2026 has arrived! We are very excited to be back and ready to plan an exciting range of events for our Friends of the Gallery! Our annual program of events supports our fundraising goals for the JADA and the Gallery as a whole. Your generous donations and annual memberships enable us to host inclusive events for our extended community, including current and future Friends, volunteers, and the wider Clarence Arts & Culture Community.
So…what’s happening soon? On Saturday 18 April 2026, from 12:30 – 3:30 pm, the Friends are once again taking part in the Annual PLUNGE Festival and will be hosting a Pirate Party! Complete with music, food and drink (and Pirates!) this is one event not to be missed.
Where’s Paddy? is a band of pirates who have plundered the seven seas for a lively and eclectic mix of Celtic and European music on accordion, bass, fiddle and guitar, with the odd sea shanty thrown in for good measure – guaranteed to have you singing and jigging in the rigging!
Refreshments will be available for purchase at The Pirate Bar and the Friends will be providing some delicious light snacks. Book online here via Humanitix. (Tickets: $25 per adult, $15 per child, or $80 per family (2A, 2C).
Upcoming Events in 2026
SAVE THE DATE: The FOGG Famous Soup Day – Sunday 21st June 2026
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What’s on at the Grafton Regional Gallery?
21 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm – Lovers in Death | Education & Conversation
An afternoon with our most vulnerable creatures. Join Esk Studio’s Aviva Reed and Al Stark, for an afternoon of education, conversation and discussion.
Exhibition – L U N A R_B I O M E
L U N A R_B I O M E brings together notions of grief, imagination and play in response to the collective existential reckoning of the times. Using interactive modes of ritual performance, art, science and education this sequence of work seeks new modes of collective meaning in a rapidly changing climate and its ensuing social uncertainty.
Exhibition – Tamara Dean | Leave only footprints
Tamara Dean | Leave only footprints is the first survey exhibition of the critically acclaimed photomedia artist Tamara Dean. Dean’s career began as a photojournalist for the Sydney Morning Herald (2001–14). She was renowned for finding the quieter, more introspective moments between subject and photographer. Dean’s practice transitioned from documentary to conceptual photography after the arrival of her first child. It transformed her practice into one that explores the primacy of nature and our connectedness to it and to each other.
ART ATELIER with Bernadette Trela
Join artist and educator Bernadette Trela for a welcoming Atelier studio each Sunday morning in the Grafton Regional Gallery artist studio. Designed for beginners through to developing artists, this class offers a steady, supportive introduction to drawing and painting through observation, creativity and expressive exploration. Participants are welcome to join for the full term, drop into a single session, or attend just a few—whatever best suits your schedule and creative goals.
Proudly hosted on Bundjalung Country
The Friends are proud to be the major sponsor of the Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award.
Discover more about the JADA via Grafton Regional Gallery
