Newcastle Art Gallery Expansion
Locally Grounded. Nationally Engaged. Globally Minded.
Newcastle Art Gallery has been at the heart of our city’s rich arts and cultural history for over forty years. On 26 September we welcomed the community back into the Gallery, unveiling the first new spaces completed as part of our landmark expansion project.
Visitors were treated to a taste of the Gallery’s $145 million collection alongside major First Nations commissions and acquisitions, which are on display across three of the new gallery spaces, entry foyer and soaring central atrium.
Our expansion project has delivered an additional 1,600 square meters of exhibition space - more than doubling the space to showcase our city's collection and our artists’ most groundbreaking ideas.
The project also delivered a new café and retail shop, multi-purpose and educational program spaces, and a secure international standard loading dock.
What will you see?
The Gallery has commissioned Newcastle-based artists Renae Lamb and Adam Manning to create significant new works of art for both the front entry and central atrium of the building. These are among the first works of art visitors experienced when we unveiled the double height atrium and three of the new gallery spaces during the New Annual festival.
Significant works by First Nations artists and other works from the Gallery's collection are also on display since the new Gallery spaces opened during New Annual. Visitors can also check out the new Gallery shop and Learning Studio, which features an inaugural window commission by Newcastle artist Maggie Hensel-Brown.
The Gallery will be open each Friday to Sunday with timed entry and free guided tours while the remainder of the Gallery spaces continue to be prepared in line with the strict environmental conditions required for the return of its nationally significant $145 million collection.
A full reopening of the entire Gallery will be held in February 2026, in conjunction with a major exhibition of works of art from the collection and the unveiling of the commission by internationally renowned artist Fayen d'Evie.
For more information visit the Gallery’s website: newcastleartgallery.nsw.gov.au
How is this project being delivered?
Before any work could begin, we first needed to pack up over 7,000 works of art. Learn more about the care and planning required to pack up and safely store our world-class collection.
This site itself also required a lot of work before construction could commence. Site preparation works, including remediation of historic mine tunnels 80 metres below the building, were completed to ensure the safety of the site ahead of the main expansion works. Newcastle's long coal mining heritage means that much of the city centre sits on top of a number of historical underground mine workings, which date back as far as the early 1800s.
Around 13,500 cubic metres of grout, which is equivalent to five-and-a-half Olympic-size swimming pools, was successfully placed in the Dudley and Borehole seams running underneath the site as part of the project's Grouting and Verification Plan approved by Subsidence Advisory New South Wales. The remediation work was made possible with the support of the Newcastle Mines Grouting Fund, administered by the Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation.
Work also included investigation of the existing building's structure and services, relocation of some underground utilities, and heritage investigations to record the history of the site. In late 2023 you may have noticed archaeologists at work uncovering and documenting the history of the site which included homes, a hotel and a cordial factory. Find out more about the history of the site.
The expansion project was supported by $5 million from the Australian Government under the Regional Recovery Partnerships program and $5 million from the New South Wales Government, as well as $12 million from the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation made possible through the Valerie and John Ryan bequest, Margaret Olley Trust, and community fundraising over many years.
Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organisation. Be part of the story. Visit nagfoundation.org.au for more information.
Watch the expanded Art Gallery take shape
Exciting new art commissions
The reimagined Newcastle Art Gallery will feature exciting new commissions from talented artists.
Shellie Smith's six-metre-wide suspended sculpture will fill the atrium and greet visitors at the new-look Newcastle Art Gallery.
Read more about Shellie Smith's design and concept proposal for the work of art, which is made up of 30 cast aluminium fish shimmering in a spiralling school.
Internationally renowned artist Fayen d'Evie has been commissioned to create two groundbreaking sculptures to help improve the accessibility of the expanded Newcastle Art Gallery.
The works of art will create a sculptural solution to the floating staircases on the ground level of the original 1977-built Art Gallery, which were retained as part of the expansion project but did not adhere to modern building code standards for visitors who are blind or visually impaired. Learn more about how these sculptures will centre blind experiences and invite conversations between sighted and non-sighted visitors to the expanded Gallery.
Fayen d'Evie sculpture render
First Nations culture will be celebrated at the heart of the expanded Newcastle Art Gallery following the acquisition of a significant work of art by internationally acclaimed Quandamooka artist Megan Cope.
Generously donated by the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation, Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (Off Country) features 44 poles adorned with a bouquet of rock oyster shells, which are suspended within the new central atrium of the Gallery and visible from the ground and first floors.
Local artist Maggie Hensel-Brown's intricate needle lace work, Process, progress, repeat features on the windows of the Gallery's Learning Studio, which fronts onto Darby Street.
The Gallery has commissioned Newcastle-based artist Renae Lamb to create a significant new work of art for the double height central atrium of the building.
Renae’s beautiful songlines design has been fabricated in steel and permanently installed in the concrete floor of the central atrium.
Renae is a proud descendant of the Wiradjuri and Wongaibon people of Central West NSW.
Her work, Dabuyarra murun: A story of life, legacy, and connection, 2025, was inspired by strong women and connecting stories, and has been installed where the original 1977 building and the new expansion meet.
“The rivers and songlines are the threads that bind us together, reminding us that no matter where we go, we are always connected - to each other, to the land and to the wisdom of the women who guide us,” Ms Lamb said.
“These lines represent the journeys we take, the stories we tell and the connections we form with one another.”
Photo: Installation view, Matt Carbone.
Adam Manning was born on Awabakal/Worimi Country and has Kamilaroi kinship.
His work, A Sonic Acknowledgment of Country, 2025, unfolds as a journey through five distinct soundscapes drawn from Newcastle, Awabakal Country and surrounding areas.
“Composed in 2025, it represents my most expansive creative work to date. The structure is a call and response between Country and composer, where each natural sound shapes the musical narrative that follows,” Mr Manning said.
It is among the first works of art visitors experience in the double height atrium.
“Whether it’s the pulse of the clapsticks or the quiet breath of the forest, I hope visitors feel a sense of calm and connection to the land.”
