NEW ANNUAL / Cavitation: Breathing Ocean Opening Night and Artist Talk

BETWEEN WATERS

Country, migration and the relations that carry us

New Annual Preview & Artist Talk

Thursday 24 September, 5-7.30pm

Tickets: $20 - capacity is limited, book now

Be among the first to experience New Annual 2026 as artist Izabela Pluta unveils two major new works across Muloobinba/Newcastle.

The evening begins at Newcastle Canoe Pool with a first look at Cavitation: Breathing Ocean, a temporary floating installation presented exclusively during New Annual. Responding to the movements of the ocean, this expansive work transforms the harbour into a unique public art experience.

As dusk falls, join a lantern-lit walk to The Lock-Up for the opening of Cavitation and a special artist talk with Izabela Pluta, Alexandra Pedley (Director, The Lock-Up), and special international guest Stanisław Ruksza, Director of TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art, Poland. This conversation offers a rare opportunity to hear from leading voices in contemporary art as they discuss Pluta's ambitious international co-commission.

Presented at The Lock-Up from 25 September 2026 to 31 January 2027, Cavitation brings together sculpture, photography, moving image, tapestry and sound in an immersive exhibition exploring the forces of tides, pressure and migration, and the ways they shape our environments and our lives.

Please note: Cavitation: Breathing Ocean at the Canoe Pool is a temporary public artwork presented exclusively during New Annual 2026, while Cavitation at The Lock-Up continues through January 2027.

Ticket price includes entry to the artist talk at The Lock-Up and directly supports the delivery of this ambitious public art program.

Accessibility

• The Lock-Up offers wheelchair access at the main entrance, a unisex accessible toilet, and designated accessible street parking. Seating is available, however, if you require a seat and there isn’t one available, please let a staff member know.

• The Canoe Pool offers wheelchair access at the main entrance, accessible toilets, and designated accessible street parking. Limited public seating is available.

Cavitation and Cavitation: Breathing Ocean are major commissions initiated and led by The Lock-Up, Newcastle, and presented in partnership with New Annual 2026.

Izabela Pluta has been awarded a Creative Australia Visual Arts Major Commission grant through the international co-commissioning partnership of The Lock-Up and TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art, Poland.

The Lock-Up and this project are supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, Create NSW, and New Annual 2026.

Collaborators and project partners include the Australian Tapestry Workshop; Adam Hulbert, sound artist, composer, researcher and performer; cultural theorist Astrida Neimanis; Ocean Seagull; Tangaroa Blue Foundation; the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences; Hunter Gatherer Network; Event Engineering; Heritage Stoneworks at the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure; and AX Interactive.

Izabela Pluta is represented by Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert.

Image: Portrait of Izabela Pluta by the Newcastle Canoe Pool. Photograph by Edwina Richards. Image courtesy the artist.