artist living in Byron Bay on Arakwal Country, who has exhibited for four years running in the Bass Coast/South Gippsland NAIDOC Week Art Exhibition.

She creates colourful works of art on paper, coasters, vases, rocks and magnets using posca pens, which give a strong and vibrant colour. Her love of nature, especially birds, is evident in her work. She has also written a book, Taken, about twins Gary and Lilly who are put to work by the Bad Guys in blue boiler suits. Baylee writes and performs her own original songs as well.

Biren Cultural Group are a collective of First Nations creatives who live, work, and maintain deep cultural connections to the Bundjalung Nation. A dance troupe and community of knowledge holders dedicated to sharing culture through art, storytelling, and performance their work celebrates and preserves First Nations traditions, fostering understanding, connection, and cultural exchange with diverse audiences.

Each member of Biren (Saltwater in Minyangbal/Nganduwal language) Cultural Group brings a unique connection to Country, reflected in a diverse range of works including woven pieces, carved artefacts, paintings, body oils, and wearable art.

Corinne Payne is a Bundjalung, Nymboida, Gumbayniggirr, Ngarabal artist and has been operating her arts and culture business for the past four years. She is currently undertaking a diploma in visual arts and specialises in weaving, painting, sculpture, shellwork and pelt burning.

Buribun Art will showcase a variety of woven art and accessories, large and small paintings, shellwork art, accessories, handmade jewellery, burned skins, cultural objects and unique gifts.

Rosie Vesper