Be the first to experience New Annual 2026 with a Preview Night at The Lock‑Up with artist Izabela Pluta in conversation. This special preview brings together artist Izabela Pluta in conversation with Stanisław Ruksza, curator and director of TRAFO Trafostacja Sztuki in Szczecin, facilitated by The Lock‑Up Director Alexandra Pedley.

Part comedy, part meditation on a changing Australia, TRUCK DRIVER is the latest genre-defying work from Jonny Hawkins and Nell Ranney fresh from its world premiere at the Sydney Opera House. Across one epic haul from cattle country to Uluru, the audience rides shotgun as Bev, expertly played by Hawkins, swings between rage and revelation, dirty jokes and devastating confessions. Belt up and strap in. And please, keep an eye out for roos.

Free

Night Flowers presents a selection of Damien Frost’s iconic photographic series, capturing the charged intimacy of late-night dancefloors where art, performance and self-reinvention collide. Shot over a decade in London and expanded through New Annual, the exhibition premieres new portraits of Newcastle’s queer and alternative communities, celebrating radical identity, place and exuberant self-expression. Soak up the brilliance with a free glass of bubbles on arrival.

Presented by Newcastle Art Gallery, Muse is first major survey of globally recognised and Newcastle-based artist Angela Tiatia.

Family Free

Australian electronic music pioneers Hermitude join forces with Newcastle-based DJ and Ode Label founder, Claire O'Brien for an audio sensory experience at the water's edge. A pairing that's never happened before and may not happen again.