Youth Soap Making Workshop with Ibrahim Awad

Ibrahim Awad is a soaper who leads an Australian owned and operated family business with a strong heritage in soap making that spans more than five generations. His forefathers were soapers in some of the world’s oldest soap factories in the Levant.

Ibrahim carries on the tradition of making soaps, by hand, using the best natural ingredients from Australia and around the world. He brings to life ancient recipes and traditional techniques used by his grandparents and great-grandparents, as well as modern style, to craft soaps for the modern era.

Ibrahim is also an environmentalist and professional civil & environmental engineer and he takes pride in using natural, chemical-free, palm-oil free and cruelty-free alternatives to major retail brands. He takes inspiration and uses freshly picked ingredients from his family’s olive grove, orchard, vineyard, lavender, rose, vegetable, and herb gardens at their small lavender estate in Sydney.

Join us for a specialist class from Ibrahim, the lead soaper and Director of the Sydney Soap Factory.

Sydney Soap Factory worked in collaboration with artist Taysir Batniji to produce ‘No Condition Is Permanent’, which is on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, using traditional Lebanese soap making techniques with Australian olive oil.

Biennale of Sydney’s Education Program is supported by Nido Early School and Western Sydney University.

Getting to the Entertainment Hall

The Entertainment Hall is a newly remediated venue within White Bay Power Station. The entry to the Entertainment Hall is located on Victoria Road. If you are travelling from Robert Street and turning onto Victoria Road, follow the bend around toward the Anzac Bridge overpass. Approximately 50 meters from the intersection crossing, you will see a street sign. Just past this sign on your left-hand side is Gate 5.  

Note: This is a separate entry point from the main White Bay Power Station (WBPS) entrance located further down on Robert Street.  

You will not need to travel back to the main site for any facilities, as there are accessible bathrooms located directly within the Entertainment Hall.  

There is no general on-site parking. However limited spots of 2-hour timed parking can be found in the surrounding local streets. There are two accessible parking spots available near Gate 1 on a first-come, first-served basis. But please note: From the Gate 1 accessible parking area, it is a 300-metre uphill walk to the Entertainment Hall entrance.  

Rideshare Drop-off (Crescent St) - Because cars cannot stop on Victoria Road under any circumstances, we highly recommend getting dropped off on Crescent Street (just off Victoria Road). From there, you can walk a short distance and cross safely at the top of the Victoria Road intersection, avoiding the hill. 

If you have any questions, please contact bookings@biennaleofsydney.com.au