Port Macquarie Art & Craft Centre Open Studio

Many of you would remember the iconic blue building situated on Gordon Street near Lake Road where Dorothy and her husband Jack Hope, a local potter from Thrumster set up a community for local artist and makers to connect, collaborate and create. The original centre on the Oxley Highway Thrumster started in August 1974, following a meeting convened by Dorothy Hope who had completed a survey into the needs of craftspeople living in the Hastings area. From this a formal committee was formed and the focus of the group was to hold a ‘Monster Art and Craft Auction’ and the erection of a building.

According to the Leather-bound book titled “The Craft Centre Story” history book, the Art and Craft Auction occurred on the 14th of January 1975 at the Civic centre where approximately 4,000 people attended. It was through this fundraiser the group raised enough funds to complete the building in 1976.
In 1978 it became evident that the centre would need to expand and move closer to Port Macquarie CBD and so on the 29th of September 1980, the building in Thrumster was relocated to Gordon Street and the official opening occurred on the 23rd of March 1981. At this time the centre was under the leadership of Barbara Murphy, the President at the time.

Through the dedication of its members and former committees, the Art & Craft Centre remained active offering a place for artists and craftspeople to continue to connect in a space that is safe and welcoming of new members within many art disciplines.
Today the centre is located within the Oxley Vale Lifelong Learning Centre where the new studios are more inline with current industry standards. This has opened better access to art and craft program opportunities into the future.

With the group not even being a year in their new space, they are slowly settling in and making their mark. There is more work to be done, a space for visual and fibre arts and progression to formally opening the new gallery space.