Amanda's Ambling's

On Friday, 6th March 2026 I went to check out the newly built and renovated Newcastle Art Gallery. The new design of the gallery is more spacious, with I think it was 9 or 10 separate Gallery spaces within the building. It incorporates both the new and old building seamlessly.

I participated in a free guided tour of the Art Gallery, which was undertaken by knowledgable Volunteer guide Sue. The guided tours run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week for 30 minutes at 12pm. Bookings are recommended. It was a fairly decent sized group that I did my guided tour with and we started off in the new building of the gallery, to then wind around several of the galleries to then lead into the old building and several of the galleries that it holds, before leading back into the new building again and the remaining galleries.

Iconic Loved Unexpected is the Newcastle Art Gallery’s collection in 2.5 times the space with $145 million in Art. As mentioned above, there are Free Guided Tours each week, along with Studio Weekends which are also free and run on weekends from 10am-12pm and are drop-in art-making sessions for all ages and abilities. Also, on Friday nights are Friday Night Sounds from 5-8pm, and are also free. Friday Night Sounds includes live performances from local and national acts throughout the year.

Once you’ve wandered around the Gallery admiring the vast array of Art on show, make your way back downstairs to Hilliers Cafe for a coffee and/or some delicious food. Across the hall from Hilliers cafe is the Newcastle Art Gallery Shop where you will find a vibrant array of products to peruse and purchase.

There are a variety of exhibitions on now and upcoming, both ticketed and free, throughout 2026 and 2027, head to the Newcastle Art Gallery’s website to find out more: newcastleartgallery.nsw.gov.au

Newcastle Art Gallery is located on Awabakal Country, 1 Laman Street, Newcastle 2300. Opening Hours Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-4pm, admission is free. Accessibility – wheelchair and stroller friendly.