About Us

Having graduated from UNSW College of Fine Arts in 2013, Dominikas creative career has taken her from large scale floral installations in various locations around Sydney and South East Queensland, to running events and programs for various community organisations. 

With an art practice that spans from textiles to photography to collage and poetry, Dominika’s passion is teaching and sharing the transformative power of art to under-served communities. 

Dominika is the current Managing Director of Substation Arts Space

A long time staple in the Brisbane art scene, Tony has been making kites and pottery since the seventies, inspired by Japanese craft and culture. Recently exhibiting both together at the Brisbane Institue of Art.

For 30+ years he has taught children kite making and traveled throughout Asia as guest kite artist.

Tonyhas also painted landscapes since the sixtes, mainly the mountain landscapes of the Kimberly [W.A], Alice Springs [N.T.] and the Scenic Rim [S.E. Qld].

Tony’s connection with Hands on Artists started in the late 1980’s.

Tony Rice Dip. F.A .1978.[S.A. School of Art, Qld College of Art].

Anthony’s creative practice is photography — not as a profession, but as a way of chronicling life, documenting political and community moments, and finding meaning through perspective and framing. He photographs the people, movements and places he’s part of.
He came to the arts world through a long-standing interest in creativity and artistic thinking, and has helped found and form two artists’ cooperatives. For Anthony, the cooperative model offers artists something genuinely valuable: autonomy, independence and democratic self-determination in how they work within community and bring about change. What underpins his commitment to Hands On Artists Co-op is a conviction – developed over four decades of work in cooperative development, environmental movements and human rights – that cooperation is not an alternative way of doing things; it’s the primary way. Art, like cooperation, thinks in and out of scales and across time and space. The two belong together.

Since graduating from Art College in 1982, Julia has pursued career opportunities embracing the visual arts.

This has been diverse, and multidisciplinary and best explained by natural curiosity and driving desire to do most things herself.

After majoring in printmaking, commercial art and screen-printing occupied several years, in conjunction with tuition at various community hubs. Around 1989 Julia started various small community art projects generated from the Substation – then “Hands on Art”. This led to regional arts tours and jobs, with Hands on Art and Flying Arts across different skill sets built along the way – parade work, large props, teaching printmaking, drawing, mosaics, and other acquired arts disciplines.

In 1999 Julia became integrally involved in working in community art events – creating large decorative pieces with community input.
The scale of these projects included The Gateway Bridge Opening, a Mine and Port Celebration and various Brisbane River festival pieces. 

Currently Julia is based on the Sunshine Coast where she continue her arts practice which has developed into cermamics. 

Though it took her some time to shout herself out as an artist, the arts are embedded in Donna’s life. 
That is why she is passionate about supporting others to invite the arts into their lives either as makers, patrons or learners.

Her early years were shaped by an exposure to clay, macrame, printing, tie dye, anything craft based. It was the 1970’s.

In the 80’s art school lured her close, only to find no support in encouraging me at the thing she loved most and excelled at.

After years of skirting round the edges of all things arts based- via attending workshops, residencies and meeting other artists, she eventually found her way.

She has worked (read been paid) to facilitate practical based art classes, mostly textile focused. She has been a florist – (read a sculptor of flowers) And now a creative entrepreneur running her own small business at the Queensland Children’s Hospital with her eldest daughter Freya, called Thinking of You Gift. This has been her most creative work to date – designing a meaningful occupation for her disabled daughter and herself We stock handcrafted fair trade gifts and Freya makes greeting cards and bunting.

Donna’s first involvement with Substation Arts was with a sub branch of the Co Op in 1989 in Far North Queensland. It is an honour to be involved in renewing the arts at the Paddington substation and continue her long association.

mogen Frangou is a visual artist currently based on the Sunshine Coast. Showing artistic promise from a very early age, she can often be seen wandering the streets with a sketchbook and pen (or ten) in hand. For Imogen, drawing is both a compulsion and a pleasurable pastime. Her work is often colourful, psychedelic and strange, sometimes created in a single sitting by letting the pen take her where it wants to. Her media of choice include marker, fineliner and gel pen. 

Lynnette seeks to create authentic opportunities for youth to showcase, broaden and celebrate their artistic skills. While she has worked as an Art teacher in QLD schools as well as abroad within the International Baccalaureate framework, she still strongly believe that engaging youth outside of these structures provides a unique opportunity to spark meaningful connections. 

Art can be many things: a school of thought, a way of life, a seed of change or even a reminder of who we are and what we dream of. That is passionate about her work with Hands on Artists – to be a part of an entity that generates these endless possibilities and to bring that potential into our communities. 

Graduating in 1988 at QUT’s first Bachelor of Visual Arts, Maureen has contributed to 33 solo exhibitions and 32 group shows including: British Art Fair 2004, Domes and Dames: Soho House London 1999, Desire and Pursuit of the Whole: St. Petersburg 2001.

In 2007 Maureen won the Tattersall’s landscape Prize, she has also won the Churchie Art Prize, 2 Hill End (NSW) Artist Residency’s and been hung in the Salon De Refuse’s with her portrait of Robert Forster of the Go Betweens.
This painting was printed in the Berlin edition of Rolling Stone Magazine 2018.

Maureen has run Art Therapy classes at the Wesley Hospital for 25 years for the Choices Cancer support group.

In 2019 Maureen was invited to curate and exhibition honoring her teacher William Robinson at the QUT Old Government house: Elixir of Light.

Maureen is an Artist Mentor in the Ripple Effect and has worked with her mentee artist for over 7 years