Location: In the Seven Valleys of the Lithgow City Council area, Wiradjuri Country from Hartley in the south-east through South Bowenfels and central Lithgow up to Lidsdale and out to Bogee in the north and back through Portland to Meadow Flat in the west
Offers: Lithgow Arts Trail, open studios and galleries on the first weekend of November each year
We spoke with: Lithgow Arts Trail Artist – Sarah O’Sullivan
The Lithgow Arts Trail is one not to miss on the Central West’s arts and cultural tourism calendar.
It is an authentic behind the scenes welcome into the studio practices of loved artists, galleries and cultural venues in the Seven Valleys of the Lithgow local government area, Wiradjuri Country, open the first weekend in November each year.
Sarah O’Sullivan, a ceramicist who has opened her Lithgow based studios over the past 9 years on the Lithgow Arts Trail, demonstrates slip casting to guests clustered around her central studio table. She says, “year in year out, seeing visitors’ fascination and surprise, whilst I’m sharing my hands on processes of this little-known industrial technique, is a joy to experience”. Sarah has completed studies and training at the National Art School in Sydney where she gained her undergraduate degree with honours and her Master of Fine Art. She also studied at the Glasgow School of Art, Scotland where, on exchange she soaked up expertise in slip casting. Later she experienced a two-year Associate Program internship at The Jam Factory, Adelaide. Refining her processes in her studio, Sarah communicates with passion and conviction.
Artists Annie Joseph and Sarah Childs are founding artists of the Lithgow Arts Trail, who have opened their studios in South Bowenfels every year it has run since 2015 (except for Covid canning 2020). They have both generously invited other artists to exhibit in their spaces too. In 2025 Annie Herron joined Annie Joseph at her studio in the old abattoir slaughterhouse at Oakfield with its sweeping valley views. Lily and Jane O’Toole and Jane Bradbury along with Kay Booker’s artworks joined Sarah Childs at her Summer Hill Sewing Emporium, where visitors were well catered for by Fiona Mckenzie and other helpers whilst also experiencing Sarah Childs renowned Peony farm. Along with artwork, beautiful blooms left the fields in bunches. Visitors to the Lithgow Arts Trail are enriched by these additional opportunities to experience interesting studios, historic sites, gardens, farms, industrial sheds, and more. By artists inviting other artists to their places, visitors get greater opportunities to see more art and meet more creatives, and artists who may not be able to invite the public to their making spaces can still be part of The Lithgow Arts Trail.
Visitors also gain plenty where clusters of artists are working in proximity to each other or sharing creative hub sites. On the 2025 Lithgow Arts Trail a bonus for visitors when visiting Philip Sparke’s enormous industrial space included the experience of his co-location at Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway including the Lithgow State Mine Museum in State Mine Gully. Ray Christison of this Museum was on site opened up the Trade Hall Banners exhibition from Sydney Trade Hall in The Bathhouse during the 2025 Lithgow Arts Trail. Previous years have seen other artists co-located at this site open their studios too.
For the 2025 Lithgow Arts Trail Gallerist Sharon Howard invited 10 local artists to have pop up artist stalls in Gang Gang Gallery in Lithgow including Prudence Mogg, Kaylene Brooks, Elaine Butler, Tom Gericke, Wolfgang Jensen, Macgregor Ross, Richard & Catherine Bargwanna, Erick Hagan and Caitlin Graham. In past years Sharon has also including the work of other Lithgow Arts Trail artists at Gang Gang Gallery. Sarah O’Sullivan mentions that on a previous year’s Lithgow Arts Trail, Gang Gang Gallery visitors followed up at her home studio, prompted by seeing her work at Gang Gang Gallery. Gang Gang Gallery, a steadfast leader in Lithgow, also hosted the 10-year Lithgow Arts Trail celebration raffle too in 2025.
Also, a central stop in Lithgow on the Lithgow Arts Trail in 2025 is Brett Groves of Brett Grove Indigenous Art Gallery. With Brett’s new and welcoming location in the Main Street of Lithgow, he generously brings community along with him on his journey of connection and sharing. Close by in Lithgow is Eskbank House Museum, owned by Lithgow City Council and supported by a dedicated team of volunteers. For the 2025 Lithgow Arts Trail this Museum showcased Local artist works from the Lithgow City Council Art Collection, along with works from guest artist Garry Pettitt and the Museum’s permanent Lithgow Pottery Collection of domestic wares produced at the Lithgow Pottery site (Australia’s oldest commercial pottery commencing terracotta wares 1876).
The site of Lithgow Pottery has shaped many of the artists of the region and on the Lithgow Arts Trail. With her passion for ceramics, Sarah O’Sullivan is enlivened by Lithgow’s rich and ongoing stories with clay. During her first three years on the Lithgow Arts Trail, Sarah opened her studio from leased premises at Lithgow Pottery. Other artists also leasing studios at the time at
Lithgow Pottery such as Jacqueline Spedding and Tim Johnman of Tim Johnman Sculpture opened their studios on the Trail too. Previously, the late Bob Cunningham, one of Lithgow’s most influential artists, worked out of the Lithgow Pottery transforming it from the 1970’s into a cultural hub shaping the creative identity of the Lithgow region. In 2025 following his recent passing Bob Cunningham’s home studios in Lithgow were opened by his daughter Helen Ryan and son Stephen Cunningham as part of Lithgow Arts Trail.
