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Barracks Art StudiosThirroul · Est. 1998

Thirroul · NSW · Since 1998

Working Studios in a Heritage Railway Building

Six contemporary artists. One landmark building. Barracks Art Studios Thirroul is a not-for-profit artist-run collective working from the heritage-listed 1913–1915 railway crew barracks at 1 Church Street, Thirroul.

See our artistsPlan your visit

Next Open Studio Weekend

Northern Illawarra Art Trail

Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 June 2026 · 10am – 4pm · Free entry

The resident artists

Six practices under one heritage roof

Painting, sculpture, prints, artist's books and textiles. Each artist keeps a private lockup studio in the barracks and opens their door to the public at designated weekends.

See all artists
  • Portrait placeholder for Judy Bourke

    Judy Bourke

    President

    Prints, sculpture, artist's books, textiles

    Judy Bourke's diverse practice spans prints, sculptures, artist's books and textiles. Her inspirations include women's achievements, family interactions, climate change, relationships, community events, found materials, colour, and the patterns of seascapes and landscapes. Recent notable work includes SacredOpportunity (cast aluminium, dyed silk). Bourke was awarded the Thirroul 2024 Arts and Cultural Achievement award. Current thematic focus: climate change.

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  • Portrait placeholder for David Hull

    David Hull

    Secretary

    Contemporary painting, works on paper

    David Hull studied art in England and Canada and taught drawing and painting for 28 years. He helped establish the School of Contemporary Arts at the University of Western Sydney. His work interprets an area's industrial landscape and explores the sounds of a place and the interactions of humankind with place through free improvisation. Hull displays small and large canvases plus works on paper.

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  • Portrait placeholder for Graham Sinclair

    Graham Sinclair

    Vice President

    Painting

    Graham Sinclair is a painter based at the Barracks Art Studios and serves as Vice President of the incorporated association.

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  • Portrait placeholder for Skye (TS) Zaracostas

    Skye (TS) Zaracostas

    Treasurer

    Visual art

    Visual artist and committee Treasurer at the Barracks Art Studios Thirroul Incorporated.

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  • Portrait placeholder for Frank Nowlan

    Frank Nowlan

    Associate Member Coordinator

    Painting

    Frank Nowlan became interested in art while at Teachers College in the 1960s, then set painting aside for 30 years to pursue life as a high school history teacher. He recommenced his practice in 1992 and now works from his studio in Thirroul.

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  • Portrait placeholder for Lyndon Keene

    Lyndon Keene

    Member Artist

    Landscape-based abstract painting

    Lyndon Keene studied art in England but has lived mostly in Aotearoa New Zealand before moving to Australia in 2015. His work is landscape-based abstract art; he aims to capture something of nature's poetry through discovering and reimagining remembered landscapes.

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Our story

A railway barracks, still full of craft

The Thirroul Railway Crew Barracks was built between 1913 and 1915 to provide sleeping quarters for the drivers, firemen and guards of steam trains passing through the Thirroul depot. Later the building served as a pay office and tradesmen's workspace for the railways.

Since 1998 the barracks has been home to artists — first as Barracks Artists Incorporated, and from December 2012 as Barracks Art Studios Thirroul Incorporated. The heritage-listed building sits adjacent to the railway line at 1 Church Street and is a much-loved local landmark.

The association is a not-for-profit incorporated body. Each member keeps their own lockup studio. Five artists form the management committee and one member serves as associate. The studios are private working spaces — the artists choose when to share their practice with the public.

Built
1913 – 1915
Original use
Steam-train crew barracks
Artists since
1998
Incorporated
December 2012
Heritage listed
Yes
Resident artists
Six
Read the full history
Illustration of the interior of a working studio with canvases and a plan chest
Inside a working studio · heritage railway barracks

Visiting the studios

When the doors open

Studios are private working spaces. The artists open them to the public twice a year for specific weekend events — free entry, no bookings, everyone welcome.

  • Free entry

    Northern Illawarra Art Trail (NIAT)

    Date
    Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 June 2026
    Hours
    10am – 4pm daily
    Location
    1 Church Street, Thirroul NSW 2515

    A regional open studio trail threading the coast and escarpment from Thirroul to Helensburgh, past Austinmer and Coalcliff beaches and over Seacliff Bridge. Barracks Art Studios participates in NIAT some years; the 2026 edition is confirmed. Work on show across the wider trail ranges from abstract to realism: oils, acrylics, watercolours, prints, photography, miniatures, pottery and ceramics.

    Source: niarttrail.com

  • Free entry

    Thirroul Seaside and Arts Festival — Open Studios

    Date
    Annually, late May / early June
    Hours
    Saturday & Sunday, 10am – 4pm
    Location
    1 Church Street, Thirroul NSW 2515

    Each year during the Thirroul Seaside and Arts Festival, the Barracks artists open their private studios to the public for one weekend. Work is displayed and available for purchase. Past weekends: 31 May – 1 June (2025); 1 – 2 June (2024).

    Source: The Illawarra Flame

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Recognition

Held in regard by the region

The studios and their artists have been recognised by the regional arts institutions of the Illawarra.

  • Thirroul 2024 Arts and Cultural Achievement Award

    Awarded to Judy Bourke, President of Barracks Art Studios Thirroul.

  • Wollongong Art Gallery studio visit

    Wollongong Art Gallery director Daniel Mudie Cunningham visited the Barracks Art Studios (documented on the Gallery's Facebook page).

Enquiries

Get in touch with the collective

Questions about an artist's work, an open weekend, or a possible exhibition? Email the studios — we reply when we can step away from the easel.

Email the studiosContact details