Home Grown; Bound By Place

Exhibition Dates: 4 September – 5 October 2025
Explore how place, community, and upbringing shape identity.

The HOME GROWN series of exhibitions showcases local artists and those with a significant connection to the City of Willoughby.

HOME GROWN; Bound by Place is a contemporary exhibition that delves into the deep-rooted connection between identity and place. Focusing on personal narratives, it invites artists to reflect on how the environments we grow up in—our hometowns, suburbs, streets, and communities—shape who we are and how we see the world. It also explores the emotional and psychological imprints of place, unpacking the layered experiences tied to memory, belonging, culture, and community.

In an era where mobility, displacement, and digital connection redefine our sense of home, HOME GROWN 2025 reclaims the significance of physical place and lived experience. Through a range of diverse artistic voices, the exhibition reveals how local landscapes and shared spaces influence the construction of self, celebrating the richness of personal history while also challenging nostalgic ideas of home. It is a timely reflection on how where we are from continues to echo through who we become.

Image: Katrina Beissel, Home in time for dinner, 2025, water-mixable oils with acrylic underpainting on canvas

HOME GROWN is part of Emerge Festival 2025, presented by Willoughby City Council