Exhibition Floor Talks: Catherine Woolley, Sammy Hawker & Yvonne Miles

Next date: Saturday, 29 August 2026 | 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM

To celebrate the opening weekend of our new exhibitions, you are invited for a morning with the artists.  Gain special insight into our new exhibitions as the artists and curator take you on a guided Floor Talk.

Matters of Time: Contemporary Metal Practices
Catherine Woolley, Curator
Catherine Woolley (b. 1995 Warrang/Sydney, lives in Warrang/Sydney) is a curator and programs producer based on Bidjigal and Gadigal Country, Sydney. She has a decade of experience working across curatorial projects, community engagement programs, and education initiatives in the arts and culture sector. She is currently the Curatorial & Public Engagement Officer at UNSW Galleries where she works with leading Australian and international practitioners, curators, writers and cultural thinkers to develop exhibitions and public programs.

Catherine has curated the recent exhibitions Matters of Time: Contemporary Metal Practices (touring 2025–27); Lisa Sammut: How the earth will approach you (2024); and Pliable Planes: Expanded Textiles & Fibre Practices (touring 2022–24, co-curated with Karen Hall).

Sammy Hawker | Sound-Forms: Whale Song
Sammy Hawker, Artist
Sammy Hawker is a visual artist working predominantly in Canberra ACT (Ngun(n)awal/Ngambri Country). Sammy’s practice explores how resonances of memory and knowledge are inscribed in materials and bodies, the potential of inter-species/inter-dimensional dialogue and how processes of reciprocity and ritual reveal presence.

Sammy’s works form a vast and ongoing archive, documenting sites and moments of exchange. Sammy is a multi-award winning artist who is recognised internationally for her experimental approach to practice. She has exhibited widely at public institutions across Australia.

Yvonne Miles, Marine Biologist
Yvonne Miles is a marine biologist and environmental consultant with more than 20 years’ experience across marine fauna conservation, marine mammal observation, passive acoustic monitoring, applied research, offshore environmental mitigation, expedition interpretation and professional training.

With a particular interest in marine mammal acoustics, Yvonne has worked with passive acoustic monitoring and underwater sound to detect, record and better understand whales and other marine mammals. Her work combines field observation, acoustic technology and education to explore the largely unseen—and unheard—world beneath the ocean surface.

Regional Spotlight 2026
Joie Boulter, Emma Brown, Larissa Dabrowski, Karee Dahl, Paul Giudice, Darren Harrold, Simone Haupt, Lilian Horvath and Aurora Pearce.
Regional Spotlight artists will be joining us for a casual morning, sharing their thoughts and processes behind their art.

When: Saturday 29 August, 10:30am - 12:30pm
Tickets: Free, all welcome.  

REGISTER 

Images: 1. Catherine Woolley, Curator. Photographer: Jessica Wyld 2. Sammy Hawker, Artist. Image courtesy of the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre. Photographer Aaron Chap 3.Yvonne Miles, Marine Biologist. Image courtesy of Women of Ocean Science.

When

Location

Hervey Bay Regional Gallery, 166 Old Maryborough Road, View Map