Art Show Tackles Western Sydney's Surprising Pool Gap

When Toby Chapman moved to Western Sydney and looked for a pool on a scorching 40-degree day, he made a shocking discovery. Penrith, home to 225,000 people and one of Sydney's hottest areas, had just two public swimming pools.

The revelation transformed Chapman's understanding of swimming in Australia. Growing up on the NSW South Coast, he'd always seen the pool as a democratic space where everyone could gather, learn, and cool off.

But Western Sydney told a different story. Chapman, now director of Penrith Regional Gallery, channeled his surprise into action by creating The Pool Show, a summer exhibition examining Australian swimming culture through an honest lens.

The exhibition partners with the Art Gallery of New South Wales but goes beyond their collection. Chapman noticed those historical images showed an incomplete picture of Australia, representing mostly White Australians enjoying the water.

To fill the gaps, he commissioned five artists to create works celebrating communities often left out of swimming's story. These new pieces focus on migrant and refugee experiences, showing both the barriers people face and the joy of overcoming them.

Artist Marian Abboud created Watch the Water, documenting how Western Sydney women from migrant and refugee backgrounds learned to swim. Her own parents prioritized swimming lessons, understanding that water safety meant freedom for their children.

Twenty years ago, Abboud took high school girls to Coogee's ocean baths. Many had never seen the beach despite living less than an hour away, held back by distance, transport costs, and lack of access.

"To be able to float in water is the closest to freedom that a lot of the women have felt," Abboud says of the participants in her project. Learning to swim became about more than safety; it opened up new worlds.

The exhibition also features Robert Campbell Jnr's historic painting Barred from the baths, commemorating the 1965 Freedom Ride. Led by activist Charles Perkins, those protests overturned discriminatory bans that excluded Aboriginal children from pools like the one in Moree.

Why This Inspires

This exhibition proves that art can shine light on inequality while celebrating progress. By combining historical works with contemporary voices, The Pool Show acknowledges past exclusion without dwelling in negativity.

New swimming spots like Penrith Beach are expanding access across Western Sydney. Women who once feared water now float freely, their confidence rippling out to their families and communities.

The simple act of learning to swim becomes revolutionary when access hasn't been equal, and this exhibition honors every person claiming their right to the water.