NSoA Newsletter March 2026

MARCH 2026 NEWSLETTER

Welcome to our newsletter. If you have any news you wish to be included in future newsletters, please email us via this link.

NOTICE OF THE NSoA AGM

MONDAY 30 MARCH 5.30PM
at the Narooma Surf Club

The 2025 President’s Report and audited financial reports will be presented followed by the election of the 2026 Management Committee.

This is an exciting year for the Narooma School of Arts. It is the 100th anniversary of the official opening of the Memorial Hall (operating as the Kinema), 130th anniversary of the School of Arts in Narooma, and we will be opening the new Narooma Arts Centre.

If you are considering volunteering, we urge you to come to our AGM and hear about the year past and what is ahead. As part of this we are looking for members to join our Management Committee, email the Secretary Laurelle Pacey on this link if you are interested to join us.

From 1 January 2026 the NSoA annual membership fees are due. Only financial members are eligible to vote at the AGM and to nominate for a position on the Management Committee.

Do you want to pay your membership fee only? Click here.

Do you want to become a 1 in 100 Community Shareholder (inc membership)? Click here.

THANK YOU

1 in 100 Community Shares Program Launched

On Friday 27 February we launched the 1 in 100 Community Shares fundraising program at the Narooma Golf Club.

THANK YOU to the incredible share holders who have signed up and lead the way. We were thrilled with the response and are currently over halfway to our goal!

The 1 in 100 scheme directly supports artists by reducing gallery hire fees, encouraging participation, and fostering a vibrant cultural hub that benefits everyone. It also builds a strong community of champions who believe in the value of the arts.

We would like to extend a special thanks to Ben Macpherson, our MC for the launch; Anthony Mayne, Southeast Arts Board Member and Eurobodalla Shire Councillor; and Teresa Lever, Manager Economic Development and Place Activation ESC. Anthony and Teresa gave eloquent and inspiring talks on the importance of places that build community and wellbeing around culture; and the tangible and intangible economic contributions the arts make to our towns and regions.

We thank Murray Van der Veer who directed and produced a new short film about the history of the Narooma Soldier’s Memorial Hall, for screening his film at the event. This short film was made possible by the IMB Community Foundation funding. Thanks to Andrew Reid for performing the guitar at the event.

We extend our deep gratitude to the Narooma Golf Club for providing us with the space for this special event.

The Management Committee and Waratah Lahy, our Gallery and Studio Engagement Officer, extend their thanks to all who attended. Finally an acknowledgement and big thanks to Liz McCrystal for this innovative and inspiring idea for a shares program for the arts.

NSoA Management Committee members L-R: Bob Aston, Ann Espinoza, Barbara McConchie and Petti McInnes at the 1 in 100 Launch

ARE YOU 1 IN 100

Have you considered becoming a 1 in 100 Shareholder? Visit our website, and read more about the program, what it is for and the benefits to shareholders. There you will find links to the required registration form and the shop page for purchase.

We have listed share holders on a scroll bar, so take the time to read them all, there is bound to be someone you know on that list. Shares can be acknowledged as an individual, an individual and their partner, a family or a business.

Come to our AGM to hear more and consider pledging to our 1 in 100 Community Shares program

The bones of the Narooma Gallery in the NAC. Photo taken from the Princes Highway end.

Be/Longing

We are excited to announce Be/Longing, the inaugural exhibition for the new Narooma Arts Centre.

We invite artists working in any medium to submit a work for consideration.

We welcome submissions from artists at all stages of their creative journey including emerging, mid‑career, and established artists working across all mediums. Artists from Eurobodalla Shire, NSW, ACT and Victoria are invited to submit.

Be/Longing invites artists to explore the physical and emotional landscapes of belonging: what it means to feel connected to community, to Country, to place, or to oneself. From the wild coastal edges of our unique environment to the quiet interiors of the self, the exhibition encourages diverse interpretations of what it means to belong.

The application portal is now open, visit the Be/Longing webpage to read all the details.

https://naroomaschoolofarts.com.au/nac-belonging-applications-now-open

Jackie Lambert, An evening walk, watercolour. From the 2024 Narooma High School exhibition at Narooma Gallery.

NAROOMA ARTS CENTRE BUILD

This fabulous group are the brains, brawn and watchful eyes over the construction of the Narooma Art Centre. Their attention to detail, their skills and knowledge are so important in bringing this project to life.

L-R: Archu Abayansingam NSW Public Works, Rob Hawkins and Russell Burke NSoA NAC Sub Committee, Katharina Hendel and Brent Dunn TAKT Studio for Architecture, and Trent Rollason Zauner Construction. Photographed on site Thursday 19 March.

Trent Rollason explaining the finer points of the build in the creative studio spaces.

Dr Michael Holland MP for Bega inspecting the site.

L-R: Trent Rollason, Rob Hawkins, Laurelle Pacey NSoA Management Committee member, Lisa Holland, Dr Michael Holland MP, Matt Green NSW Public Works, Petti McInnes and Jenni Bourke NSoA Management Committee members.

SOLDIER’S MEMORIAL HALL CENTENARY

A new short film is screening at the Kinema that shows the history of the Soldier’s Memorial Hall. It has been directed and produced by Murray Van der Veer of Moving Pictures and supported by the IMB Bank Community Foundation.

This nostalgic short film ‘Narooma celebrates Hall Centenary’ tells the story of the past 100 years of the Hall, that sits at the heart of Narooma’s community. The NSoA commissioned the 31⁄2-minute film which is being shown every day in the Kinema before each feature film, over several months.

This film coincides with the launch of a new book by the Narooma Historical Society, Narooma School of Arts – connecting, celebrating and inspiring our community, written by Laurelle Pacey. Copies of this book retelling the history of this significant community association can be purchased at the Kinema.

See the current Kinema program here.

NOTICES

The next meeting of the Narooma Historical Society Moruya Historical Society Museum at Sunday 19 April 2pm with special pub exhibition.
Please contact Laurelle Pacey for more details.
The Urban Sketchers and Plein Air Group have their 2026 calendar out. View it here.