Maryborough Sketchers Celebrate Five Years, One Building at a Time

Published on 01 August 2026

Story: Lizzie Macaulay, Bigger Picture Business Solutions. Photo: Cody Fox, Cleva Media

For the past five years, a small group of artists has gathered outside Maryborough City Hall on the first Sunday of every month, sketchbooks and hats in hand, ready to capture the town exactly as it is in that moment. This August marks a milestone for the group, five years since it all began, and there's no photograph taken home to work from later. Everything happens on location, in real time, as the world moves around them.

That's the whole point, according to April Spadina, who coordinates the Maryborough chapter of Urban Sketchers. "It's all about capturing the atmosphere of the landscape and what's going on at that moment," she says. "It's not by taking a photograph and taking it home, it's by sketching on location, and that way you can capture everything that's going on in that moment, all the movement and all of the energy that's happening in that space."

Urban Sketchers is a worldwide organisation with a simple mission: raise the profile of on-location drawing as a way of telling the story of a place, and connect people around the world who draw where they live and travel. Nowhere does that mission feel more fitting than Maryborough, a town nestled on the banks of the Mary River and known for its heritage architecture, industry and history.

The local chapter's story began almost by accident. About five years ago, Brisbane Urban Sketchers travelled up to Maryborough for a weekend during Heritage Week, drawn by the town's collection of heritage buildings. "There was about fifty sketches scattered throughout the CBD," April says. When the Brisbane group headed home, the local sketchers who'd joined in decided the momentum shouldn't stop there. "We should start our own group," they said. So they did, becoming a registered chapter of the worldwide organisation. "We've been running for five years now," April says.

These days, the group meets on the first Sunday of every month, from 9.30 until 11.30am. More often than not, that means setting up on the green space beside Maryborough City Hall, though the group isn't tied to one spot. They've sketched at Lupton Gardens, taken a day trip out to Howard, and turned up at art galleries or wherever something special happens to be going on.

What strikes April most about the group isn't the skill on display, though there's plenty of it. It's who turns up. "We have all ranges of artists that come along," she says. "We've got some really amazing artists, and then we've got real novices, and it's all ages. We have little children that come along and fully fledged grown-ups that come along, and it's just such a beautiful community event, because anybody's welcome. Doesn't matter what your skill or your age, everybody's welcome to come along and join in."

The session itself builds towards a small ritual that has become the heart of the group's identity. As 11.30 approaches, sketchers are reminded to make their way back before the City Hall bell chimes. When it does, everyone takes part in what's known as the throw down. "It's where we all throw our artwork down on the ground, and everybody gets to stand around and have a look and see what everybody's created in that two hour timeframe that they've had to sketch," April explains.

It's as much a community moment as an artistic one. "It's a really beautiful way of coming together as our little community, and people who are wandering by stop and have a look at what we're doing, and we get to be inspired by each other's creations," April says. Onlookers often can't help but join in the appreciation. "There's people oohing and aahing and saying, 'Oh, how did you do that?' and 'I love the way you've done that.' So it gives them great inspiration for the next time they come along."

This August, that sense of community will be on full display when the group marks its fifth anniversary. To celebrate, Urban Sketchers Maryborough is holding a showcase of members' work at Gatakers Artspace, running from 1 August to 6 September, giving the wider community a chance to see five years' worth of the town captured through its sketchers' eyes.

For anyone tempted to pick up a pencil and join in, April makes it sound simple. "Just turn up on the first Sunday of the month at the Maryborough City Hall. It's free. Anybody can come along." The group's Facebook page carries all the details for each session, including any changes of location. Beyond that, the instructions couldn't be more straightforward. "Just bring a hat, bring your sketching materials, and turn up and have fun."

It's a fitting approach for a group built entirely around showing up, sketchbook in hand, and seeing what the moment gives you. Or, as the wider Urban Sketchers movement puts it, seeing the world one building at a time.

This story appears in the August 2026 edition of Fraser Coast Scene, our monthly guide to What's On across our Cultural Services venues.