Visual Art + Written Word

By day, from 10.00 am – 2.00 pm Nicholas Street Precinct is alive with creative play, mind-blowing street theatre and live music.
There is an abundance of family-friendly fun to be had and plenty for adults too! By night, the Creative Hub lights up from 5.00 pm – stretching from Tulmur Place to d’Arcy Doyle Place and spilling into local venues. Explore music, performance, interactive installations, workshops, projections, markets and more.

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8-12 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm / 5.00 pm – 8.30 pm| Tulmur Place to Ipswich Civic Centre | FREE AND TICKETED

Think paint-and-sip… with a creative twist!

Join a relaxed, guided Chalk Play experience, where you’ll contribute to a shared canvas while learning to create bright, bold botanical art inspired by native Ipswich flora. This social, hands-on session is all about connection, creativity, and colour in the medium of chalk.

Your ticket includes your choice of red or white wine, or a soft drink on arrival, along with an individual cheese plate. This is an 18+ event.

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9-12 July | 5.30 pm – 6.30 pm | Tulmur Place | TICKETED $25 pp 

8 July | 10.00 am – 12.00 pm | Springfield Central Library | FREE | BOOK NOW

Local Author Lawry Goodkind brings science, creativity and craft together in his Half Life workshop for young people 9-12yrs old

8 July | 2.00pm – 3.00pm | The Book Bouquet | BOOK NOW 

Decked Out is a clash of the cultures. A dynamic display of street smarts vs fine arts. Visit the display of 100 different artists day or night over Spark Festival.

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8-12 July | 9.00 am – 10.00 pm | Arttime Gallery | FREE

Booval Fair will celebrate SPARK 2026 with the Connected Mural Art Competition, giving six talented local artists the opportunity to transform the space with vibrant murals inspired by the theme ‘Connected to Community.’ Each artwork will celebrate the people, stories and spirit that make Ipswich feel like home.

During the SPARK Ipswich Festival, visitors can experience the six winning designs up close inside the Booval Fair Community Art Gallery between 8-12 July.

It’s colour, culture and community coming together in one unforgettable showcase.

8-12  July | Various times | Booval Fair | FREE

Celebration of Life, an Ipswich Hospice art exhibition, proudly presented by Yamanto Central.

Featuring a diverse range of visual artists from across the Ipswich community, this exhibition celebrates vibrancy and community.

All sales will support the work of Ipswich Hospice. See more.

8-18 July | 10.00 am – 4.00 pm | Yamanto Central | FREE

It*s Material is an artists’ collective whose contemporary jewellery practices span minimalist form, feminist ethics, and the environment. Visit daily open studio sessions where you can meet the artists and get hands on in exploring their artforms making a small piece of jewellery for yourself.

8-12 July | 12.00 pm – 6.30 pm | Ipswich Art Workshop | FREE | 12 years+

Join Nicole Crosswell, scientific illustrator for the Queensland Herbarium, to learn the art of botanical illustration. Drop in for a moment or return day after day to hone your skills.

8-10, 12 July |12.00 pm – 2.00 pm + 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm| Tulmur Place | FREE

11 July | 11.00 pm – 1.00 pm + 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm | Tulmur Place | FREE

Experience spectacular projected artworks and animations by local artists with international acclaim. Screenings run nightly every half hour at the corner of Union Place and Nicholas Street.

8-12 July | 5.30 pm – 8.30 pm | Nicholas Street | FREE

Inspired by this year’s NAIDOC theme 50 Years of Deadly, this exhibition honours the resilience, knowledge, and culture of Elders with connections to the Ipswich region.

In partnership with First Nations photographer Jim Filmer, and cultural liaison, Lowana Walker, this exhibition recognises the invaluable contributions of Elders to their community through truth telling. The exhibition, and accompanying online collection, showcases recorded video stories and portrait photography of each Elder – acknowledging their ongoing role as knowledge keepers and shapers of Ipswich’s future.

8-12 July | 10.00 am – 3.00 pm | Ipswich Community Gallery | FREE

Join Sally as she discusses her new novel People Like Us, a topical, absorbing story celebrating the power of female friendships and the promise of unexpected new beginnings.

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9 July | 6.00 pm – 7.30 pm | Ipswich Central Library | FREE 

Ipswich Art Gallery collides with the Institute Of Modern Art for a special expanded presentation of MONO; a night of boundary pushing sound, evocative movement and durational performance that invites audiences to lean into sense and sensation!

Featured Artists Include:

Primitive Motion Sound System

• Queensland Conservatorium Gamelan Ensemble
• Heinz Riegler
• Unregistered Master Builder
• Liam Keenan + J.WLSN
• Cloudy Ku DJ set
• Juliet Widyasari-Burnett
• Akio Suzuki + Hiromi Miyakita
• Vanessa Tomlinson

Plus your chance to explore exhibitions: The world came flooding in, and Ties that Bind in the Ipswich Art Gallery’s free entry UP LATE session.

11 July | 5.00 pm – 9.00 pm | Ipswich Art Gallery + d’Arcy Doyle Place | FREE | RSVP HERE

Join Edwina Shaw- acclaimed writer of memoir, fiction and screenplays, for a mini writing retreat which will leave you with all the tools you will need to write your story. 

