As part of the launch of Newcastle Art Gallery's major reopening exhibition Iconic, Loved, Unexpected, a spatial exhibition in Gallery 10 Narrating Return will open at Newcastle Art Gallery on 27 February.
Led by Dr Anna Tweeddale and D'Arcy Newberry-Dupé from the University of Newcastle's School of Architecture and Built Environment, the exhibition responds to the activities that occurred during the closure and major expansion of Newcastle Art Gallery. The exhibition explores the projects that reimagined the city as a site for art, as the Gallery expanded its walls both literally and metaphorically.
During the construction of the Gallery's expansion from 2022, a series of artist projects and events were presented across Newcastle. Narrating Return brings together materials and remnants gathered from these offsite projects, transforming them into architectural, spatial structures that invite reflection on art, performance, labour, materials, skills, construction and cultural production that unfolded across the city.
The exhibition has been developed as part of a University of Newcastle research project, in partnership with and funded by the Newcastle Art Gallery. It spatially reactivates the archive of offsite projects produced between 2022 and 2025 and serves as the inaugural exhibition in the new Gallery 10.
Narrating Return will be on display in Exhibition Gallery 10 at Newcastle Art Gallery from 27 February to late June 2026 – the 60th anniversary year for the University's School of Architecture and Built Environment.
