Upcoming artist-in-residence: Catherine Polcz

Catherine Polcz

Catherine Polcz is a curator, artist and creative producer, living on Gadigal Land in Sydney. Her work creates connection to plants, nature and climate. She curated Powerhouse Museum’s 100 Climate Conversations, a winner of the 2023 Australian Museums and Galleries Award for Interpretation, learning and audience engagement. Her career started in ecology and she holds degrees in Environmental Science and a Masters in Plant Science. She is the host and producer of the podcast Plant Kingdom, which features conversations about the living world - plantkingdom.earth. She has worked professionally in the cultural sector at Powerhouse Museum, Botanic Gardens of Sydney, Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) and Redpath Museum (Montreal). She was a founding member of the peer network Sydney Cultural Institutions for Climate Action, which brings together professionals across institutions to share projects and leverage knowledge in the area of climate action.

Catherine Polcz, cover art for conversation series Plant Kingdom

"During my residency at Gunyah, I plan to explore and experience the plants of the area, to draw inspiration for my environmentally engaged practice. I will also research and develop my new short environmental film series, and continue work on my audio project Plant Kingdom, a series of conversations about plants and people who love them, which is released as a podcast."

Catherine Polcz, Weed Herbarium, 2018, 
Human/Nature exhibition, Airspace Projects


You can follow Catherine Polcz on Instagram @cpolcz and @plantkingdom.earth, listen to her podcast plantkingdom.earth and go to catherinepolcz.com to find out more about her practice.

100 Climate Conversations, curated by Catherine Polcz, 
The Powerhouse Museum, 2022-2024

2026 Gunyah Residency Applications

Applications are now open for the 2026 Gunyah Artists-in-Residence Program!

The Gunyah AiR program has been running since 2011, providing low cost accommodation for short term self-directed residencies for solo, collaborative, family and group projects. 

Gunyah AiR program takes place on Gathang Country, the ancestral lands of the Worimi people. We acknowledge them as the traditional custodians for this place, land, sky, and waters. When artists come here to develop and share their creativity, learning, skills and cultural practices, we respect the knowledge and wisdom embedded forever within the First Nations Custodianship of Country.

'Gunyah' means resting place, or place of shelter, in the Gathang language of the Worimi people.

Gunyah is located in the small coastal village of North Arm Cove, on the northern side of Port Stephens NSW. The house was designed and built in the early 1980s, by a group of friends as a weekend project and holiday home. This group still own, manage and maintain this waterfront property; they continue to enjoy holidays here and invite artists to spend time in this special place via the Gunyah AiR program.


Applications are now open for visual artists, writers, First Nations artists and cultural knowledge keepers, composers, musicians, performers, and other creators, to apply for a 2026 Gunyah residency. There will be seven residencies in 2026, each running for twelve days.

The selection panel for the 2026 Gunyah artists-in-residence program includes previous Gunyah artist-in-residence, Nadia Odlum, and the director of the Gunyah artists-in-residence program, Kath Fries.

Please read ABOUT Gunyah and then go to the APPLY page for specific dates, fees and links to the online application forms.  
 
Applications close Monday 1 December, 5pm. 

Visiting Rainbow Lorikeets on the Gunyah deck
Photo: Kath Fries


Upcoming artist-in-residence: Ren Gregorčič

Ren Gregorčič

Ren Gregorčič is an Australian conceptual artist of Slovenian heritage, living on Ngunnawal Ngambri Country, in Canberra ACT. His practice is critically engaged with the politics of materiality, human-centric narratives of place, interdependence, and enviro-social systems. Examining the entangled relationships between materials, perception, and environmental systems (particularly in relation to concrete), Ren works with site-based approaches, experimental fieldwork, and site-responsive sculptural practices. His practice critiques anthropocentric materialist frameworks, advocating for interdependence and reciprocity while navigating the complexities of ecological and social justice.

Ren Gregorčič, Under the Foot of Neptune, 2024,
Monochrome single-channel projection, 8:20, Video Still


"During my residency at Gunyah, I plan to create a new video work that responds to the surrounding environment. I will explore the area’s natural and cultural landscape, drawing on its ecology and history as part of my creative process. The residency offers a quiet and reflective space to deepen my exploration of environmental and social systems."

