Find art currently on display as part of Art in Unexpected Places.
On display
Art in Unexpected Places by Aria Swan
Originally from Finland, Aria has long been drawn to aquatic environments, having spent much of her childhood swimming in lakes.
After moving to Australia, a chance encounter with a stingray sparked a deep fascination with the underwater world and inspired her to pursue painting professionally.
Working across oils and acrylics, Aria creates atmospheric works that blend abstraction and representation, capturing the movement and beauty of marine life while exploring themes of connection, resilience and belonging.
Aria holds a Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales and has exhibited extensively throughout Australia and Finland. Her work is held in private collections nationally and internationally.
Locations:
- 211 Princes Highway, Rotary Park Albion Park Rail
- Shellharbour Primary School - Mary St, Shellharbour
- Lake Entrance Road (Wattle Road intersection).
- 128 Shellharbour Road, Warilla
Date: August - October 2026
Aria Swan: Where the Ocean Grows Quiet
Thursday 6 August – Tuesday 10 November
When Aria Swan was barbed by a stingray swimming in Shellharbour Harbour, she decided not to return to Finland, and her artworks turned towards ocean themes.
In this world-first exhibition, viewers can experience an immersive world beneath the surface, where light softens and movement slows.
Free and fully accessible, the airport terminal is now a cultural destination with onsite parking and Greenacres Airport Café.
Location: Shellharbour Airport, Airport Road, Albion Park Rail
Open hours
- Monday-Friday 8am-4pm
- Sun 16 Aug 12pm-2pm
- Sun 20 Sep 12pm-2pm
- Sun 18 Oct 12pm-2pm
Artist meet and greet
- Sun 16 Aug 12pm-2pm
- Sun 20 Sep 12pm-2pm
- Sun 18 Oct 12pm-2pm
Sun Passage by Emma Anna 
Anna’s design makes reference to the sun and its journey across the sky. Boonerah Point is a source of natural wonder and the big sky and expansive vistas which it allows for is achieved through a panoramic layering of parkland, water, hills and sky. The sun is a constant presence and passes across this horizon, shaping colours, reflections, moods and memories.
Location: Amenities screening at Boonerah Point Reserve
Date: September 2023
Seagulls by David Boyle
Seagulls is a robust outdoor sculpture that seeks to create an interaction between people and oversized birds.
The artwork creates informal seating where passers-by can have fun with the shapes of the seagulls, with each seagull having its own individual character.
This artwork was installed as part of the Warilla Town Centre streetscape upgrades. More of David’s work can be found at Warilla Library!
Location: Behind Wals Pharmacy, near the amenities building on Hall Lane, Warilla.
Date: 2022
Art on Electrical Boxes by Richard Campbell
Richard Campbell, artist and Director of Gumaraa Aboriginal Experience, created nine paintings on electrical boxes that run throughout George Street, Warilla.
The artworks depict stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. Richard ‘paints from the heart’ and has been doing so for the past 30 years.
Date: November 2021
Mural by Claire Foxton
The artwork is a celebration of local marine life in colours that pop against the ocean and blue sky. Species featured include Mado fish, Green Turtle, Easter Blue Devil fish, Weedy dragon, Humpback Whale and the Short-beaked Common Dolphin.
Location: Beverley Whitfield Toddler Pool, Shellharbour Village
Date: June 2021
Amenities screening by Carla Gottens
Best in Show is exactly that, showcasing various exhibit entries that stand for competition in the Albion Park Showgrounds Annual Show. From Poultry to Dahlias, Best in Show celebrates the community involvement and pride in their region and in their achievements. The artwork draws on traditional wreath designs used for border decoration in printed manuscripts and around the edges of architectural features. The country show is an age old tradition the world over and its charm has seen it transform over the years to incorporate modern achievements while still celebrating skills and knowledge from the past.
Location: Albion Park Showground
Date: April 2021
Amenities screening by Yu Fang Chi
The artwork portrays a connection of local history. Chi’s design for this screening focused on the relationship between people and the contextual background.
Through reference images of events in the showground, the series panel design is a collage of figures, animals, and movements, which echo on the historical events and memories.
Location: Albion Park Showground
Date: April 2021
Amenities screening by Claire Foxton
The privacy screening has been designed to create natural light for an open, inviting & secure space. It features a farm-themed design to reflect the park's history of when the land was owned & farmed by Dick McDonald.
Location: McDonald Park, Albion Park Rail
Date: 2020
Amenities Screening by Filip Bartkowiak
Bartkowiak’s design makes reference to the Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius), and explores the physical details and features of this plant. The design itself is a contemporary graphic of simplified line-work which utilizes patterns, forms and shapes found within the details of the tree. The installation of the panel evocatively showcases a beautiful interplay with natural light.
Location: Top Park, Shell Cove
Date: 2020
Who's got the Chippies? By David Boyle 
Who’s Got the Chippies? is a three-piece sculptural installation by Victorian artist David Doyle, a regular exhibitor at the Sculptures at Killalea exhibition. The fun artwork consists of six simplified seagull forms, arranged in a grouping which is typical of the birds. The artwork installed in the courtyard area, encourages interaction and prompts a joyful response from library visitors.
Location: Warilla Library
Date: 2020
Dragonettes by Vera Moller
Dragonettes were designed to mark Shell Cove as a site of human habitation on the immediate vicinity of an outstanding aquatic environment. Shellharbour’s Bushranger’s Bay Aquatic Reserve at Bass Point is one of the best diving and snorkelling sites in NSW. Dragonettes are sculptural forms arranged into various formations. The decorative surface patterns are loosely based on spot patterns found on the Weedy Seadragon.
Location: Waterfront, Shell Cove
Fluidity by Orlando Norrish
The sculpture is an abstract piece that spans 15 metres in length and is comprised of steel sheets that have been folded into geometric shapes.
It resembles a school of fish that sweeps across the roof of the building and transforms into a flock of birds as it lifts up towards the sky.
The piece is a celebration of diversity, movement, and change both within the natural world and in modern society.
Location: The Imaginarium, Shellharbour Village
Date: 2019
Marine Plates
This collection of vibrant and colourful ceramic plates was part of an engagement activity to involve young artists from local primary schools in the activation of newly built Warilla Library. The budding artists, aged 4-12 years of age, painted artworks on plates in response to a marine theme. The schools involved were Lake South Primary School and Warilla North Primary School.
Location: Warilla Library, Woolworths Ave, Warilla
Date: 2019
Last updated : Mon 21 Sep 2026