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