Creative Caldera’s New Regional Arts Festival
Creative Caldera is a not-for-profit curatorial and production initiative based in the Tweed, working with artists and local communities to support contemporary creative practice across the region. This year marks the pilot launch of the LAVA Arts Festival, running from 26 to 28 June across Murwillumbah and surrounding villages. The program weaves together visual art, performance, sound and community-led events across spaces throughout the town.
Kirsten Devitt, a committee member of Creative Caldera, says LAVA grows directly from what already exists in the region’s creative life.
“It builds on the legacy of the Murwillumbah Arts Trail while opening into something broader and more contemporary,” she says.
“A festival that brings together visual art, performance, sound and ideas in a way that feels fresh, accessible and full of discovery.”
Murwillumbah’s creative culture is shaped by its history, close community ties and a quiet openness to experimentation. Artists are drawn to places where there is room to think, test ideas and work alongside others.
LAVA builds from that foundation. Works appear across town in unexpected and familiar spaces, bringing artists, audiences and venues into closer proximity. At its centre are free public events designed to welcome people who may not usually see themselves as arts audiences.
Beyond the festival itself, Creative Caldera continues to work with artists and arts workers across the region, supporting ongoing collaboration and visibility.
Kirsten describes this as long-term work shaped by a changing arts landscape across the Tweed, where creative practice is steadily expanding in both reach and confidence.
She hopes LAVA leaves people with a sense of closeness to the work — to the artists, the place, and the creative energy running through the region.
More information and the full LAVA Arts Festival program are available at www.lava-arts.com.au.