Ren Gregorčič, Motion In Division, 2024,
Monochrome single-channel projection, 10:30, Video Still

You can follow Ren Gregorčič on Instagram @ren.gregorcic and go to www.rengregorcic.com to find out more about his practice.

Ren Gregorčič, The Limit of a Greater Distance Part 1, 2024,
Monochrome single-channel projection, 5:00, Video Still



Residency report: The Happy Mondays - Josepha Dietrich, Cath Johnstone, Betty O’Neill and Jodi Vial

The Happy Mondays: Betty O'Neill, Jodi Vial, Cath Johnstone and Josepha Dietrich 

"... The Happy Mondays are a collective of four women writers who met in 2024 while studying memoir with Kris Kneen through an online Varuna course. We travelled from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Newcastle and had never been in the same room together until arrival at The Gunyah, which added something special to the already wonderful experience of seeing the property for the first time. 

Sunset from the Gunyah jetty

Our mission at Gunyah was multi-dimensional. We wanted to have time and space for our individual writing projects, as well as coming together at the end of each day to share any breakthroughs or blocks we might have encountered. We had learned, through the nine-month Varuna course, that the support of other writers is incredibly valuable to the writing process. We also had knowledge of each other’s work – emotional, vulnerable, sometimes difficult, as is the nature of memoir writing. It gave us a great foundation and understanding on which to build.

Writing by the window

We settled into our respective bedrooms and writing spaces, amazed at the serenity of the Gunyah site, and before long had something of a routine going. Most days we would cross paths at breakfast before going our separate ways, then inevitably meet up for lunch and a longer conversation about the weather, or the writing ‘weather’, and occasionally the sun would come out and allow us to bask on the deck for a while, serenaded by butcher birds and honeyeaters in the high gum trees. The water was a constant source of inspiration, with its multitude of colours and moods, and continual movement. Many walks were made to the property’s private jetty, but a highlight was experiencing the brilliant light of a full moon while standing over the water. Each night, we would come together for a shared meal to report on our day – the writing, the walks, the swims, the chance encounter with a friendly neighbour and their dog. 

On the Gunyah jetty

There were a few days of rain – very conducive to writing! – but that only made the sunshine more welcome when it did appear. Whatever the skies threw at us, the view from the windows of Gunyah was always magnificent. We made day trips to Karuah for supplies, and to Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens for beach walks, coffee, a seafood dinner, and the Saturday farmers’ market. It was always comforting to return to our home away from home. 

Beach walk 

We all made great progress with our individual writing projects, and quickly developed a support network that valued and understood our respective writing process on any given day. We were able to allow one another time and space to write, while also being on hand for support and encouragement when needed. In return, the Gunyah Residency and the beautiful Gunyah property gave us time, space and encouragement too. On our final night, we sat in front of the fire and took turns sharing some of the work we had produced during our time at Gunyah, marvelling quietly at our good fortune. We are so grateful for the opportunity of the Gunyah residency and all it has provided, and hope that our individual and collective labour will soon bear fruit that would not have been possible without its support and sanctuary. Thank you for making this beautiful place available. ..."

Gunyah residency report, August 2025
The Happy Mondays - Josepha Dietrich, Cath Johnstone,
Betty O’Neill and Jodi Vial 


Mangrove growing in the sand, near Gunyah

Upcoming artists-in-residence: The Happy Mondays - Jodi Vial, Josepha Dietrich, Betty O'Neill and Catherine Johnstone

The Happy Mondays: Josepha Dietrich, Catherine Johnstone, Jodi Vial and Betty O'Neill 

The Happy Mondays are a group of writers, Josepha Dietrich, Catherine Johnstone, Jodi Vial, and Betty O'Neill, who met last year through an online Varuna course titled Finish Your Memoir in 2024. Despite the geographical distance of being from three different states, they have continued to develop support and friendship following the nine-month online course. Now they will meet for the first time in-person for their group residency at Gunyah. 

