A new wave of creative collaboration is coming to Lighthouse Arts on Whibayganba, Nobbys Headland this November as the Hunter Writers’ Centre launches Critical Creative X Change, a week-long residency for artists, thinkers, and changemakers exploring the theme ECO.
The residency invites eight selected participants from across the Hunter and beyond to immerse themselves in a week of creative development, exchange, and experimentation.
Working from 10 am to 4 pm each day, residents will explore their proposed projects while engaging in shared opportunities for collaboration and discussion.
This year’s theme encourages artists, researchers, and activists from all disciplines to consider the intersections of art, environment, and social change.
From visual art to performance, writing, and political action, the residency provides a space for diverse voices to meet, create, and challenge ideas.
Two $700 stipends are available to support local participation, one for a young person aged 35 or under, and another for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicant living in the Hunter region.
These awards aim to ensure that local and First Nations perspectives are central to the program’s creative dialogue.
In 2025, the Critical Creative X Change will coincide with Rising Tide’s People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port, taking place nearby at Foreshore Park from 27 November to 2 December.
Participants are encouraged to engage with the Blockade and may even contribute to its “Protestival” weekend program on 29 and 30 November, creating a powerful intersection between art and activism.
Critical Creative X Change will take place at Lighthouse Arts on Whibayganba–Nobbys Headland from 24 to 28 November 2025. Applications are open until Friday 24 October via lighthousearts.org.au/creative-critical-x-change.
