Umbrella Event: SAC Supported

Exhibition Dates :
Thursday 29 May – Sunday 29 June 2025
Monday – Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday & Sunday 10:00am – 4:00pm

Opening Event :
Friday 30 May 2025, 5:00pm – 7:00pm

The Tracings unique-state monoprints of Frances Malcomson and Julie Todd draw attention to Nipaluna/Hobart’s untended urban plant growth  and Lutruwita/Tasmania’s fragile coastlines.
What appears at face-value to be unchanging, may be at risk.
What is changing is often overlooked.
Multi-layered, monochromatic and nuanced imagery conveys nature’s  entangled tracings.

The Tracings exhibition is a localised response to a global emergency. Delicate, unique monoprints highlight the value and vulnerability of natural environments. The engaging works draw attention to untended urban plant growth within Nipaluna/Hobart and fragile coastlines throughout Lutruwita/Tasmania. What appears at face value to be acceptable and beautiful, may in fact be at risk. What is overlooked, may be valuable. 

Artists Frances Malcomson and Julie Todd have deep-felt connections to their surroundings. As fellow printmakers, they employ complementary monoprinting methodologies in their unique-state works. The monochromatic tonalities and abstracted elements complement and enhance their nuanced and subtle imagery. The tracings and layerings of the identified environments are embodied in imagery created through multiple steps of printing and over-printing each work.

Frances’s artworks depict weed species that flourish within overlooked nipaluna/Hobart urban sites: “Walking within local neighbourhoods, I observe the tension between human ordering of nature and disordered weed growth. Through printmaking directly with plants gathered from neglected sites, my work exposes the adaptive entanglement of damaged nature. In The Tracings exhibition I present red valerian, an escaped garden species now prevalent as weed growth throughout nipaluna/Hobart verges. My exhibition works reference small pockets impossibly scattering the cliff face of The Courtyard at Salamanca Arts Centre. ”

Julie’s artworks reflect waterways and coastlines of lutruwita/Tasmania: “Working as a printmaker, I explore my long-felt connection to the coastal waters and edges of my island home. Each unique print is an emotional response to the shifting, sometimes damaging, traces of time and tide. Through multi-layered printmaking processes, I build imagery that reflects our planet’s environmental intricacies and interconnectedness where one action leads to another, which leads to another…”

Exhibition Dates :
Thursday 29 May – Sunday 29 June 2025
**Installation viewable 24/7

Market by Mark du Potiers, is a colourful range of Australian food items, with each piece hand-made in plush and paper… How many of these are familiar to you?

Market is an ongoing project celebrating Australia’s culinary diversity, drawing inspiration from the artist’s upbringing, and incorporates almost 100 items (and counting) of a variety of foods available in our country. 

In pursuit of acceptance, many people come to be ashamed of their history and culture from a young age. Market is a visual reminder that there are many ways to be Australian and there are also many ways to belong.

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Mark du Potiers is a sculptor born, raised, and based in Magandjin (Brisbane). He has Australian, Hong Konger, and Chinese migrant heritage, and happens to be queer. With his lived experience of dancing between multiple cultures, Mark is interested in how images, ideas, and meanings are interpreted across different cultural contexts. 

Celyna Ziolkowski

Exhibition Dates :
4 April – 3 May 2025
Daily 10am – 4pm

What happens when everyday items are re-purposed?

Mass production and super consumerism have created a throw away culture. We easily dispose of items without a second thought.

While we deal with the issue of sustainability, recycling, re-purposing and finite resources…what happens when we re-imagine what something could be?
Can we give it a new life, a new purpose?
How can we keep it out of landfill?
And what if we could have some fun with it?

To give a few seconds joy to someone, to put a smile on a face, to bring back a memory, communicate a message, decorate a wall or a wearer, summon attention or simply be a bit of fun?
Could we imagine?
Re-IMAGINE?

This collection takes everyday items and re-purposes them…re-imagining what they could be. Providing a second life to otherwise landfill, these “new pieces” have made a comeback as something else…an item of jewellery, a garment, an accessory, a wall hanging, etc…

Taking inspiration from the Pop Art movement and artists who elevated everyday common objects to iconic status symbols, Celyna Ziolkowski has taken easily recognisable objects and transformed them to wearable art pieces, costumes and decoration.

Next time you’re about to throw something out, perhaps you might also stop, and consider what that piece could possibly become with a little imagination.