"... During our residency at Gunyah, we plan to continue our process of working together, which began with the Varuna course. Being part of a writing collective has been transformative for each of us. This Gunyah residency is a rare chance to write together in the same place. Alongside our individual projects that we will each be working on, we will develop our collaborative 'project' of building a writers' collective, expanding on the many benefits of support, feedback, workshopping and company in the writing process. We’re looking forward to spending part of each day of the residency coming together to explore this. ..."

Jodi Vial, with her microfiction The Span (published in the Landmarks anthology) at Newcastle Writers Festival 2016


Jodi Vial lives and writes on unceded Awabakal Land, Newcastle NSW. She recently graduated with a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Newcastle, with a focus on the intersection of literature, landscape and history. Her work has appeared in poetry anthologies by Spineless Wonders, Papatanuaku Press and Recent Work Press, and her short story cycle Lives of Girls and Women was acquired for UON’s permanent art collection in 2018. Her prose poetry has been shortlisted three times in the Joanne Burns Prize as part of Newcastle Writers Festival, most recently in the 2025 prize.

"... During my residency at Gunyah, I’ll be working on the creative manuscript that formed part of my PhD thesis, 'All the Water a Body Can Hold', to reframe it for potential commercial publication. I will also be working on a book of prose poetry, refining my technique and approach to the form. ..."

Josepha Dietrich, In Danger: A Memoir of Family and Hope, UQP, book cover


Josepha Dietrich lives on Turrbal Land, Brisbane QLD. Her recent book, In Danger, was published by the University of Queensland Press (UQP). She works in Intelligence and Engagement at UQ, and is also a freelance editor. She previously worked as a university research assistant on improving psychiatric discharge planning and women’s wellness after cancer. Her prior long-term work was in assessing children’s and adolescents’ risk of harm alongside the Sexual Offences Child Abuse Unit of Victoria Police. To remain sane during this period, she flitted off overseas for months at a time to climb cliff faces while sleeping on beaches or in abandoned shepherds’ huts.

"... During my residency at Gunyah, I hope to leverage the support and knowledge I’ve gained in 2024 as part of a professionally guided writing group to further develop my speculative memoir manuscript. The writing group provides critical feedback on one another’s memoir development as well as the incidental support of working alongside one another. ..."
Stories of Place, book cover, 2025,
Anthology of short fiction, with stories by Catherine Johnstone 

Catherine Johnstone is a queer writer from Wurundjeri Country, Melbourne VIC. She has a long association with the writing industry, having taught screenwriting and professional writing and editing. She has written and directed award-winning short films and received the Fiona Myer International Travel Award to work on her art in Venice, Italy. She has returned to writing fiction and creative non-fiction and in the last two years has been awarded writing fellowships at Varuna and KSP in Perth. She has been published in literary journals Meniscus and Westerly, and is shortlisted in the 2024 City of Melbourne Narrative Non-Fiction Prize.

"... During my residency at Gunyah, I plan to write the final essay for my memoir collection about the environment, climate change and loss, while I am in this beautiful location on Worimi Country. This essay will complete the collection, so I will also do second drafts of those essays not already published in literary journals. ..."

Betty O'Neill, The Other Side of Absence, 2020, book cover


Betty O'Neill is a writer and teacher, living on Gadigal Land, Sydney NSW. She has a Doctorate in Creative Arts from UTS, where she lectures in Creative Intelligence and Innovation. She wrote her doctoral thesis on her quest to understand her father, a World War II Polish resistance fighter who survived Auschwitz and Gusen. Betty has published academically and facilitated workshops in Australia and overseas on creativity, writing family history, the Cold War, migration and the domestic space as an archive. The Other Side of Absence: Discovering my father's secrets, 2020, was her debut memoir.

"... During my residency at Gunyah, I plan to review the first draft and complete a structural edit, of my current memoir project, which explores intergenerational homelessness with my own lived experience and tracing back five generations in my family. ..."



You can follow The Happy Monday's residency at Gunyah on Instagram @gunyahartists

Residency report: Zipper - Celeste Aldahn and Liam Kenny

Celeste Aldahn and Liam Kenny on the Gunyah jetty


"... Upon arriving at Gunyah, we spent a day setting up our studio and getting familiar with our immediate surrounds. It was almost overwhelming thinking about how we might dig into the ten days that followed - it's rare to have the space and time to experiment and create, but time went quickly.

