New Annual | Ten days of art, culture, and creativity

New Annual presents ten days of art, culture, and creativity in the centre of Newcastle from 22 September to 1 October 2023, delivering unforgettable experiences in unexpected locations. From the art of sidewalk chalk to an epic percussive performance featuring 100 local drummers, New Annual offers a diverse program of dance, circus, visual art, music, and theatre, as well as panel talks, First Nations cultural workshops, walking tours, and mini artist-residencies.

Atong Atem, Our Neighbour was a Witch, 2022. Commissioned by Photo Australia for PHOTO 2022 International Festival of Photography. Courtesy the artist, MARS Gallery, Melbourne and New Annual, New South Wales

Atong Atem, I Have Two of Everything 1, 2022, ed. of 3 + 2 AP, Ilford smooth pearl print, 150 × 100cm. Courtesy the artist, MARS Gallery, Melbourne and New Annual, New South Wales

Visual art highlights include ATONG ATEM, an exhibition by Newcastle-raised South Sudanese photographer Atong Atem comprising video and photographic portraiture, bringing together two recent series of works to present migrant stories and obscured layers of history on a cinematic scale. At Watt Space Gallery, Just Not Australian presents a broad exploration of race, place, and belonging. Consciously enlisting tactics of larrikinism, satire, and resistance, nineteen artists present a multifarious nation divided across numerous issues, challenging contemporary Australian nationhood, from immigration and border protection to land rights and Indigenous sovereignty, bigotry and xenophobia to resource exploitation and climate change.

At Civic Park, a 700sqm maze of glass, mirrors, and moving prisms will transport visitors into another world of constantly shifting illusion with Keith Courtney’s immersive installation, Kaleidoscope. This experience disorientates the senses and challenges our preconceptions, providing access to a new engagement with beauty and tranquillity. And on Hunter Street, The Parallel Effect’s Message From Another You is a single-person adventure into universes unknown. Designed for fans of the multiverse theory and guided by space suit-clad performers, visitors can interact with their parallel universe doubles and doppelgängers. Follow the instructions and keep a close eye on your inbox – another version of you from a parallel world will be in touch.

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