Opening Event :
Friday 4 April 2025, 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Exhibition Dates :
Friday 4 – Saturday 26 April 2025
Monday – Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm 
Saturday 10:00am – 3:00pm
Sundays open by appointment
Public Holidays CLOSED

Paintings, portrait and sculptural exhibition by emerging artist Rebekah Pybus

“Undercurrents explores the layered depths of time, memory, and emotion within place and the human psyche. This exhibit will feature portraiture, re-imagined iconic paintings, and clay sculpture. My portraits of women reveal the complexity of feminine power—her pain, intuition, and resilience—acting as mirrors to the viewer’s subconscious. Drawing from both historical and personal narratives, I reinterpret iconic paintings through my own lens, intertwining them with my lived experience. My lifelong fascination with mythical marine creatures serves as a metaphor for the fluid, unseen forces that shape us. The shoaling of ceramic hammerhead sharks is inspired by one of my sons’ love for them, while my other son’s passion for waves is reflected in the movement and energy of the work, weaving their wonder and curiosity into the exhibition. Through paintings, sculpture, and immersive installations, I invite viewers to navigate these undercurrents, where the seen and unseen converge, evoking a sense of connection and introspection.”
– Rebekah Pybus

Opening Event :
Thursday 17 April 2025 @ 5.30pm

Exhibition Dates :
Friday 18 – Sunday 27 April 2025
Daily 10:00am – 4:00pm

Michelle Hiscock, Sue Nettlefold, Julie Williams, Gina Bruce

Four painters, three from Sydney painters and one from Tasmania, connected through their association with the National Art School, and a love of landscape, are coming together to showcase their unique approaches to painting and drawing the world around us.

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Michelle Hiscock trained at the Canberra School of Art (ANU). Her powerfully evocative early landscapes were well received by collectors and critics, and she has continued to develop a pictorial language based on a contemporary interpretation of the classical landscape tradition.

Hiscock has lived in Japan and France and travelled widely sketching in Europe. She has had 15 solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and is regularly a finalist in national competitions such as the Archibald Prize, Portia Geach Memorial Art Award and the Gallipoli Art Prize. She has had survey exhibitions at the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery and Rusten House in Queanbeyan.

Sue Nettlefold is a Tasmanian based painter with a particular focus on building creativity in Community. Since her return to Tasmania in 2008 Sue has completed an MFAD in painting at UTAS in 2017 and established the Spring Bay Studio and Gallery on the East Coast in 2011.  

Sue’s recent solo exhibition, ‘Vantage Point’ at Sidespace Gallery in 2022, was followed by an invitation to participate in Paint 2022, Relationships and Limitations, in Launceston and Devonport (Polmeina and Nant Galleries). Sue has exhibited in Sydney and Melbourne over many years before her return to Tasmania in 2008.

Sue was recently awarded ‘Citizen of the Year, 2025’ for her cultural contribution to the East Coast.

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Julie Williams is an Australian painter, printmaker and teacher who divides her time between studios in Sydney and Hill End, NSW.  Julie also exhibited in Paint 22, Relationships and Limitations in both Launceston and Devonport, Tasmania.

Julie has exhibited widely in Sydney, Regional Galleries in NSW and in South-East Asia during her 5 years living in Singapore. Her work is held in both public and private collections.  She has been a finalist in the Paddington Art Prize in Sydney on more than one occasion including their inaugural exhibition.  

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Gina Bruce is a celebrated painter known for her en plein air works and exploration of landscape and figurative compositions. She graduated with Honors from the National Art School after completing a commerce degree at the University of Sydney. Bruce has held nine solo exhibitions at the Robin Gibson Gallery and earned notable awards, including the Waverley Art Prize (2011) and the Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth Art Award (2002). Residencies, such as at the Denise Hickey Paris studio (2003) and Nokia Asia Pacific Art Award in Bangkok (2002), have contributed to shaping her career.

Exhibition Dates :
Friday 2 – Sunday 25 May 2025
Monday – Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday* & Sunday 11:00am – 3:00pm

John Coleman’s companion album Amber and the Flow can be accessed HERE

*Live Music from 1:00pm – 3:00pm on Saturdays

Seeing this Place, a collection of 20 paintings and charcoal drawings, is singer-songwriter John Coleman’s visual ode to the ephemeral and pervasive beauty of South East Tasmania.

