 The Lock-Up in 2024 | |
 | |
| Established | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Location | 90 Hunter St, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
| Coordinates | 32°55′39″S 151°47′02″E / 32.9275°S 151.7839°E |
| Type | Art gallery |
| Director | Alexandra Pedley[1] |
| Website | thelockup |
The Lock-Up is a public art gallery in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The gallery is located in a former police station and holding cells, which is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.
History
[edit]From 1861 until 1982, the building used for The Lock-Up operated as a police station and holding cells for short-term prisoners. After the police station closed, the site became the Hunter Heritage Centre in 1988, which included a museum and an art gallery. The space was re-launched as The Lock-Up in September 2014, as a dedicated multidisciplinary contemporary art gallery.[2]
The building is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.[3][4]
Description and governance
[edit]The exhibition spaces include several cells, a padded cell, an indoor exercise yard for prisoners, and a considerable amount of graffiti created by prisoners, all of which have been maintained in their original form following its conversion into an art gallery.[3][5]
The Lock-Up is a not-for-profit independent gallery.[6] The gallery receives around $150,000 funding a year from Create NSW, and receives additional support from a patrons program. In 2023, they received a $400,000 grant from Creative Australia, with funds to be provided over four years beginning in 2025.[7] Funds are also raised via an annual exhibition titled Collect.[6][8]
Exhibitions and programs
[edit]The gallery typically runs about six or seven shows a year, usually with original installations,[7] and also supports an artist-in-residence program.[7][5] Art at the gallery has often been social and criminal justice themed, including on issues such as the climate crisis[9] and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.[10]
Performative exhibitions have featured at the gallery,[4][11] including one which incorporated the original graffiti by exploring the characters of "Sue and Dyan", whose names are carved into the walls of one of the cells.[12]
Their 2018 exhibition, justiceINjustice, a collaboration between artists and lawyers which focused on miscarriage of justice,[5][13] won an IMAGinE award from the Museums and Galleries of NSW. Then director Jessi England also received the IMAGinE award for best director that same year.[14][15]
Notable artists exhibited at The Lock-Up include Blak Douglas,[13] and Khaled Sabsabi, who was artist-in-residence and displayed work at the gallery from September to November 2024.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ Rockman, Lisa (8 June 2025). "COLLECT 2025: the artists, curators 'doing time' at The Lock-Up". The Newcastle Herald.
- ^ "History". The Lock-Up. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024.
- ^ a b Neilson, Faye (2020). "Braddon Snape: Internal pressures". Artlink. 40 (4): 62–65.
- ^ a b McMahon, Jennifer A.; Coleman, Elizabeth Burns; Phillips, James; Von Sturmer, Daniel (2016). "Between philosophy and art: A collaboration at TheLock-Up, Newcastle". Australasian Journal of Popular Culture. 5 (2–3): 135–15–. doi:10.1386/ajpc.5.2-3.135_1.
- ^ a b c McKay, Carolyn (2021). "Chapter 15: The aesthetic archive". In Biber, Katherine; Luker, Trish; Vaughan, Priya (eds.). Law's Documents: Authority, Materiality, Aesthetics. Taylor & Francis. p. 278-295. ISBN 9781000511741.
- ^ a b Kellar, Jim (28 May 2023). "Best chance to purchase great Newcastle art in Collect show at The Lock-up". The Newcastle Herald.
- ^ a b c Kellar, Jim (13 December 2023). "Creative Australia awards $400,000 grant to The Lock-Up". The Newcastle Herald.
- ^ Kellar, Jim (20 May 2022). "Buy stunning works of art at a discount with Collect exhibition at The Lock-Up Newcastle". The Newcastle Herald.
- ^ Woodley, Melissa (15 December 2023). "The Dance of the Remediators". Time Out. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024.
- ^ McPhillips, Kathleen (19 April 2023). "How can art respond to stories on institutional child sexual abuse?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023.
- ^ Kellar, Jim (12 August 2022). "The Bender at The Lock-Up is tasty sample of Newcastle's creative DNA". The Newcastle Herald.
- ^ Arrighi, Gillian; Irvine, Clare (2022). "'What do you mean we aren't performing Shakespeare?:': A contemporary, devised performance curriculum at a regional Australian university". Australasian Drama Studies. 80. ProQuest 2675716004.
- ^ a b McGowan, Michael (28 March 2018). "'This must not be forgotten': the artists painting a picture of Australian injustice". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023.
- ^ Kellar, Jim (30 November 2018). "The Lock-Up honoured for justiceINjustice exhibit and top director". The Newcastle Herald.
- ^ "Winners 2018". Museums and Galleries of NSW. 31 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Khaled Sabsabi". The Lock-Up. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
External links
[edit]- 2014 establishments in Australia
- Art museums and galleries established in 2014
- Art museums and galleries in New South Wales
- Buildings and structures in Newcastle, New South Wales
- Contemporary art galleries in Australia
- Defunct police stations in New South Wales
- Tourist attractions in Newcastle, New South Wales
