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
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.[1]
The building is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.[2][3]
Description and governance
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.[2][4]
The Lock-Up is a not-for-profit independent gallery.[5] 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.[6] Funds are also raised via an annual exhibition titled Collect.[5][7]
Exhibitions and programs
The gallery typically runs about six or seven shows a year, usually with original installations,[6] and also supports an artist-in-residence program.[6][4] Art at the gallery has often been social and criminal justice themed, including on issues such as the climate crisis[8] and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.[9]
Performative exhibitions have featured at the gallery,[3][10] 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.[11]
Their 2018 exhibition, justiceINjustice, a collaboration between artists and lawyers which focused on miscarriage of justice,[4][12] 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.[13][14]
Notable artists exhibited at The Lock-Up include Blak Douglas,[12] and Khaled Sabsabi, who was artist-in-residence and displayed work at the gallery from September to November 2024.[15]
References
- ^ "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.