Growing Rural Arts In Nathalia
The G.R.A.I.N Store is a not-for-profit nationally recognized rural arts center with a history of exhibitions, performances and workshops located in a converted grain store shopfront in the middle of town.
The G.R.A.I.N. Store has been designated as a “Model Project” for rural development and arts and a unique relationship has been established with La Trobe University. It fosters art which furthers community, the environment, rural health, reconciliation and education locally, statewide and nationally while contributing to the economic development of the area.
The G.R.A.I.N. Store acknowledges the Yorta Yorta people of the Yorta Yorta Nations as traditional custodians of the lands skies and waters where we work. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future and recognise the strong connection to culture and innovation that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.
CURRENT
EXHIBITION
In the Quiet
10 June – 25 July 2026
Opening Event: Wednesday 10th June, 5:30pm hear from the artists in a walking tour and music from local musician Chris Dainton.
The G.R.A.I.N. Store is delighted to present “In the Quiet”, a new exhibition showcasing the work of artists from Nathalia and the surrounding district.
Featuring works by renowned artist Linden Lancaster, Studio Sessions tutor Creagh Manning, the Monday Making Space group, first-time exhibitors, and participants from our recent Art/IT workshops, the exhibition explores the many meanings of quiet through painting, charcoal, pastel, digital media and sculpture..
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Studio with Tim Hocking and Creagh Manning.
$60 per session, Tickets Here
On the First and Third Tuesdays of the month, you can have access to one of these two experienced visual arts educators from Shepparton who are also incredibly skilled artists themselves. The sessions run 9am – 1pm and begin with a guided lesson, followed by the opportunity to show Tim Hocking or Creagh Manning your work in progress and seek their feedback alongside your artist peers.
Suited to beginners right through to experienced artists.
Drawing from Personal Narratives with Mimi Leung
Monday 6th, Wednesday 8th & Friday 10th July 2026
$120 for the course, Tickets Here
In this three-day comic-making intensive, artist and graphic storyteller Mimi Leung will show you how to turn experiences, ideas, observations and memories into powerful visual stories. Explore the building blocks of comics and graphic novels while developing your own unique style.
Through a series of creative challenges and hands-on exercises you’ll experiment with:
– Visual storytelling
– Character design
– Creating movement and action
– Showing the passage of time
– Word and image combinations
– Silent comics with no dialogue
– Comics based on memories, feelings and everyday life
– Developing your own visual language
Make the rules. Break the rules. Create something only you could make.
3 DAYS | 5 HOURS PER DAY
Suitable for young people (age 8 and above) and emerging creatives interested in drawing, storytelling, illustration, comics and graphic novels. Bookings essential
IMPORTANT NOTE: Children must be accompanied by a parent of guardian
COMMUNITY
GALLERY
Currently Vacant!
Do you want to hire our community gallery?
Find out more here!
Making Space on Mondays
Every Monday 10am – 2pm The G.R.A.I.N Store is open via Petticoat Lane, for anyone to come in for a chat or to bring something in to work on.
UPCOMING
LIVE MUSIC
Benny Walker and Band with Madi Colville-Walker
A Walker Family Show
Sunday 28th June 2026
BBQ 1pm, Performance 2pm
Tickets $10 – $40 kids under 12 free (must be accompanied by an adult)
Benny Walker returns to Nathalia for a very special afternoon at The G.R.A.I.N. Store, bringing his full five-piece band back to the venue for the first time in more than a decade. This rare regional full band show, with support from the ever graceful and powerful voice of his cousin Madi Colville-Walker in A Walker Family Show.
You’ll experience playful stories, deep grooves and the warm textural vocals that have made Benny such a beloved live performer. We’re inviting audiences to gather around the outdoor fire, enjoy a barbeque and settle in for a winter-warming afternoon of music and community. Weather permitting, the performance will unfold beneath the winter sky outside the gallery, with a cosy indoor setup ready if needed. Whether you’ve followed Benny and Madi’s music for years or are discovering these artists for the first time, this is a special chance to experience two extraordinary Yorta Yorta voices sharing songs, stories and family connection right here in Nathalia.
About the Artists
A Yorta Yorta man from Echuca, Benny Walker is the real deal. His killer voice and epic tales are mixed with deep grooves and a passion for the land, blending blues, roots and contemporary soul into a live show that is both powerful and deeply heartfelt. His tracks SAVE and Oh No You Don’t shot to No. 1 on the AMRAP charts, with the latter earning Benny four NIMA nominations and the award for “Best Aboriginal Talent” at The Age Music Victoria Awards. He has shared stages with some of Australia’s most celebrated artists, including Archie Roach, Alex Lloyd, Blue King Brown and Tim Rogers.
Joining him is cousin Madi Colville-Walker, a proud Yorta Yorta woman from Echuca/Moama, Madi is an artist whose storytelling and voice stop audiences in their tracks. Writing deeply from the heart, her songs carry wisdom, resilience and warmth beyond her years. She has already shared stages with artists including Archie Roach, Kutcha Edwards and Fanny Lumsden, while continuing to carve out a powerful musical identity of her own. Madi is also no stranger to G.R.A.I.N. Store audiences, having spent some of her formative years testing material in front of Nathalia’s wonderfully supportive music lovers.
thegrainstore.org 