Spotlight Talks & Pocketbook Poetry brings together The Lock-Up’s Youth Advisory Panel and Newcastle poetry collective Pocketbook for an after-hours evening responding to the exhibition A soft space to stand. Enjoy short spotlight talks and exhibition tours led by the Youth Advisory Panel, followed by a welcoming open-mic poetry session inviting audiences to reflect on softness, care and the ongoing crisis of living. Featuring an interactive poetry exchange and space for gentle participation, this free event is an invitation to reflect on the curatorial theme of softness, as both a creative tool and a means of responding to the ongoing crisis of living.

Bar open from 5pm
Tours 5.30 - 6.30pm
Pocketbook from 7pm

Image: Exhibition view, 'A soft space to stand', featuring Alysha Fewster, 'Doing the Washing–A Ritual', 2025, eaturing Alysha Fewster, Doing the Washing – A Ritual, 2025, The Lock-Up, Muloobinba/Newcastle, 13 December 2025 to 3 May 2026. Courtesy the artist. Photography by Wanagi Zable-Andrews.

Contact the host of A SOFT SPACE TO STAND / Spotlight Talks & Pocketbook