News & Events

April 2007 marks the arrival of the newly refurbished Blacktown Arts Centre (BAC), 78 Flushcombe Road, Blacktown as a fully equipped multi-arts facility.

Following 12 months of reconstruction, Blacktown Arts Centre will officially open to the public on Saturday 21 April when a Community Open Day will launch the exhibitions and feature a range of local music performances and workshops for visitors to take part in. (From this date, BAC will be open according to general operating hours, which is Tuesday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm.)

The new Arts Centre will give the Western Sydney region access to state-of-the-art facilities for the development, production and showcasing of visual and performing arts. The capital works include the provision of new exhibition spaces, a workshop space, theatre fit-out and the development of an area suitable for outdoor concerts. The $1.9 million project has been jointly funded by Blacktown City Council and Arts New South Wales.

To celebrate the re-opening, the Arts Centre has planned an exciting range of events. These include the world premiere of a new theatrical work developed by Urban Theatre Projects, diverse art exhibitions, community art making workshops as well as a range of musical performances and literary events. Please note: A full program of events is attached.

The extensions to the building will enable residents and visitors to take advantage of the diverse exhibitions, ever-growing performance program and new education programs offered by the Arts Centre.

The performance space has been refurbished and upgraded to include state-of-the-art lighting and sound and a flexible seating arrangement to cater for the growing music and performance program developing alongside the established visual arts program.

A brand new workshop space is also a feature of the extended facility. With the increase in the number of workshops held over the past two years and the subsequent demand, the new workshop space will create further opportunities to foster the creative needs of the community.

"Over the first four years of operation, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of visitors to Blacktown Arts Centre. This is largely due to the Centre's exhibition and performance program constantly changing and attracting a new audience for each event," Mayor of Blacktown City, Councillor Leo Kelly, OAM said.

"The extension of the facilities at the Centre will provide further opportunities for people in Blacktown City and its surrounds to take full advantage of the Centre's diverse arts program," Mayor Kelly said.

Established in 2002 as a contemporary multi-arts venue, Blacktown Arts Centre has developed a reputation as a centre of excellence in Arts development and has become a cultural hub for Western Sydney.

Council is committed to continue developing Blacktown into a City where culture and creativity enrich the lives of the whole community. The new facilities at the Arts centre will help Council make this vision a reality.