Bell Beats Arts Quarter 2026

Next date: Saturday, 03 October 2026 | 01:30 PM to 07:30 PM

Experience art, video and artmaking workshops at Bell Beats.

Cowra Regional Art Gallery (CRAG) is partnering once again with the Bell Beats Music & Arts Festival to present the Arts Quarter.

Step into a vibrant world of creativity at the Bell Beats Arts Quarter, where art and music collide in an immersive celebration of contemporary expression.

Engage in artmaking workshops from 1.30pm to 6.30pm. Drop in anytime to explore your creative side.

Join the Fun at the Face Painting Station from 3pm to 6pm. Colourful joy for the kids and the young at heart!

Immerse yourself in cool video art. Experience a captivating fusion of visuals and sound that celebrates outerspace, Country and Cowra’s unique spirit.

Pop into Cowra Regional Art Gallery between 1.30pm to 7.30pm to see the Calleen Art Award 2026. Each year, the Award showcases the finest in contemporary Australian painting—across all styles, themes, and subjects—through a dynamic exhibition held at the Cowra Regional Art Gallery. Whether you're a seasoned collector, an art lover, or simply curious about the pulse of contemporary painting, the Calleen Art Award exhibition is a must-see cultural event.

FREE

WORKSHOPS
MAKE A PAPER SAKURA FLOWER WITH JOEL TONKS
Springtime in Cowra is synonymous with the flowering of the Sakura cherry blossoms throughout town. To celebrate the arrival of Spring, you are invited to make and decorate your own paper cherry blossom flower to add it to a collaborative cherry tree outside the Art Gallery, which will be illuminated at night during the Bell Beats Music & Arts Festival.

MAKE YOUR OWN PAPER ANIMATION WITH JOEL TONKS
Eadweard Muybridge's 1877 sequence of photographs The Horse in Motion was a pioneering breakthrough in the development of 'chronophotography' - an early precursor to motion film. Over a century later, Muybridge's horse was finally animated into a moving image. Using this photographic sequence as inspiration, participants are invited to contribute their own short animation, using Muybridge's horse as inspiration. Participants collect a blank paper template and draw the horse in their own creative style using pens, pencils, and crayons. The resulting drawing is then scanned and instantly comes to life as a looping animation on the screen, alongside other contributions from the community.

EXPLORE WATERCOLOUR PAINTING WITH LIBBY MURRAY
Discover the luminous beauty of watercolour and its expressive colour, flowing washes and techniques. Experiment further by drawing over the top of your watercolour, adding line, texture and fresh layers of expression.

VIDEO ARTWORKS
Stephan De Wit Space Odyssey Particle Illusions
Stephan De Wit The Drip
Gustralia in collaboration with the Community Paths of Rhythm
Gustralia StateOfIt

LIGHT INSTALLATION
Stephan De Wit Bioluminescence
The production and emission of light via a living organism through an internal chemical reaction.

Find out more about the Bell Beats Music & Arts Festival