Arts North West executive director Caroline Downer said she was impressed by applications to be part of the residency program.

READ ALSO:

"We are so lucky to have fabulous museums run by dedicated volunteers scattered throughout our region and I am sure the artists will find a treasure trove of inspiration during their residency," she said.

"I hope the In the Museum residency project will inspire other local creatives to engage and explore their local historical societies and museums for inspiration and to create new connections within their communities."

Ms Powell -- known as a mixed media artist who conducts paper-making and journal creation workshops -- will be found working onsite at the railway museum two days a week until the end of May, often on a weekend.

Her 'artist in residence' status will be extended to the next railway markets on June 5.

She said she's working with museum volunteers and using the museum's surrounds and items for inspiration to create a series of journals, with a friendly nod to the famous Bradshaw's handbooks. Ultimately these journals will be incorporated into the museum's display.

Paper for the journals will be created from plants collected around the railway precinct, with the binding of the books also part of the artistic enterprise.

While Ms Powell said two months is insufficient time to complete a major art project, this stint will lay groundwork incorporating research and planning for further artistic undertakings, and is more an indication of 'work in progress'.

A related exhibition at the Artists' Collective Studio gallery is slated for next year.

Ms Powell said the aim of the grant funding is to engage museums in a different way with their communities and the visual arts. She's also on a mission to get young people involved, potentially through a workshop.

The project is funded by the NSW Government's Arts Restart.