There is something powerful that happens when artists are not working in isolation.
When local artists in the Southern Highlands connect with one another, when local businesses open their doors to creativity, and when tourism becomes about more than simply visiting a destination, something deeper begins to form. A community is created.
That idea sits at the heart of The Pop-Up Project and is beautifully reflected in our current Southern Highlands art exhibition, Colours of Creativity, featuring artists Sally Beresford and Jan Pooley-Hibberd at Centennial Vineyards.
The exhibition brings together two distinctive artistic practices while also demonstrating the strength of collaboration between artists, local venues, tourism and the wider creative community.
Two Southern Highlands artists, two distinct creative voices
Sally Beresford and Jan Pooley-Hibberd each bring something unique to Colours of Creativity.
Sally’s work is expressive, layered and rich in colour, texture and memory. Her paintings explore emotion and experience through an intuitive combination of paint, collage and mark-making.
Jan works across painting, ink and silversmithing, creating work with a strong sense of observation, craftsmanship and connection to place.
Their styles may be different, but that is part of what makes exhibiting together so compelling.
The strength of a creative collective is not in everyone producing the same work. It is in creating space for different voices, perspectives and ideas to sit alongside one another.
It gives artists the opportunity to share audiences, connections and experiences while helping more people discover the depth of art and creativity in the Southern Highlands.
Connecting art with iconic Southern Highlands places
The setting for Colours of Creativity is an important part of the experience.
Centennial Vineyards in Bowral is already a destination for visitors exploring the Southern Highlands. People come for the wine, the landscape, the food and the experience of spending time in one of the region’s best-known vineyard settings.
By introducing original local art into that environment, the visit becomes something more. Guests can discover artwork while enjoying a wine tasting, encounter a new artist while exploring the region, or find an original work that becomes part of their own memory of the Southern Highlands.
It is this connection between art, place and experience that creates exciting opportunities for both artists and local venues.
Art tourism in the Southern Highlands
Visitors increasingly look for experiences that help them connect with the character of a destination. Art plays an important role in telling those local stories.
A thriving creative community adds another dimension to the Southern Highlands visitor experience, alongside the region’s wineries, gardens, food, accommodation and natural attractions.
When local art and tourism work together, visitors have more opportunities to meet artists, discover original artwork and experience the region through the people who create here.
For artists, these partnerships can also provide access to new audiences outside the traditional gallery environment.
Someone may arrive at Centennial Vineyards for a wine tasting and leave having discovered Sally Beresford’s work. Someone may visit specifically to see Jan Pooley-Hibberd’s art and discover a venue they return to again. Or, like recently someone did, they came to spend a weekend in the Southern Highlands and left taking home an original artwork that permanently connects them with their visit.
Why supporting local artists matters
Supporting Southern Highlands artists is about much more than purchasing artwork.
Buying original art is, of course, one of the most direct ways to support an artist, however strong creative communities also depend on opportunities, visibility and networks.
Support can mean attending an exhibition, sharing an artist’s work, introducing an artist to a new audience, creating a collaboration or providing a space for work to be exhibited.
One of our favourite ways is simply taking the time to learn the story behind what someone creates.
These connections help artists build sustainable creative practices and ensure that local art remains visible and valued within the community.
Building a network around creativity
Much of an artist’s work may happen independently in a studio, but the creative ecosystem surrounding them is rarely built alone.
Artists need audiences and audiences need ways to discover the artist. Our venues benefit from meaningful experiences that give people another reason to visit which then turns to tourism which benefits from authentic local stories and experiences that help distinguish one destination from another.
The opportunity is in connecting those pieces.
For us, that is the beauty of a collective.
It is not simply about bringing a group of artists together under one name. It is about creating a growing network of artists, venues, businesses, collectors, visitors and supporters who recognise that strengthening one part of the creative community can create opportunities for everyone around it.
Colours of Creativity at Centennial Vineyards
Colours of Creativity is one example of what that collaboration can look like.
Two Southern Highlands artists.
One iconic local venue.
A partnership between art, hospitality and tourism and an invitation for people (you!) to experience the Southern Highlands through creativity.
That is the community we want to continue building.
Colours of Creativity featuring Sally Beresford and Jan Pooley-Hibberd is showing at Centennial Vineyards from 25 September to 30 November 2026.
Visitors can also book a wine tasting at Centennial Vineyards and receive a $50 Art Note to put towards an original artwork from the exhibition.
Find out about the new Art Note Here!
