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Art enthusiasts, there’s a new reason to hit the M1. On Saturday, February 28, Newcastle Art Gallery officially reopened its doors to reveal a huge site-wide glow-up, officially transforming into the largest public art gallery in NSW (outside of Sydney).
The gallery was born thanks to a generous art donation back in 1945, and the original concrete building was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. Ever since, the gallery has been punching well above its weight for a regional NSW city. But with more than 7,000 works valued at $145 million, the gallery and collection had outgrown its shell. Enter award-winning architects Clare Design (with Smith and Tzannes and Arup), who’ve more than doubled the footprint – adding 1,600 square metres of exhibition space, a café, retail shop, learning studio and an international-standard loading dock to help get the world-class works in and out.
The reopening exhibition, Iconic, Loved, Unexpected, lives up to its name. Almost 500 works from the nationally renowned collection line the reimagined building, from colonial-era painter Joseph Lycett to local legends William Dobell and Margaret Olley, and Aussie and international heavyweights including Emily Kam Kngwarray, Tracey Moffatt and Auguste Rodin.
New commissions ensure that the initial collection isn’t just a greatest-hits reel. A four-metre-high spiralling school of aluminium fish by Shellie Smith and Julie Squires shimmers overhead; architectural-scale works by Fayen d’Evie make the original floating staircases tactile and accessible; and Megan Cope’s powerful Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (Off Country) anchors the central atrium. There’s even a Sonic Acknowledgement of Country by composer Adam Manning, layering Awabakal and Worimi soundscapes through the space.
Can’t get there for a few months? The 2026 program will keep on delivering. From May, Brian Robinson’s Multiverse will bring surreal imaginary worlds to life through immersive animation, cultural iconography and Torres Strait minaral design (a traditional design style using repeating geometric shapes). Come September, Newcastle’s own Angela Tiatia will show her largest-ever survey at the gallery, before national treasure Anh Do closes out the year with a world-first solo show of portraits, Archibald entries and landscapes.
You can learn more about the new gallery here, and you’ll find our guide to the best things to eat, drink and do in NSW’s second city here.
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