image: courtsey of the artist

10 - 26 February

Current Artist in Residence, Haruka Sawa, transforms the Police Station into a playground-like structure with her exhibition Playbour. Designed around pulleys, buckets, ropes and ladders, Playbour, reminds us of oppression, structure and responsibility masked in humour and playfulness. Sawa’s drawings and sculpture, displayed in the Gallery, are a direct response to the installation, however the emphasis is shifted to the tension between ‘free’ lines and ‘controlled’ lines.

Please join us for the opening of PLAYBOUR

6PM FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY

image: Conduit, mixed media, 2009

1 - 13 FEBRUARY

Having completed her Bachelor of Photography with Honours at the Griffith University in Brisbane, current Artist in Residence, HARUKA SAWA, will be creating a playground-like structure in the cells.

The playground, however, will not be slides and climbing apparatus, but labour based games designed around pulleys, buckets, ropes and ladders. The installation simultaneously reminds us of oppression, structure and responsibility. However, the inclusion of chance, humour and playfulness also remind us of liberation from these constraints.

Please join us for the opening of 'PLAYBOUR'

6PM FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY

Our current Artist Writer in Residence, acclaimed Author NIKKI GEMMELL, is known best  for her international bestsellers, THE BRIDE STRIPPED BARE, SHIVER, THE BOOK OF RAPTURE and most recently WITH MY BODY. Nikki has complete a BA in Communication and a MA in Writing at UTS. Having lived in London for the past decade, Nikki recently decided to return to Sydney to live with her young family.

Please join us for an in conversation hosted by Helen Hopcroft

WEDNESDAY 5:30PM 25 JANUARY

Image Self Portrait as a Ball, Tom Polo, mixed media on paper, 2009

25 NOVEMBER - 11 DECEMBER

This exhibition clebrates the enormous contribution made to the Lock Up CUltural Centre by the Artist in Residence Program. In the past five years, over 65 creative practitioners: artists, dancers, musicials, writers, poets and architects have resided in the AIR residence and responded to the unique environment of The Lock Up. They have contributed greatly to the enrichment of the Newcastle arts community, through exhibitions, lectures, workshops and performances.

Please join us for the opening

FRIDAY 6PM 25 NOVEMBER

25 NOVEMBER - 16 DECEMBER

Currently undertaking his Masters in Fine Arts at the College of Fine Arts, Sydney, Artist in Resident, Tom Polo, addresses the notion of 'winning' through self-deprecation in his performances, paintings and installations. His use of humour and text based artworks has seen him become one of The Sydney Morning Herald's the(sydney)magazine's 'People to Watch in 2011'.

During his stay at The Lock Up, Polo will be creating a continuous and changing portrait of Newcastle conversations and scenary on the walls of the John Paynter Gallery.

Please join us for the opening of 'I Was Here', featuring Tom Polo

6PM FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER

Image: The Urn, Rowan's Garden, 2011, acrylic on canvas

4 - 20 NOVEMBER

Former Artist in Resident, Leo Robba, spent his residency at The Lock Up focused on a more intimate view of Newcastle's parks and gardens. Places that many of us may walk past or take for granted, garden spaces that are cared for, planned, and reworked over time. Places like Civic Park and King Edward Park are an important part of the cultural and recreational life of Newcastle. By exploring and highlighting these places through his paintings, he hopes that they can be experienced in a different way.

Please join us for the opening

3PM - 6PM SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER

24 OCTOBER - 20 NOVEMBER

Internationally recognized composer and sound artist, and current Artist in
Resident, Jon Drummond, specializes in electronic and interactive
compositions. Gaining his PHD in Philosophy, as well as degrees in both
Science and Music, Drummond will be exploring sonification of ionizing
radiation observed in cloud chambers through his new interactive performance
piece created during his stay at The Lock Up.

Please join us for Drummond's Performance

8PM FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER

Image: (from top) Belinda Street, Working Harbour, Oil on canvas,
John Sorby, Preliminary Sketches, Pen on paper,
Sally Bourke, Fair Weather, Oil on board

14 - 30 OCTOBER

Through their expressionistic and abstract paintings, local artists, Belinda Street, John Sorby and Sally Bourke create an exhibition centred on Newcastle's strong diverse relationship with the Harbour and the sea.

Please join us for the opening

6PM FRIDAY 14 OCTOBER

Image: specimen 001, Carrara Marble (Michelangelo Statuario)

14 - 30 OCTOBER

Exhibiting in the Women's Cells, Gareth Graham continues his examination of the human form through his Marble sculptures. Departing from his Huon Pine sculptures, in which he has exhibited previously at The Lock Up in 2008, Graham explores the ancient Marble from Carrara, Italy where, after winning the Jennie Thomas Travelling Scholarship, Graham revisted the city to hone his practice.

Please join us for the opening

6PM FRIDAY 14 OCTOBER