Gosford’s LGBTQIA+ Arts Hub Rallies Community for Final Funding Drive

In the heart of Gosford on the Central Coast, an extraordinary transformation is underway for the local LGBTQIA+ community to create a new arts hub.

An abandoned building, once a symbol of neglect, is being reborn as a sanctuary of creativity, inclusion, and resilience.

Spearheaded by FunHaus Factory, a queer-led not-for-profit arts organisation, the Gosford Arts Centre is shaping up to become the first permanent arts and culture hub of its kind in the region.

Community support needed for new Gosford arts hub

There’s no government safety net here. No glossy campaign dollars.

This is a grassroots revolution driven by determination, bold vision, and, in the words of its founders, “a whole lot of queer love.”

With just two weeks remaining in its $75,000 fundraising campaign and $50,000 still to raise, FunHaus is reaching out to queer allies and city-based communities to help them finish what they’ve started.

FunHaus Factory is best known for the Coastal Twist Festival and the award-winning YAAS! Youth Program, both of which are designed to create safer, more inclusive environments for LGBTQIA+ people, especially in regional areas.

Through partnerships with local libraries, police and councils, the organisation has helped implement inclusive language policies, supported youth mental health, and worked to increase visibility and safety for queer people across the region.

Since the launch of YAAS!, there have been no reported queer youth suicides in two years, a powerful testament to what can happen when marginalised voices are centred and supported.

For co-founder and creative director Glitta Supernova, the mission is as much about social cohesion as it is about self-expression.

“We’re a queer organisation that gets everybody together,” she says.

“We can’t survive on queer audiences alone—so we’ve built our model on integrating every demographic, normalising difference, and creating genuine social cohesion.”

Over the past six years, the organisation has invested more than $600,000 directly into artists.

Of those supported, the overwhelming majority identify as LGBTQIA+, while many are female or gender diverse, from First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse or other marginalised backgrounds, and a significant proportion live with disability.

But without further support, that progress could be jeopardised. In just two weeks the organisation has already raised $25,000 of their $75,000 goal.

The final $50,000 is urgently needed to cover essential fit-out costs, including electrical work, accessible flooring, and fire safety upgrades, requirements that must be met to gain occupancy certification.

These aren’t cosmetic improvements; they’re the foundations that will allow the Gosford Arts Centre to open its doors and provide a lasting home for creativity and inclusion.

“We’re seeing the pink dollar dry up,” says Glitta.

“Arts funding is collapsing, and LGBTIQA+ visibility is being pushed back under the guise of ‘risk.’ But regional communities need us now more than ever.”

“This space is more than bricks and mortar. It’s about fighting invisibility. It’s about rural pride, safe gatherings, dancefloors, drag shows, youth programs, and making sure no one grows up believing they have to leave town to be themselves.”

To donate or learn more, visit FunHausFactory.org and help ensure regional pride has a permanent home.