Blacktown Arts
‘Powerhouse Parramatta will set a new international benchmark for what contemporary museums can be for their communities and Blacktown Arts are a recognised leader in contemporary arts in Australia.’
The NSW Government has announced a foundational cultural partnership between Powerhouse Parramatta and Blacktown Arts that will strengthen and amplify the arts and creative industries in Western Sydney.
With Powerhouse Parramatta set to open in 2026, this major partnership with Blacktown City Council acknowledges the long-established creative leadership that has emerged from Blacktown. It will also reflect the cultural priorities of Western Sydney by supporting the creative industries and establishing leadership pathways across multiple disciplines.
'Powerhouse Parramatta is thrilled to announce this exceptional multi-year cultural partnership with Blacktown Arts, and work with local communities to amplify and connect with audiences across Western Sydney, Australia and the world.
We are partnering with Blacktown Arts, through Blacktown City Council, to recognise, sustain and amplify the dynamic, self determined cultural practices that are already happening across Blacktown and Western Sydney.
I am particularly excited to collaborate with Blacktown Arts, the Vyva Entertainment team, 4ESydney, Garage Graphix and the many creatives that will be part of WE’VE who play important roles in the Western Sydney community, providing space for young people to explore and express their ideas, values and creativity and support social cohesion and mental health.'
Lisa Havilah, Chief Executive, Powerhouse
Key Strategic Pillars
4ESydney
Empowers youth, artists and diverse communities by breaking through stereotypes, creating a platform and audience and establishing innovative pathways to education, training and employment. Produced by Vyva Entertainment, 4ESydney is the only festival and project specialising in the culture of HipHop and multi-artform interdisciplinary practice.
Garage Graphix Archive
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Mount Druitt’s Garage Graphix Community Arts Inc. or ‘The Garage’ produced hundreds of political and socially relevant screen-printed posters with Western Sydney communities.
This led to the development of art workshops and community activism that told the stories of the region. Blacktown City is now the custodian of many of The Garage’s original artworks. Powerhouse Parramatta will ensure The Garage's significance is recognised by working with Blacktown Arts to establish a permanent home for this nationally important Western Sydney collection.
WE'VE
Blacktown Arts and Powerhouse Parramatta will establish WE'VE, a new multi-year cultural program that will support, present, collect and amplify cultural weaving practices. These artists are presenting contemporary weaving embedded in the cultural histories of the Pacific and Indigenous communities, two of the fastest growing communities in Sydney.
The program will reach from Western Sydney across Australia and into the Pacific to connect weaving practice through international residencies, masterclasses, cultural programs and the establishment of an Australian and Pacific First Nations Weaving Garden at Powerhouse Parramatta.
NSW Arts Minister John Graham MLC said of the announcement, 'The connecting thread across the key strategic pillars highlight the distinctive cultural practices of Western Sydney, emerging from the history of the people and the area. It is important that these diverse and distinctive creative practices are documented, preserved and integrated into our cultural institutions - reflecting the realities of lives, stories and distinctive creativity of the region. The legacy of the partnership will have an impact on generations to come.'
'Cultural practice across Western Sydney will be captured and presented across both Blacktown Arts, Powerhouse Parramatta and collected and preserved, creating a new cultural legacy for the city.'
‘We are proud to embark on this significant partnership with Powerhouse Parramatta. It recognises the excellence of Blacktown City creatives and cultural knowledge in our communities.’
‘It’s no surprise that these diverse cultural practices are all coalescing in Blacktown which is so dynamic and diverse. This partnership will strengthen and amplify many important cultural practices in the Blacktown area.’
Blacktown Arts
Blacktown Arts is a recognised leader in the development of contemporary arts in Australia. Supporting artistic innovation, it offers exciting, new experiences for audiences through an award-winning curated program of exhibitions, performances, workshops, residencies and events. Blacktown Arts is committed to exploring dynamic, culturally diverse work that reflects Blacktown, its history and its communities. It places Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities at the heart of its program to develop new work drawing on issues of local and global significance.
‘The partnership with Powerhouse Parramatta will amplify opportunities for artists and creative communities across Blacktown City. Blacktown Arts reflects the creative energy of Western Sydney – forward-moving, audience-focused, culturally-rigorous and connected to larger global ideas and trends. Our projects pay homage to ancient cultural forms in exchange with fashion, music, spoken word, media and digital.’
Foundational Cultural Partner
4ESydney HipHop Festival
Date: Saturday, 25 November
Photographer: James Evans
Vyvienne Abla – Founder and Creative Director of 4ESydney
John Graham – Minister for Music, Night-time Economy, Roads, Arts, Tourism & Jobs, Special Minister of State
Michael Rodrigues – 24-Hour Economy Commissioner
Lisa Havilah – Powerhouse Chief Executive
Alicia Talbot – Blacktown Arts, Manager Arts & Cultural Development
Kerry Robinson – CEO of Blacktown City Council
'Dobby’ Rhyan Clapham
‘Shazam’ Azzam Mohamed
'MC Trey’ Thelma Trey Thomas
More
Building Parramatta
Powerhouse Parramatta is being realised through the generosity, support and collaboration of the NSW Government, foundations, agencies, businesses and individuals for the community.