BHP supports mobile creative studio in partnership with Curtin University

Supported by BHP’s $20 million WA Nickel Community Fund, BHP and Curtin University have announced a $2 million investment in an innovative, mobile creative studio, set to bring cutting-edge technology, skills and opportunities to communities across Western Australia’s Goldfields region.

The off-grid mobile studio called The Crucible Effect but affectionately dubbed ‘Nugget’, will be equipped with laser cutters, 3D printers, robotics, ceramics tools and publishing equipment.

The initiative is the brainchild of Western Australian artist and Curtin University researcher and Associate Professor Kirsten Hudson, who said Nugget will travel between Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Kambalda, Leonora, Leinster and Wiluna, bringing people together to learn, connect and turn ideas into reality.

“The Goldfields region already holds extraordinary ideas, cultural intelligence and ambition. This project will transform those powerful ideas by giving communities the creative and technical tools required to take their creativity to the next level,” Associate Professor Hudson said.

“Nugget is what people will spot on the road. The deeper work is what continues after it leaves - a project gets stronger, a skill gets passed on and an idea becomes something people can use, show, sell or teach.”

Designed to build lasting community capability, Nugget will support local partnerships, skills development and pathways into education, employment and business opportunities.

Currently under construction, the mobile studio is scheduled to begin its first Goldfields tour in March 2027.