The Penrith Regional Gallery website is not compatible with Internet Explorer. Please use a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari for the best experience.
At Penrith Regional Gallery, art doesn’t just live within the gallery walls – it exists and thrives throughout our broader community. Our offsite initiatives extend the reach of our creative programming far beyond our Emu Plains site to embed art in the heart of Penrith’s streets, suburbs, and shared spaces.
These initiatives reflect our belief that art should be accessible and inclusive. By working in close partnerships with artists, schools, councils and community groups, we activate our artistic program through public artworks, artist-led workshops and engagement activities to bring meaningful artistic experiences directly to the people of Penrith, celebrating local stories, empowering communities, sparking curiosity, and striving to create lasting a cultural impact across our region.
Stories from Queen Street
Celebrating Queen Street, St Marys
Stories from Queen Street is a documentary and photo series that celebrates the vibrant and diverse mixed business shopping precinct of Queen St, St Marys.
Through sharing the stories of six small business owners, the project aims to amplify the voices of local people, celebrating the unique character and social fabric of Queen Street, while capturing the heart of a place in transition. Stories from Queen Street examines the complex life of an area on the cusp of exponential change. With the building of the new Western Sydney Airport and north-south metro link, St Marys is set to double its population over the next 20 years and is fast becoming a strategic centre. This project builds upon a legacy of socially engaged art projects in St Marys and wider Penrith community led by Penrith Regional Gallery. Stories from Queen Street was developed in response to the exhibition ‘Between Urgency and Leisure’ which presents key photographic works from the gallery collection, each capturing important moments in the social history of Penrith, such as Tracksuits of St Marys, by artists Harold David, and Outside the Stadium, by artist Lyndal Irons.
A Penrith Regional Gallery project, in collaboration with CuriousWorks and artist Karlina Mitchell, supported by the Penrith City Council Magnetic Places grants program.
Participating Businesses: The Big Big Aloha, The Crystal Cafe, Guido’s Hair Care, Lee Nova Haberdashery, Nin Yoga and Rita’s Fashion
Creative Team: Miranda Aguilar, Karlina Mitchell, Diego Murillo, Varuna Naicker, Brittany Nguyen, Hannah Teau
Watch Stories from Queen Street
Real Festival
Penrith’s annual Real Festival celebrates the landscape of the Nepean River with workshops and activities. In 2024, Penrith Regional Gallery joined Real Festival for the first time for an activation of our 2024 Summer exhibition Spot the Difference, a project that asked artists to consider the myths and origins surrounding the elusive Penrith Panther, invariably known as the Blue Mountains Panther.
Together with artists Jason Phu and Maja Baska, we held a drop-in Panther mask-making activity and photobooth. Jason Phu & Maja Baska’s collaborative artwork Make the Panther You Want to See came to life through the participation and performance of our local community.