Seeing this Place is a visual celebration of South East Tasmania. The collection of oil paintings and charcoal drawings are companions to a new album of original songs exploring life in Tasmania, titled “The Amber and the Flow”. 

“Nearly nine years ago I moved permanently to Susans Bay (SE Tasmania) and was able to convert the shed in our yard into a studio where I have been able to  continue my writing and painting practices. The paintings, drawings and songs are for me a kind of thank you for the gift of sea and sky – hills and silence.  While my songs are often narrative reminiscences, the making of my paintings has become my other way of “seeing”. The songs are emotional and conceptual but the making of the artworks is another contemplative way – a complementary and “slower” way. My practice is a response to the ever-present invitation to set aside circling thoughts and to dwell deeply in the “particular” – the small, the vast, the natural, the blue and the green and the patches of light – the lovely light. This deep looking and the subsequent creation feel more akin to bird watching and contemplation rather than an exercise of intellect and imagination. And so, my intention with this exhibition is to communicate something of the peace and beauty of this place where we live.

My landscape method is one that usually begins with a tramp along shores and bushland, stopping periodically to sketch and photograph. It’s about seeing and being affected by light, colour, smell and sound – the delicious immersion in landscape. There is always warm anticipation in this first stage. Back in the studio I will create one or two charcoal drawings that help me to know the contours and note the points of attraction for me. Often there’s a sense of discovery as I realise what it was that drew me to this particular aspect of land and sky – whether the transformation of light to hillsides and rock faces, the geometry of a green-black belt of trees above tidal angularities, or the thick green foliage of wetland forest above the little bird filled lake. And always the sky and the land are equal actors. Of course, then there is the painting – all the steps that occur before the final subtleties and the knowing that “it is done”. 

I am seeing this place.”

– John Coleman (2025)

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John Coleman’s companion album Amber and the Flow can be accessed HERE

Kirby Gibson

Exhibition Dates :
16 April, 2025 – 25 May, 2025
**Installation viewable 24/7

Say hello to Tasmania’s premier upcycled saddle collection!

The repurposing of old and broken saddles into functional and, more importantly, memorable pieces is a passion project of Kirby’s.

The Second Stride collection is incredibly unique and is an amalgamation of traditional leather working skills, a love of horses, and a yearning for a challenge!

Made completely by hand from repurposed leather from donated saddles, no two pieces are ever the same. From bags to wallets to notebook covers, Kirby takes your old saddles and crafts a nostalgic gem you can take with you wherever you go.

Celebrate Hobart’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature at Hobart LitFest!

Join us for a dynamic program showcasing Tasmania’s finest writers, with engaging panels, book launches, interactive workshops, and intimate readings. This is an incredible opportunity to connect with the literary talent that makes Hobart unique. The festival will culminate in an exciting Independent Book Fair, where you can discover and support local independent authors and publishers. Don’t miss out on this celebration of words, culture, and creativity in the heart of Tasmania.

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Week Two Program

From Monday 7th – Saturday 12th April 2025

Monday 7th & Wednesday 9th April 2025 – 10AM
Via Booking Only

Young Writers High School Program
Presented by Tasmanian Indie Author Group & Salamanca Arts Centre
Salamanca Arts Centre are partnering with the Tasmanian Independent Author Group to present the Young Writers High School Program as a part of Hobart LitFest. This program offers high school students the opportunity to engage in three one-hour sessions led by independent authors from the Tasmanian Independent Author Group. During each session, students will participate in tailored writing workshops designed to inspire creativity, sharpen their writing skills, and explore new styles of expression. This interactive experience fosters a deeper connection to the writing process while encouraging self-expression and personal growth in a supportive, hands-on environment.
To find out more, please visit the school booking system below.

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Monday 7^th April 2025 – 5:30PM
Free Event

‘Pony Tales’ Book Launch and Children’s Picture Book Panel Discussion
Presented by Forty South Tasmania
Join us for the launch of “Pony Tales: For the Love of Shetland Ponies” by Jacqui Sinclair Dickson, a collection of spirited stories and vivid charcoal drawings from a life-long horse-lover, writer and vision-impaired artist. The book will be launched by award-winning author/illustrator Fiona Levings (co-regional co-ordinator of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), followed by a discussion with other Tasmanian author/illustrators on their creative process.

