Karen and Jono share a deep connection to their craft, both having undertaken part of their training in Japan in their younger years. Karen studied under master potters in Mashiko, while Jono worked alongside carpenters building traditional timber houses outside Tokyo.
Each has independently carried these influences into their own practice, thoughtfully blending traditional knowledge with a distinctive contemporary approach.
Discover their beautifully considered and finely crafted sculptures and functional works at Back to Back Galleries.
Opening Celebrations Saturday 24th October 3pm with Music on the opening evening by electronic musician Dark Pattern
A monumental solo project by internationally recognised, Newcastle-based contemporary artist Izabela Pluta as part of a major international co-commission with Trafo Center for Contemporary Art, Poland, and presented with key partner New Annual Festival.
Cavitation unfolds across water, sound and fractured cartographies, examining how systems of orientation fail under pressure, repetition and displacement. For Izabela Pluta, place is always relational–through movement, migration and encounter. As a child, Pluta left Poland in 1986. This departure marked a formative moment in the artist's life, reflected throughout Cavitation as a tectonic shift that reorganised geographies and belonging. Rather than a biographical account, the project approaches mapping through notions of erasure and containment that attempt to fix land and water through fixed coordinates.
Across photography, sculpture, sound, moving image and textile, Cavitation presents a constellation of material forms to create sensory encounters and bodily echoes of oceanic movements and planetary orbits, where water becomes both atmospheric field and temporal force.
A fun night of games, prizes, trivia, sing a longs and dancing.
Featuring music trivia from the past seventy years with new topics weekly. Free to play, bookings recomended but not required.
Join them for a day full of fun, local talent, and community spirit.
Local makers and creators, live music all day, face painting for kids (and kids at heart), fashion and unique handmade treasures and delicious food to satisfy every craving.
Come on down for chill beach vibes and fun for the whole family.
There's something for everyone!
Wallsend Frights returns this year with another free community Halloween event.
Ghosts, witches, pumpkins and zombies alike, be summoned to the fields of Wallsend park, where we shall celebrate with games, crafts and entertainment.
This year's Hallow Evening will see a revival of our Haunted House, Weeping Forest and the Boneyard, along with crafting, quests and giant puppets, sideshows and roving performers for entertainment.
Focus: Australian government photographers brings Australia's government photographers out of the darkroom and into the spotlight.
Between 1939 and 1996, dozens of photographers were employed by government agencies to capture Australian life. This fascinating exhibition delves deep into the lives and work of these talented individuals who helped to preserve their rich visual heritage, including Harry Frauca, Jocelyn Burt, Mervyn Bishop and many more.
Focus invites visitors on a journey spanning six decades of Australian life.
Explore a diverse selection of work that includes intimate nature photography, striking architectural shots and images that capture everyday memories from Australia's past.
Experience the power of photography to shape perceptions, ignite conversation and preserve memories.
This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program.
Get ready for the Darby Street Festival — a vibrant celebration that brings together local businesses and residents in a lively, fun-filled atmosphere!
The event will transform Darby Street into a dynamic hub featuring live music, performers, and family-friendly activities. Local businesses will extend their trading hours, offering unique experiences and showcasing everything Darby Street has to offer.
The festival is set to attract a diverse crowd, increase foot traffic, and elevate business visibility, all while solidifying Darby Street as a creative hotspot in Newcastle's growing, thriving community.
Don't miss out on this unforgettable celebration of local talent and community spirit!
People who lived through the Depression years of the 1930s and the Second World War learnt to reuse and recycle, often continuing through life. The Porter women made their own clothes, remodelled older clothes, and mended tears and rips. They knitted, crocheted and sewed, made baskets, embroidered pillowslips and stencilled tablecloths. Whatever could be repaired, was repaired. Sustainability was practised.
Children can explore the workings of household equipment from the early to mid 1900s - the soap saver, a butter cooler, a darning egg and see how flour bags, that once contained flour, were reused.
Ella and Hazel Porter were not rich, their father, Herbert, died in 1919 when they were young children and they were brought up by their mother Florence. After leaving school, they worked as secretaries, typists and shop assistants, supporting themselves and their widowed mother. Their careful lifestyle was a necessity.
So come and see the evidence of a sustainable lifestyle at Miss Porter's House during Make Do and Mend month.
Jackalope Block Party is a free community event designed to find raw talent and give an opportunity for the next generation of Skateboarders to stand out locally and win a trip to the next Jackalope festival in Virginia Beach, USA! Newcastle, Australia welcomes Jackalope back for its 2nd year!
Known for its electric atmosphere and world-class athletes, the event would be held directly on the beach and will include:
Skateboarding competitions in street & park with a prize pool of $10 000-$20 000 AUD.
Step into something special, for a fun weekend for the whole family!
This is an indoor two day event that is perfect for anyone interested in exploring the mystical and spiritual world, or who loves meeting creative artists and buying unique pieces from designers and makers.
Meet with talented artists, healers, and mystics who will be showcasing their unique creations and offering their services.
Browse through a wide selection of crystals, gemstones, and crystal creations or book a reading or healing session with one of the mystics
This is a one-of-a-kind event that you won't want to miss!
Crystals, makers, artists, jewellery, opals, gems and fossils, crystal Terrariums & workshops, Henna Tattoos, health products, wellness products, natural skincare products, healers, psychics, mediums, workshops, kids activities and so much more!
Over AUD1000 of Lucky Door Prizes from the generous stallholders to win in four draws over the weekend!
Join in the workshop to make mini crystal scapes suitable for kids or adults.
Free Kids Quiz where they learn about gems and minerals from the traders, and then receive a crystal once they have completed the quiz.
Tell your friends, bring your family and join in the fun!
Crystals Creatives and Mystics Fair are coming to you with a high vibe family-friendly event with plenty to see, buy and do!
Find what's meant for you!
The Hunter Arts Network Art Bazaar is a high-quality artisan market that has been running since 2002, showcasing the work of talented local artists and makers. In 2025, Art Bazaar entered it's next journey with the event now being held regularly at this new location, while continuing its tradition of supporting creativity, craftsmanship, and community connection. The event also features face painting, coffee, Rotary Club of Wallsend-Maryland – sausage sizzle, hot chips, egg and bacon rolls, burgers, gluten-free options and vegetarian options, and live entertainment by Latin Velvet.
Get ready to rock as Australia's favourite edutainment duo hits the stage for their biggest tour yet! Pevan and Sarah are bringing their high-energy musical extravaganza to theatres across the nation to show you exactly why they are the heartbeat of classrooms everywhere.
In this highly engaging, interactive adventure, your favourite friendly tiger and his spirited bestie will have the whole audience captivated. Expect a setlist bursting with your favourite Pevan and Sarah bangers, plenty of belly laughs and that unmistakable Cub Club magic.
Created by teachers, this show isn't just a concert - it's a brilliant blend of literacy, numeracy and social-emotional learning, all wrapped up in a spectacle that kids (and their grown-ups) will never forget.
So grab your tiger ears, warm up those singing voices and join us for an experience of pure, unforgettable joy. It's time to see the duo in the flesh - and the fur.
