New Annual Preview & Artist Talk: Cavitation

Izabela Pluta opens Cavitation at The Lock-Up on Thursday 24 September, with an opening night and artist talk running from 5:00 to 7:30pm. The exhibition then stays on the walls from 25 September through to 31 January 2027, so you've got plenty of time to come back to it if you can't make the opening.

Cavitation is a monumental solo project by Pluta, a Newcastle-based contemporary artist who's earned international recognition. It's a major international co-commission with TRAFO Centre for Contemporary Art in Poland, with New Annual Festival as a key partner. The work fills the room and is built around fractured maps and oceanic rhythms, and the programme around it — hands-on making workshops, spotlight talks, a poetry evening and a morning drift session — unpacks those ideas. The whole thing is shown at The Lock-Up, the city's contemporary art space on Hunter Street.

Opening night is a bit more than just a first look, too: there's a lantern-lit walk from Canoe Pool to The Lock-Up, which sets the scene before you step inside. The artist talk is part of that same evening, so you'll get to hear Pluta talk through the work while it's still fresh. After that, the exhibition runs for several months, from 25 September to 31 January, so it's there for the long haul.

The opening night and artist talk on 24 September run from 5:00 to 7:30pm, and tickets are A$20 with capacity limited, so it's worth booking early if you want to be there. The Lock-Up is at 90 Hunter Street, Muloobinba/Newcastle NSW 2300.