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Tuesday 8^th & Thursday 10th April 2025 – 10:30AM
Via Booking Only

Story Island Presents… ‘Mix, Match, Make!’

Collage and storytelling collide in this highly engaging and accessible creative workshop, brought to you by The Story Island Project.
In Mix, Match, Make!, students will experiment with text and images cut out from magazines, books and newspapers to create their very own stories or poems in collage form.
This dynamic workshop includes a mix of individual and group activities and, as students can engage with the materials at a variety of levels, it caters for a diverse range of abilities.
Each group will be led by one of Story Island’s expert Story Leaders, with additional student support from our trained team of volunteers.
To find out more, please visit the school booking system below.

About Story Island
The Story Island Project is a Hobart-based not-for-profit organisation that nurtures the creativity and writing skills of young Tasmanians and celebrates their diverse voices.
With the support of our enthusiastic volunteer tutors, Story Island runs free, dynamic storytelling workshops where young people are empowered to create their own stories.
Our vision is for young people to harness the power of their imaginations so they can grow to be resilient and creative shapers of their own lives.

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Wednesday 9^th April 2025 – 6:30PM
Free Event

Tassie Indies Read
Enjoy a showcase of Tasmanian Indie Authors reading their work. Ranging a number of genre styles of writing, come along and find your new favourite author!

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Saturday 12^th April – 10AM til 3PM
Free Event

2025 Tassie Indie Author Book Fair
Come along and check out Tassie’s best independent authors. Something for everyone with a range of genres on offer. Meet the authors! Buy the books! Book signings and giveaways! Find out more here.

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Our Sponsors

Salamanca Art Centre’s Hobart LitFest is supported by the City of Hobart’s Event Grants Program.

We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support.

Celebrate Hobart’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature at Hobart LitFest!

Join us for a dynamic program showcasing Tasmania’s finest writers, with engaging panels, book launches, interactive workshops, and intimate readings. This is an incredible opportunity to connect with the literary talent that makes Hobart unique. The festival will culminate in an exciting Independent Book Fair, where you can discover and support local independent authors and publishers. Don’t miss out on this celebration of words, culture, and creativity in the heart of Tasmania.

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Sunday Program

Sunday 6^th April 2025 – 10:00AM
Sunday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Festival Hub Open
Welcome to the Hobart LitFest Hub – a cozy retreat for ticket holders! Enjoy complimentary tea and coffee as you unwind in a comfortable space designed for writer and readers alike. Whether you’re here to sit back with a good book, jot down your thoughts, or simply connect with fellow festivalgoers, our hub offers a perfect escape. Come in, recharge, and take a moment to enjoy the slightly quieter side of the festival.

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Sunday 6^th April 2025 – 12:30PM
Sunday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Creating Book Merch: Art and the Crowdfunding Author
Festival goers will be guided through how to create your own unique book merch using DIY craft, local resources, and creative partnerships to create extra value for your crowdfunding campaigns. The presenter, Tansy Rayner Roberts, will discuss her own experiences and take you through ways to boost book sales using art & craft in the digital age.

The Presenter : Tansy Rayner Roberts

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Sunday 6^th April 2025 – 1:45PM
Sunday Ticket / Festival Ticket

Tassie Fireside Chat – From Page To Screen with Belinda Bradley & Franz Docherty

Join us for From Page to Screen with screenwriters Belinda Bradley & Franz Docherty as they share the process of crafting a screenplay and bringing it to life on film. Get an insider’s look at what it truly takes to transform a written script into a dynamic film, with Belinda and Franz exploring the journey from the page to the screen. Whether you’re an aspiring screenwriter, filmmaker, or film enthusiast, this event will offer valuable lessons and insider knowledge on the magic of storytelling for the screen.

The Presenters : Belinda Bradley and Franz Docherty

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• Sunday 6^th April 2025 – 2:45PM
• Sunday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Tassie Fireside Chat – Get Published, Tasmania!
Produced by Forty South Tasmania & Island Magazine

Tasmania is producing some of the finest writing in the country, supported by a diverse and growing publishing industry. Join Island’s Jane Rawson and Forty South’s Rayne Allinson and Lucinda Sharp for a deep dive into what these publishing outlets are looking for, and how to kick-start your publishing career here in Tasmania.

