Nillumbik Artist in Residence Program
The Nillumbik Artist in Residence Program creates artist residencies for local creatives and creatives with a strong connection to Nillumbik.
This program allows artists to explore their practice in an environment removed from the distractions of everyday life, connect to the Nillumbik community and develop Nillumbik-inspired work.
2026-27 Nillumbik Artist in Residence program
The 2026-27 program offers three separate residencies. Each residency offers the successful artists:
- an artist stipend plus payment for public arts-based sessions if applicable.
- an artist-in-residence space
- orientation and induction
- creative support
- promotion
Edendale Community Environment Farm
1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027 (6 month program)
This residency is for individual artists and small artist groups of any art form whose practice explores themes of environment, sustainability, biodiversity, climate, the history of Edendale or related subject matter.
The 2026-27 Artist in Residence
Debra Billson
Debra Billson is a multidisciplinary artist and award-winning book designer living and working on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country. Her art practice combines textiles and digital processes, transforming native flora, recycled plastics, and discarded materials into richly patterned and sculptural works.
During her Edendale residency, Debra will draw inspiration from the farm's natural environment while inviting the community to become part of the creative process. She plans to collect unwanted plastics and fabric scraps from Nillumbik residents and give them a second life through her artworks.
Through hands-on public workshops, Debra will encourage young people to transform everyday throwaways into something unexpected, sparking creativity and fresh ways of thinking about what we discard.
Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library)
1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027 (6 month program)
This residency is for literary artists working across all genres and formats.
The 2026-27 Artist in Residence
Sarah Corridon
Sarah is a writer, journalist, and video producer who has called Eltham home for the past four years. Her career has spanned newspaper reporting in rural Western Australia, corporate communications in New York City, and arts journalism in Melbourne. Currently, Sarah manages the editorial and video output at VicScreen, the State’s creative and economic screen development agency.
Alongside Sarah’s professional practice, she is a creative non-fiction writer. In 2025, Sarah completed a Master of Creative Writing at Macquarie University, and her essay Mother; Almost was shortlisted for the Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Awards.
Sarah’s writing explores belonging, loss, and our relationship with the natural world. She hopes to use this residency to develop a collection of essays, partly inspired by the natural landscapes of Nillumbik, and to make meaningful progress towards her first manuscript.
Baldessin Studio
24 access days between 22 Sep 2026 and 30 Jun 2027
This residency is for printmakers and visual artists incorporating printmaking processes into their practice.
The 2026-27 Artist in Residence
Linda Studena
Photographer: Astrid Mulder
Linda Studena is a Czech-Australian artist working across printmaking, drawing, and photography. Her work addresses migration, memory, and identity, examining the relationship between image reproduction and place. Recent residencies at the Bogong Centre for Sound Culture in Victoria’s High Country and the TYPA Centre and Paper Museum in Estonia have seen Linda work with analogue photography, drawing, monotype, and cyanotype.
During her residency at Baldessin Studio, Linda will focus on plants around St Andrews and the wider Nillumbik Shire that carry histories of movement, including Indigenous and introduced species, garden escapees, and weeds. Working from analogue photographs, she will develop a series of photogravure prints and continue her shadow studies through drawing and monotype.
2026-27 Creative Briefs
Nillumbik Artist in Residence 2026/27 Creative Brief - Baldessin Studio(PDF, 425KB)
Nillumbik Artist in Residence 2026/27 Creative Brief - Edendale(PDF, 551KB)
Nillumbik Artist in Residence 2026/27 Creative Brief - YPRL Eltham Library(PDF, 466KB)