Artfulmind Gallery / Shop is popping up just twice more this year: 11-4pm Saturdays 13 + 20 December 2025. In the intimate setting of the curator’s studio in Erowal Bay, this is a gallery experience like no other. If gallery makes you think white box, expensive, untouchable art hanging on walls, you are in for a delightful surprise. Everything in Artfulmind Gallery can be touched, felt, tried on, discussed at length (should you wish). Unique gifts start at $10. You can learn about the makers whose hands and minds have created these beautiful things. You may even meet the maker in person. On both Saturdays, between 2-4pm, various makers are in residence, keen to enrich your experience.
If you read Artfulmind Gallery: Making Space for Makers you’ll know the origins of this endeavour and its intention to create opportunities for makers and artists to show and sell their work. When Artfulmind Gallery/Shop popped up for the first time at Arts Muster Huskisson Artisans Market on Sunday 30 November, it attracted a very pleasing amount of interest and sales.
The gallery is now in my Erowal Bay Studio, doubling the space, allowing more and different work to be presented. As an Arts Muster x Artfulmind collaboration, Samantha Tannous and Natalie McDonagh warmly invite you to visit, delight in the wonderful works on show, and perhaps make a purchase or two. Artfulmind Gallery/Shop is the ideal place to find unique gifts.
Tactile Poetry
Talking to visitors, the attraction of Artfulmind Gallery lies in seeing a mixture of works by more than a dozen different makers, displayed alongside each other rather than grouped by category or by artist.
As the gallery’s creator and curator, my approach is more creating an art installation (rather than a retail display), with the intention of offering you, the visitor, an evocative sensory experience—a visual, tactile poem of colour, texture, form, scale, material.
This approach also offers makers and artists a gratifying experience of their craft and art works that may never have been seen, or are languishing in storage.
Three large textile artworks by Barbara Dawson are placed in conversation with wee vessels, hand woven by Mary Preece, small found object sculptures by Julie Love and ceramic stem vases by Debra Garrett—each enhancing the other, revealing something more about common threads of thinking. It was moving to watch and hear Barbara’s response to seeing her work curated and shown in this way:
“This is amazing. I have never seen anything like it in any gallery shop, anywhere. It brings out the best in everyone’s work.”
For artist, Christine Wiltshier, an additional valuable aspect of being part of the Artfulmind Gallery project is community connection: “I love having the opportunity to support a local, beautifully curated exhibition and space, that also enables me to connect with our wonderful community of artists, makers and of course, art collectors!”
Personal attention
There is, of course, the added dimension of personal attention. A warm welcome from me, into my studio, currently serving as Artfulmind Gallery/Shop. I personally know all the makers, and their practices so can tell you about the amazing skill, knowledge and experience involved in making these things. Or you can discover for yourself something about the makers, their practice and techniques in the folder of portraits and brief bios I have compiled for visitor interest and information.
Speaking of personal attention, you may like to read my recent article on mindful gift-giving, Giving the Gift of Attention
PAY A VISIT
If you’d like to visit Artfulmind Gallery/Shop on Saturdays 13 + 20 December, or make an appointment, contact Curator Dr Natalie McDonagh by email natalie@artsmuster.com.au or via Arts Muster Facebook page
“I saw some of the works at the recent Huskisson Artisans Market and they were amazing. Looking forward to seeing the whole collection at the pop up gallery.”
Comment on Facebook.
Artfulmind Pop-up Gallery/Shop next event
Sunday 26 April 2026 at Huskisson Artisans Market
10am-3pm Community Centre, Dent Street.