One of the beauties of the Lithgow Arts Trail is that it encourages visitors and tourists up for a country drive to experience some of the expanse of the Seven Valleys. Heading towards Lithgow LGA from the west the first studio to visit in 2025 is that of Jenny Sewell in Meadow Flat, before driving north to Portland for The Foundations painted Silos and the Creative Foundations Alumni Exhibition 1 in The Annexe with the works of 16 artists related to The Foundations arts and residency programming including Portland based artists Harrie Fasher and Lindsey Johnson. Further east is Jane Canfield in Lidsdale and then north into the Capertee Valley for Leanne Wicks of Songlark Studio in Bogee. The length of the Lithgow Arts Trail in 2025 extended from Capertee Valley in the north to Kew-Y-Ahn Aboriginal Gallery in the south in Hartley, offering tourists and visitors further sites, and vistas beyond the Lithgow Arts Trail in this hour and a half drive. A partnership by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Arts OutWest, Kew-Y-Ahn Aboriginal Gallery exhibits the works of 15 Aboriginal artists from across the Central West including Lithgow based artist Jessica Anne Leffley of Bird Girl Creations.
The Lithgow Arts Trail artists have shown themselves to be open to trying new ideas and formats for the Trail. For a few years the Lithgow Arts Trail was open for two consecutive weekends, however this proved more complex for visitors with the reality of not all artist’s being available each day. Visitor numbers seemed not be change significantly across the whole event. Digital screens in Tourist Information Centres have been paid to advertise the Lithgow Arts Trail, however as artists change each year these cannot be utilised year in year out. Some artists have also trialled QR code sign in but this was not embraced by their older audiences. Recording of visitor numbers and postcodes have been documented by some artists in ad hoc ways.
In 2025 the Lithgow Arts Trail adopted a new logo designed by Kaylene Brooks, Jane Banbury finalised the graphic design on the brochure map and Sarah O’Sullivan managed social media (about 2 posts a day for 6 weeks including separate events by Lithgow Arts Trail artists and galleries). The Lithgow Arts Trail WordPress-based website for the first time was managed inhouse by the group. This has eased the financial load of paying an external website manager and has meant that the Lithgow Arts Trail is in the best financial position it has been in following a Trail. Each artist or entity highlighted on the Lithgow Arts Trail paid $110 in 2025 to participate. Discussions have ensured on offering an Expression of Interest process for one artist to have their participation fee wavered. Expanding the Lithgow Arts Trail next year to include an opening event has been raised. Lithgow’s Union Theatre has been noted by the group as venue calling out for inclusion. Expenditure on new banners have also been broached. Banners and signs are placed out, up to 3 weeks before the event. In previous years advertising has been paid for, which the group may return to. They did note that visitor numbers were up in 2025 and were interested to hear of Arts OutWest communications relating to the Lithgow Arts Trail included multiple segments on 4 radio stations and over 15 posts and stories on Arts OutWest website, social media and e-news. Arts OutWest in 2025 accepted to auspice (manage the finances for) the Lithgow Arts Trail working with Fiona Makenzie and Annie Joseph. The Lithgow Arts Trail has had no formal group structure. Each artist has managed their own insurance for the weekend Trail. The money has previously been managed by one of the artists’ partners. Sarah O’Sullivan says, “it’s a lot of responsibility without clarity, so it’s a great thing for Arts OutWest to help with”.
The 18 artists and entities featured on the 2025 Lithgow Arts Trail are part of a 10-year story of the Trail which has involved over 58 artists and entities opening their doors. Over the years this has amounted to about 400 studio open days. Previous Lithgow Arts Trail artists who have exhibited for six or more years on the Lithgow Arts Trail along and some notable artists not previously mentioned include Anna Culliton, Anne Graham, Ashlee Bucholz, Collette Jonquieres, David Newman White, Gerard Brown (Le Grizz), Henryk Topolnicki of Gallery H, Linda Hine, Ludwina Roebuck, the late Margaret Aalders and her sister Jill Sildever, Mandy Schone-Salter (MAN.De mural artist), Ron Fitzpatrick of Talisman Gallery and Sandy and Tom Fullerton of Fullerton Design.
At the debrief for the 2025 Lithgow Arts Trail held at Sarah O’Sullivan’s studio, it was mentioned that it was a shame that the artist’s did not have the opportunity to visit each other’s studios. Sarah says “I love to go to art trails in other places, and I love this Trail – it’s so good”. A discussion ensued that next year there could be a programmed follow up by artists of the Lithgow Arts Trail visiting each’s studios shortly after the Trail, in calm following the storm.
Top tips for Arts Trails
- Embrace authenticity – visitors love to talk with the artists and experience authentic hands-on demonstrations behind the scenes in artist’s studios, and artists are enriched by genuine connection
- Embrace variety of experience – visitors love co-located artists and artists located within other arts and cultural contexts.
- Have a website, social media, a hard copy of a brochure map and facilitate communications out to reach audiences and be user friendly.
- Keep the structure of the arts trail simple, don’t complicate it for visitors, e.g. the Lithgow Arts Trail is on the same weekend, once a year, every year. This also makes it an event, where energy can be focused for the group.
- Always have a debrief
Lithgow Arts Trail Links: Website
Image: 6 Lithgow Arts Trail brochures held by a hand in front of a Lithgow landscape view / Photo Sarah O’Sullivan.