Liam Kenny at Gunyah

In the first week, we finalised guitar and vocal overdubs and mixed two songs for our project Zipper's upcoming double single (out November 2025) and spent some time working on graphic design for upcoming gigs. Knowing there was a storm approaching, we tried to spend some time each day out in Worimi country, finding inspiration from the landscape. 

Celeste Aldahn at Bennet's Beach

We rose at 6am to hit the surf at One Mile and Bennet's, took our afternoon walks through the fire trails, and ended our days sitting by the fire and sketching out demos for new songs as the darkness set in.

Liam Kenny at Gunyah

Our second week saw us hit our stride. We revisited the rough sketches of songs made in week one and worked through refining them, walking away with a total of 8 demos - most of which had bass, drums, guitars, keys and sometimes vocal melodies. We feel mostly all of these demos will go on to form songs for our projects Big Echo and Zipper. We brought a surplus of instruments and recording gear, as we anticipated we might capture some more experimental recordings in our second week - but much of this was unused, as in the end we opted to keep things simple and to move through as much material as possible  while we had the privilege of time and space time and space. 

Celeste Aldahn at Gunyah

We also experimented with new processes, thinking about tactile methods we could use for our upcoming single artwork - testing out cyanotype and polaroid emulsion lifts. As musicians, time and space to explore and experiment is vital to our growth and development. 

Zipper instruments at Gunyah 

With busy lives and multiple bands on the go, carving out space separate to our day-to-day lives in precious and gives us the chance to focus in - think about the future - and feel excited about what's to come. Since returning to Naarm, we've started working on these demos with our band in the lead up to recording them late 2025. ..."

Gunyah residency report, June-July 2025
Zipper - Celeste Aldahn & Liam Kenny


Upcoming artists-in-residence: Zipper - Celeste Aldahn and Liam Kenny

Zipper - Celeste Aldahn and Liam Kenny

Celeste Aldahn and Liam Kenny are multi-instrumentalists who write music for post-punk quintet ZIPPER and duo BIG ECHO. Zipper’s 2020 debut EP ‘Dreamer’s Gate’ [Tenth Court Records, Australia and Urticaria Record, France] was textural yet taut, with lashes of new-wave pop brushing up against cinematic dueling guitar, while Big Echo is a dreamy synth-wave pop inspired by our continents vast and mysterious landscapes.


Celeste Aldahn

Celeste Aldahn is a multi-disciplinary artist and arts worker living on the Lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and the Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Through a punk lens, her studio work investigates the hidden histories of women using sculpture, video, print, textiles and music. She is also a multiinstrumentalist, composer and producer, with numerous releases and international tours for projects Zipper, Nylex and Rule of Thirds, among others. She’s been involved in grassroots organising for over a decade, curating gigs, founding DIY venues and festivals and contributing to international music publications. 

Liam Kenny

Liam Kenny is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and graphic designer, who lives on the Lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and the Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. He has been writing, recording and performing music for over a decade in projects Delivery, Zipper, Wireheads and Nylex, among others. He has numerous releases and international tours under his belt and has recorded with luminaries like Calvin Johnson of K Records. As a record engineer, he has recorded and mixed albums for Zipper, Big Echo, Draino and Wireheads.



Wireheads, 'Potentially Venus' LP 2023 - Album cover art, photography

and layout by Liam Kenny



" ... We plan to use our time at Gunyah to write demos... collaborate on song structures and experiment with new sonic directions, with guitar, bass, saxophone, flute, synth and programming drums; using Logic and a four-track tape recorder. As previous Newcastle residents, we also have a network of nearby musicians to potentially draw on. We also plan to explore the area around Gunyah to shape ideas for our forthcoming LP art, merch and video clips by taking 35mm photos and capturing videos and experimenting with cyanotypes ..." 



Rule of Thirds, s/t LP 2014 - Album cover art, sculpture/installation,

photography and layout by Celeste Aldahn



You can follow Zipper and Big Echo on Instagram @zipper.unzipped and hear their music on bandcamp




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