The legacy of embroidery, Elaine Balla’s Camden Show artwork

January 10, 2026January 10, 2026 camdenhistorynotes

Elaine Balla, an accomplished embroidery artist, created 'The Camden Show' for the 2011 Camden Show's 125th anniversary, winning a Champion Exhibit Ribbon. Her work, now displayed at the Camden Museum, vividly represents community stories. Balla's contributions span sixty years, illustrating women's expression through the art of embroidery, their agency and telling community stories.

20th century · Aesthetics · Architecture · Attachment to place · Belonging · Biography · Built heritag · Camden Cottage · Camden Story · Campbelltown Art Centre · Campbelltown Mid-century modernism · Campbelltown Modern · Campbelltown Modernism · Collective Memory · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · Cultural icon · Domestic Architecture · Family history · History · History of a house · Hope and loss · House history · Housing · Housing styles · Lifestyle · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · Macarthur · Macarthur region · Memory · Mid-century modernism · Modernism · Peri-urban region · Placemaking · rural-urban fringe · Social History · Stereotypes · Storytelling · Symbolism · Urban development · Urban growth · Urban history · Urbanism

‘Fibro Majestic’: A Celebration of Mid-Century Housing at Campbelltown Arts Centre by Catherine O’Donnell

July 22, 2023February 14, 2025 camdenhistorynotes

The "Fibro Majestic" exhibition at Campbelltown Arts Centre celebrates the historical significance of fibro housing in Australia, highlighting its role in post-war society. Artist Catherine O'Donnell's work reflects on the nostalgia, memories, and social contexts surrounding these humble structures, transforming perceptions of an architecture once deemed unattractive.

1968 Sydney Region Outline Plan · 1973 New Cities Campbelltown Camden Appin Structure Plan · Aesthetics · Art · Artists · Attachment to place · Camden · Campbelltown · Campbelltown Art Centre · Campbelltown Council · Community identity · Community work · Craft · Crafts · Design · Dharawal · Economy · Education · Entertainment · History · Indigenous Heritage · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · localism · Macarthur region · Memory · Monuments · Murals · Pioneers · Place making · Placemaking · Public art · Regionalism · rural-urban fringe · Sculpture · Sense of place · Stereotypes · Storytelling · Streetscapes · Sydney's rural-urban fringe · Town planning · Urban development · Urban history · Urban Planning · Urbanism · Western Sydney University

Public art at Campbelltown brightens up the Queen Street precinct

May 16, 2023May 21, 2023 camdenhistorynotes

Public art is being used in the Campbelltown town centre to reinvigorate and revitalise the Queen Street precinct that has been subject to urban blight.

Appin · Art · Attachment to place · Belonging · British colonialism · Campbelltown Art Centre · Collective Memory · Colonial frontier · Colonialism · Commemoration · Community identity · Cowpastures · Cowpastures Bicentennial · Cultural Heritage · Dharawal · Governor Macquarie · Heritage · History · Landscape · Landscape aesthetics · Local History · Local Studies · Memorial · Memorialisation · Memorials · Memory · Monuments · Place making · Placemaking · Public art · Sculpture · Sense of place · Settler colonialism · Settler Society · Stereotypes · Storytelling · Uncategorized

The Cowpastures Bicentennial, Governor Hunter and the Appin Massacre: the memory of the Cowpastures

December 30, 2022September 16, 2023 camdenhistorynotes1 Comment

I often wondered why the cultural material representative of the Cowpastures appeared to have been 'forgotten' by our community. The list of cultural items is quite an extensive include: roads and bridges, parks and reserves; historic sites, books, paintings, articles; conferences, seminars, and workshops; monuments, memorials and murals; community commemorations, celebrations and anniversaries.

Aesthetics · Art · Artists · Artworks · Attachment to place · Belonging · Camden Art Group · Camden Public School · Camden Realism · Camden Story · Campbelltown · Campbelltown Art Centre · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · GLAM Sector · Heritage · Historical consciousness · Historical thinking · Landscape · Landscape aesthetics · Living History · Local History · Macarthur region · Memory · Place making · Public art · Realism · Sense of place · Stories · Storytelling · Tourism

Exploring Camden Realism: Art as storytelling

July 1, 2021October 19, 2024 camdenhistorynotes1 Comment

Camden Realism is an art style emerging in the Macarthur region, characterized by storytelling through representational artworks. Artists like Nola Tegel and Patricia Johnston, influenced by Alan Baker, capture local history and change. Exhibitions at Campbelltown Arts Centre showcase their work, reflecting the evolving landscape and community identity.

Aesthetics · Art · Attachment to place · British colonialism · Camden · Camden Community Garden · Camden Park House and Garden · Camden Produce Market · Camden Town Farm · Campbelltown Art Centre · Colonial Camden · Colonialism · Community Health · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · Cultural icon · England · Entertainment · Fashion · Festivals · Heritage · Historical consciousness · History · Landscape aesthetics · Leisure · Living History · Local History · Macarthur · Memorials · Memory · Monuments · Moveable Heritage · Parks · Picton · Place making · Public art · Sense of place · Settler colonialism · War

Gardens: a special place

October 31, 2018January 15, 2019 camdenhistorynotes

The gardens of the Macarthur region are a special place for wellness and wellbeing. The provide a quiet and contemplative landscape for relaxation and thought.