Newcastle Art Gallery has unveiled three major new exhibitions headlined by internationally acclaimed First Nations artist Brian Robinson.
It’s the first full changeover of artworks since the Gallery’s blockbuster reopening earlier this year, and it marks another huge moment for the city’s now-expanded cultural landmark.
Visitors will get the first look at Robinson’s Multiverse, a decade-spanning survey that blends ancestral iconography with pop culture, cosmology and humour. The show includes more than 30 works, among them the NSW premiere of his first immersive installation, Zugubal: The winds and the tides set the pace.
A new series of major vinyl cut prints, inspired by objects from the University of Newcastle collection and commissioned specifically for this exhibition, offers another striking window into Robinson’s evolving practice.
The excitement doesn’t end there. The Gallery has also unveiled The Mordant Family Gift, a significant collection of 25 works donated by philanthropists Simon Mordant AO and Catriona Mordant AM.
This is the largest number of works the family has ever gifted to a single institution, showcasing artists including Ian Abdulla, María Fernanda Cardoso, Janet Laurence, Hiroyuki Kita, Brent Harris, Gemma Smith and many more.
It’s the first time these pieces, spanning textiles, installations, photography, sculpture and painting, have been presented together.
Also debuting is the long-awaited first institutional solo show from Newcastle-based artist Tiyan Baker. Her exhibition, Mouth Mnemonica, centres on a powerful new video work that engages with Bukar, the endangered language spoken by her mother’s Bukar Bidayǔh community in Sarawak.
By weaving together poetic verse, family memory and historic oral records, Baker has created a multi-sensory experience that speaks to language as a vessel of culture and connection across generations.
The Gallery’s expanded footprint is already proving its worth, allowing large-scale, ambitious programming that simply wasn’t possible before the redevelopment.
With more than 80,000 visitors through the doors since February, Newcastle Art Gallery is showing exactly how ready the city is for a new era of bold, diverse and world-class exhibitions. And based on this opening trio, the 2026 program is set to deliver just that.
Multiverse runs from 23 May to 30 August 2026 at the Newcastle Art Gallery. Entry to The Mordant Family Gift and Mouth Mnemonica is free. For more info, head to newcastleartgallery.nsw.gov.au.
