Newcastle Art Gallery

Newcastle Art Gallery began in 1957 in the War Memorial Cultural Centre in Newcastle’s CBD following a donation of over 100 works of art by benefactor Roland Pope. The gallery moved next door to its current location in 1977 and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. Today, the gallery presents a diverse program of over 300 public events and education programs annually, and over 30 events for members of the Newcastle Art Gallery Society. Events include art workshops, guided tours, film screenings, music performances, toddler family days, lectures, seminars, teacher previews and study days.

Exhibition program

The gallery presents a diverse, changing program of up to 20 local, national and international exhibitions a year, 90 percent of which are curated in-house. The exhibition program primarily draws on the permanent collection, as well as public and private collections, and includes the presentation of major touring exhibitions.

Collection

NewcastleArtGallery’s collection presents a comprehensive overview of Australian art from colonial times to the present. It includes important Indigenous barks and poles along with a growing collection of Indigenous contemporary paintings. The collection also includes works on paper, photography and sculpture. The Gallery has the only Australian regional collection which includes a group of Rodin sculptures. It also holds the largest collection of modern Japanese ceramics in the southern hemisphere.

Society and Support

Newcastle Art Gallery Society is an integral part of the social life of the gallery and aims to promote and support the gallery and the development of its collection. There are over 1,300 members who attend exhibition previews and special events including lectures and films. Members also receive the society magazine Artemis. There are also over 140 members of the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation which raises money and manages invested funds to support the development of the collection. Since its inception the foundation has donated works of art in excess of $5.5 million.