11 July | 2.00 pm – 4.30 pm | The Book Bouquet | BOOK NOW

8 July | 7.00 pm – 8.30 pm | The Book Bouquet | BOOK NOW

Join Ipswich Writers & Illustrators for a relaxed and welcoming writing session as part of the Ipswich Spark Festival!

Hosted on the 12th of July from 2pm–6pm at The Book Bouquet in Ipswich CBD, this session is designed for aspiring writers of all experience levels. Whether you’ve never written a book before, have a few hundred words tucked away in a document somewhere, or have already completed multiple manuscripts — you’re welcome here.

The event will be hosted by Ipswich Writers & Illustrators admins, Caroline Slade and Jacinta Goodsell, with tea, coffee, and biscuits kindly provided by Helen and Allyssa Woodman, owners of The Book Bouquet.

If you have a story to tell but aren’t sure what to do next, this is your opportunity to sit down with other writers, ask questions, share ideas, and connect with people who understand the struggle of getting imaginary friends to behave themselves on the page.

12 July | 2.00 Pm – 6.00 pm | The Book Bouquet | BOOK NOW

An insight into the artists studio by Rhondda Bell Charli Morel and Rebekah Walkarden. The local artists who create at Limestone Gallery will share their work with an exhibition and open studio.

8, 9 and 12 July | 10.30 am – 4.00 pm| Limestone Gallery and Studios | FREE

10 – 11 July | 10.30 am – 4.00 pm| Limestone Gallery and Studios | FREE

Enter the dazzling world of LightPlay, where curiosity sparks and ideas really come to light! Using light boxes, overhead projectors, torches, and translucent materials, investigate how light behaves, and experiment with kaleidoscopic patterns that shift and change with every movement. Build, arrange, and transform your surroundings, revealing the surprising ways light interacts with shapes and textures.

8-12 July | 10.00 am – 5.00 pm| Ipswich Art Gallery |FREE

Art Jam is an event for all creatives, encouraging establishing connections with other creatives, exploring new mediums and methods, and having a play. Some materials will be supplied, but feel free to bring your own. All creatives welcome! Free to get involved!

12 July | 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm | Banshees Bar & Artspace | FREE

Step below the surface for an intimate evening of raw, captivating, and polished storytelling. Presented by IPSARI Inc. in a special collaboration with the seasoned public speakers of Bremer Forum, The Rusty Underground brings a classic, atmospheric speakeasy vibe to the cozy cellar space of The Rusty Nail.

Guided by MC Leanne Walker, a sharp lineup of local voices – including a 10-minute keynote by Rosie Arnold and fast-paced 5-minute insights from Andrea Baumert Howard and guest speakers – will strip back the curtain to answer a single, compelling question: What makes great art?

Between the chats, settle in with live acoustic music, premium drinks, and local platters available from the venue. Entry is free, but space in The Cellar is strictly limited. Come for the atmosphere, stay for the conversation, and see how we roll.

Book your free tickets now 

8 July |6.00 pm – 8.00 pm | Rusty Nail | FREE 

Spend the morning learning about and making zines with mid-2000s punk zine creator, Tamara Scheiwe. Now an award winning graphic designer but forever a DIY zine creator and multidisciplinary artist, Tamara will guide you through a short history of zines before you embark on your own zine journey! Zines can cover a multitude of formats such as short stories or visual diaries, across a range of topics such as favourite animals or self-expression. With materials provided, you only need to bring your ideas and good vibes.

Under 18s will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

12 July | 10.00 am – 1.00 pm | Limehouse Gallery and Studios | BOOK NOW

Rebekah Walkarden is an emerging multidisciplinary artist who explores hyper personal content to connect with universal themes of family, loss and memory. In her Live Painting practice Rebekah captures a live streetscape on unconventional materials such as glass panes, sheets of fabric or metal and found objects. The painting surface is chosen before the event to reflect some aspect of the iconic Ipswich location. The painting is done in oil paints and oil sticks in a limited palette to capture the energy and vibrancy of the street scene and Rebekah enjoys the interactions she has with local passersby as they watch the scene take shape.

Image Courtesy of Ipswich Art Gallery. Image Credit Louis Lim

8 -12 July | 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm | Nicholas Street Precinct | Free

Creative Hearts Co. are creating an opportunity for emerging artists 12-25 years old to exhibit their work.

Click HERE to submit your work.

During the festival this exhibition culminates in a Showcase and Celebration day on Sat 11 July in Brookwater – a vibrant celebration of young creativity, bringing together workshops, live performances, and community engagement in one dynamic day that highlights the talent and energy of emerging artists aged 12–25 as part of the Spark Festival.

Throughout the day, visitors can take part in hands-on creative and entrepreneurial workshops, experience live performances, and engage with the creative process across a range of disciplines.

This special event complements the Rising Voices Exhibition, creating a space for connection between artists and community celebrating the power of youth creativity in Ipswich.

Celebration Day: 11 July | 1.00 pm – 3.00 pm | Brookwater | BOOK NOW