The Presenters: Rayne Allinson (Forty South), Lucinda Sharp (Forty South), and Jane Rawson (Island Magazine)

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Sunday 6^th April 2025 – 4:00PM
Sunday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Hobart as a UNESCO City of Literature: What It Means for Tasmania
Join us for an exciting panel event on Hobart as a UNESCO City of Literature: What It Means for Tasmania’s Future. This forward-looking discussion will explore the transformative potential of Hobart’s UNESCO recognition, focusing on how it will shape the state’s literary and cultural landscape in the years ahead. Local authors and experts will discuss the opportunities for growth in the local literary scene, fostering collaborations, and nurturing a new generation of writers and creatives. Don’t miss this chance to hear how Hobart’s designation is paving the way for a brighter, more dynamic cultural future for Tasmania.

The Presenters : Arianne James, Rayne Allinson, and Patrick Gregory

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Sunday 6^th April 2025 – 5:00PM
Sunday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

LitFest Networking Event
Join us at the Hobart LitFest Festival Hub for an exclusive networking event! Connect with fellow book lovers, authors, and industry professionals in a relaxed and inspiring atmosphere. Enjoy a complimentary drink upon entry as you mingle and share your passion for literature. This is the perfect opportunity to make new connections, exchange ideas, and be part of a vibrant literary community. Don’t miss out on this exciting event – where creativity and conversation flow!

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Our Sponsors

Salamanca Art Centre’s Hobart LitFest is supported by the City of Hobart’s Event Grants Program.

We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support.

Celebrate Hobart’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature at Hobart LitFest!

Join us for a dynamic program showcasing Tasmania’s finest writers, with engaging panels, book launches, interactive workshops, and intimate readings. This is an incredible opportunity to connect with the literary talent that makes Hobart unique. The festival will culminate in an exciting Independent Book Fair, where you can discover and support local independent authors and publishers. Don’t miss out on this celebration of words, culture, and creativity in the heart of Tasmania.

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Saturday Program

Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 12:00PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Opening Lines and Unresolved Issues: How to begin and how to end a really good story
Katherine Johnson, Kathryn Lomer and Robbie Arnott are all Award-winning Tasmanian authors, who will be sharing some insights as to how they set their opening scenes, what to say at the end, and what might be best left unsaid.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 1:15PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

People are so Gullible: Do Facts in History even matter anymore?
Our world is full of heavy words and grand proclamations hurled with such passion and force because someone wants us to believe them. But saying something does not make it so. Esteemed Tasmanian historians Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, Robert Cox and Alison Alexander remind us of the value of Fact and Evidence in Writing History.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 2:30PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Short stories and Long shots: Weaving the improbable with the credible (in under 5,000 words)
The short story has been a valued and favoured form for writers and readers for hundreds of years. What art is there in fashioning an engaging tale without the freedom of unlimited length.  Cameron Hindrum, Leigh Swinbourne and Mallika Naguran have each published collections of short stories, and will share their thoughts on how to tame big ideas in order to reveal all that the reader needs to know, sometimes in only a few pages.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 3:45PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Burning Bridges, Burning Books & Burning Issues
We have always lauded a writer’s courage to say what needs to be said. With subtlety and satire, history’s sacred cows have been subjected to scrutiny. Award-winning Tasmanian authors, including Adam Ouston, Gina Mercer, and Ben Walter ponder the rights and obligations of the contemporary writer to say what they wish to say in an increasingly complex world.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 5PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

A Distillation of the Language: Why Poetry is the highest form of writing.
In this provocation, Pete Hay, Anne Kellas, and Sarah Day; three of Tasmania’s most highly regarded poets, will share why Poetry is their chosen form, and how Poetry, alone, allows human concerns, both personal and universal, to co-exist, and to be articulated within the most economic use of the English language.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 7:30PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

The Great Literary Debate – Plotting vs Pantsing
“It’s better to fly by the seat of your pants than plan and plot your book in detail.”

Come and watch local Tasmanian authors battle out this contentious topic while their tongues remain firmly planted in their cheeks.

The Panelists

Lissa Bilyk, Ruth Amos, DK Girl, Lou Powers, David Webby, Simon Thiessen, and Cary Lenehan

Facilitated by Mark Mannock. Adjudicated by the audience!

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Our Sponsors

Salamanca Art Centre’s Hobart LitFest is supported by the City of Hobart’s Event Grants Program.

We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support.