The Waverley Artist Studios are welcoming a new wave of creative talent this year, with five artists now settled into their residencies for 2026–27 — and the doors already open for those wanting to apply for the next round.
Fergus Berney-Gibson, Keila Terencio de Paula, Lauren Brincat, Neil Beedie, and Jake Starr are the artists currently in residence at the studios, which are located at the School of Arts on 138 Bondi Road, Bondi. Between them, they bring an impressive breadth of practice spanning sculpture, installation, painting, film, new media, photography, performance, puppetry, and interdisciplinary work.
Lauren Brincat works across performance, video, installation, and sculpture, using sound and movement to engage communities in non-verbal modes of expression. Fabric plays a recurring role in her practice — a material she uses as a kind of stand-in for social cohesion, exploring how it interacts with the body, space, and notions of gender.
Brazilian-born performance artist Keila Terencio de Paula brings together physical theatre, puppetry, movement, and installation to create immersive works. Based on Gadigal Land, she has collaborated with the Sydney Opera House’s Centre for Creativity, Belvoir St Theatre, and a range of other organisations, and has presented work internationally including at the Pesta Boneka Festival in Indonesia.
Neil Beedie’s practice cuts across painting, performance, and sound, investigating how historical memory and mythology shape our lived experience. He has been exhibiting in Australia and internationally since 2013, and performed at Dark MOFO in 2025.
Fergus Berney-Gibson is an artist and writer who examines the intersection of gender and power through the lens of the hero’s journey, working with processes like printing, casting, and photography. A graduate of the National Art School with both a BFA and an MFA, he has been a finalist in a number of prizes including the 2024 Macquarie Emerging Artist Prize.
Rounding out the cohort is Jake Starr, a research-based artist whose practice moves across new media, sculpture, film, and text. Their work is deeply speculative in nature, drawing on frameworks including post-structuralism, queer ecology, and affect theory to imagine futures beyond dominant historical narratives.
The residency program offers participating artists a fully subsidised studio space for 12 months, along with paid professional development opportunities such as workshops, artist talks, and public art projects. Artists are also expected to participate in an open studio event towards the end of their residency, giving curators, funding bodies, and community members a chance to see the work that has developed throughout the year.
Applications for the 2027–28 residency — which will run from March 2027 to February 2028 — are now open and close on Sunday, 11 October 2026. The program is open to emerging, mid-career, and professional artists with an interest in working within the Bondi and greater Eastern Suburbs area.
For more information or to apply, visit waverley.nsw.gov.au or email visualarts@waverley.nsw.gov.au.
Published 7-September-2026
