Open Day

Open Day is back!

On Saturday 2 May, step inside Parramatta Artists Studios and see where art is made. Open Day is for all ages and includes talks, tours, hands‑on art workshops, a sensory‑adapted quiet space, and free food.

Kick off the morning and collaborate on a galloping horse mural and create your own 3D studio scene using stickers. In the afternoon, visitors can join a walking and drawing tour of Granville, slow down with some meditative beadwork, experience artist talks in open studios, and pop in to workshops exploring plants, weaving, and painting. 

Open Day is free and family-friendly. All activities are drop-in, but some may have limited capacities and require signing up on the day. Find out more program and artist details below.

 

Program

Morning 

10am 
Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country with Baramadagal Custodians

10.30am 
Suuq Studios – Artist Talk with FEKS and Miski Omar in their Quiet Area commission 
Mã Đáo Thành Công – collaborative horse painting with Tung Nguyen 
Studio 3D Sticker Scene –  drop‑in making activity with Emma Pham

11am 
Deaf Voices and Swear Signs – open studio and optional participatory activity with Sofya Gollan

11.30am 
Open Studio and Artist Talk with Claudia Nicholson

Afternoon 

12.30pm 
Sensory Movement Exploration – guided movement workshop with Fei Gao

1pm 
What’s in a Name? – language and identity painting workshop with Keroshin Govender
First Nations Painting and Weaving Workshop with Ayla Hibbert and Tarni Eastwood

1.30pm 
Pass the Beads – meditative beadwork session with Wasielah Noorsjamsi 
Walking and Drawing Granville – guided walk and sketching session with Rosemary Lee

2pm 
Open Studio and Artist Talk with Billy Bain 
Your Presence Is a Gift – plant listening and painting workshop with Nicole Barakat 
 

2.30pm 
Pass the Beads – second session with Wasielah Noorsjamsi

3.30pm 
Sensory Movement Exploration – second session with Fei Gao 

Artists and activity details
 

Billy Bain

Activity: Open Studio + Artist Talk

Time: 2pm - 3pm

Studio: Studio 1

Description: An informal open studio and artist talk offering insight into the artist’s practice, working methods, and current ideas in development.
 

Ayla Hibbert & Tarni Eastwood

Activity: Painting and Weaving Workshop

Time: 1pm -- 3pm

Studio: First Nations Space

Description: A First Nations–led making session combining painting and weaving, offering a shared space for learning, cultural exchange, and creative practice. 

Claudia Nicholson

Activity: Open Studio + Artist Talk

Time: 11.30 - 12.30

Studio: Studio 4

Description:  An informal open studio and artist talk offering insight into the artist’s practice, working methods, and current ideas in development.

FEKS and Miski Omar

Activity: Suuq Studios (Quiet Space comission)

Time: 10.30am artist talk, space open all day

Studio: Studio 2

Description: An immersive, sensory-friendly environment inspired by East African corner stores, using colour, texture, and everyday objects to create a calm space for rest and reflection.

Fei Gao

Activity: Sensory Movement Exploration

Time: 12.30-- 1pm and 3.30pm-- 4pm

Studio: Studio 14

Description: A guided movement workshop encouraging participants to explore sensory awareness and embodied response through gentle prompts, sound, and imagination.

Emma Pham

Activity: Studio 3D Sticker Scene

Time: 10.30am -- 1.30pm

Studio: Programs Space

Description: A drop-in, all-ages activity where participants create a playful 3D sticker scene, experimenting with how artist studios can be imagined and personalised.

Keroshin Govender

Activity: What’s in a Name?

Time: 1pm -- 2pm

Studio: Studio 10

Description: A hands-on workshop exploring language and identity, where participants paint their names onto clay tiles while reflecting on translation, culture, and meaning.

Sofya Gollan

Activity: Deaf Voices and Swear Signs

Time: 11am -- 12pm

Studio: Studio 9

Description: An open studio conversation with moving image artist Sofya Gollan, exploring Deaf culture, language, and embodied communication through film. Visitors may choose to join a participatory activity learning Auslan swear signs for inclusion in a new moving image work. Participation in filming is optional and for visitors aged 18+ only; consent will be required.

Wasielah Noorsjamsi

Activity: Pass the Beads

Time: 1.30pm -- 2pm and 2.30pm -- 3pm

Studio: Studio 13

Description: A slow, meditative beadwork session inviting participants to make small keepsakes while sharing quiet conversation, reflection, or focused making.

Rosemary Lee

Activity: Walking and Drawing Granville

Time: 1.30pm-- 2.30pm

Studio: Outside (off-site walk)

Description: A guided walk through Granville focused on slow looking and sketching, encouraging attentive observation of everyday urban details.

Tung Nguyen

Activity: When Horses Run, They Run in a Pack / Mã Đáo Thành Công

Time: 10.30am -- 1.30pm

Studio: Programs Space

Description: A collaborative painting activity where participants contribute individual horse drawings to a shared artwork inspired by traditional symbolism and collective making.
 

Nicole Barakat

Activity: Your Presence Is a Gift

Time: 2pm -- 5pm

Studio: Programs Space

Description: A contemplative workshop inviting participants to respond creatively to plants and flower essences, exploring listening, intuition, and personal reflection.