Newcastle Art Gallery Re-Opens

Newcastle Art Gallery will re-open Tuesday 2nd June, following the NSW Premier’s announcement that cultural institutions can re-open from 1 June amid easing COVID-19 restrictions.

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The Gallery will re-open to visitors with separate, two-hour daily sessions from Tuesday 2 June - 10am to noon and 2pm to 4pm.

After first booking their attendance online, up to 40 people per session will be able to view HOMEWARD BOUND: the art and life of Tom Gleghorn and REPEATER: from the collection, an exhibition exploring repetition drawn from the Gallery’s collection.

Visitor numbers will be monitored through a ticketing system and extra cleaning and touch-free hand sanitisers will be provided as part of our focus on keeping our guests and staff safe. Signage and floor decal markers will help ensure social distancing.

“We are delighted to re-open Newcastle Art Gallery in a way that’s safe to the public,” Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.

“With regional tourism permitted from 1 June we’re looking forward to safely welcoming visitors back to our Gallery while giving some of the 1,000 people who have viewed our current exhibition online the chance to see Tom Gleghorn’s works of art in person.

“Thanks to our staff who over the past two months have delivered a range of quality online programs, such as virtual exhibition tours, a collection recreation challenge, weekly Art Cart activities, Youth Week programming as well as a collaborative online exhibition with regional Galleries across NSW.”

While public programs remain suspended, the Gallery will continue to share the collection and digital experiences via its website and social media.

Newcastle Museum remains temporarily closed to the public while a plan for its safe re-opening, mindful of the facility’s interactive attractions, is developed.

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EXHIBITION - HOMEWARD BOUND: the art and life of Tom Gleghorn

For the first time since opening, visitors can now physically view HOMEWARD BOUND: the art and life of Tom Gleghorn.

Considered to be one of Australia’s finest and most influential abstract expressionists, Newcastle Art Gallery is proud to be staging the first major survey of Gleghorn’s work. HOMEWARD BOUND: the art and life of Tom Gleghorn features drawings and paintings from across the artist’s extraordinary career of more than 70 years.

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REPEATER: from the collection

REPEATER: from the collection presents works of art that imitate life amidst a pandemic, as we take a more minimalist approach to life, or find ourselves repeating the same motions day after day. But instead of monotonous or mundane, repetition can be comforting. This exhibition encourages us to focus on the beauty of the familiar.

(Above: Peter ATKINS Corona totem 1991 (detail) mixed media on board 40.5 x 40.0cm Gift of Mr Murray Lott through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program 2013 Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy the artist)

Drawn exclusively from the Gallery's collection, the exhibition features new acquisitions by Daniel Boyd, Robert Jacks, Jennifer Keeler-Milne and Emily Kame Kngwarreye, contemplative works by locally born or based artists Peter Atkins, Nicola Hensel, Bree Rooney and Lezlie Tilley, as well as hidden gems and iconic favourites from the collection by Marion Borgelt, Kerrie Lester, Peter Tully and many more.

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For more information about both exhibitions visit www.nag.org.au