New Annual Returns for a Sixth Year of Art, Music and Ideas
- Di von Essen
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
For ten days this spring, Newcastle will once again become its own stage. New Annual, the City of Newcastle's flagship arts festival, returns from 25 September to 4 October with its biggest program yet: 402 artists, 40 events and seven new commissions spread across beaches, ocean baths, laneways, parks and some of the city's most-loved landmarks.
Now in its sixth year, the festival has built a reputation for turning everyday Newcastle spaces into something unexpected. Festival Director Tory Loudon says that instinct, to root every work in a real place, is at the heart of how the program comes together each year.
“When programming, I think about what the story is we are trying to tell and why audiences would want to come,” she says.
“I really believe you have to fight for audiences, and they need to feel that the story or experience is relevant to them. It's also taking art to places where people gather or putting art in unexpected places.”
That philosophy plays out across the 2026 program. The much-loved SOAK: Live at the Baths returns to Newcastle Ocean Baths for four free sunset concerts, curated by Urthboy (Tim Levison) and featuring Hermitude and Claire O'Brien, 92Wrld and Kobie Dee, and Karen Lee Andrews.
Upstairs at the Oriental Hotel, Petite Suite unlocks the pub's history through seven intimate theatrical encounters staged in seven hotel rooms. Neither show, Loudon points out, could exist anywhere else.
“SOAK at Newcastle Ocean Baths could only happen at that spot. The artists respond to the site, and this is the same with Petite Suite at the Oriental Hotel,” she says. “I would say it is about being grounded in a place.”
That grounding extends to who is making the work, too. More than 70 per cent of this year's program features local artists, a figure Loudon says reflects just how much creative talent calls Newcastle home.
“It reflects how many amazing artists live and work in Newcastle, and the rest is about collaborations,” she says. “It's a dream to have so many talented and creative people to showcase.”
Among the seven new commissions is Izabela Pluta's Cavitation, a large-scale installation at the Canoe Pool that responds to the tides, weather and changing light. Floating buoys track the movement of water, drawing on the site's history as home to a world map, while Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub's dancers perform live around the work each morning at 8am.
“Izabela Pluta's new commission by the Lock Up as part of New Annual is about the movement of water at the Canoe Pool and watching floating buoys that reflect the movement of people and migration as well as the tides,” Loudon says.
“We have asked the Catapult dancers to come and dance around the installation every day, again a beautiful reflection on the joys of movement, slowing down, taking in the detail and looking at things closely.”
It's that sense of identity, distinct from any other festival on the calendar, that Loudon sees as non-negotiable. “For me, a festival needs to reflect its place, its people and its character. That is what makes it unique.”
Last year's festival drew more than 50,000 attendees and contributed close to $3.5 million to the local economy, but Loudon says the numbers only tell part of the story. What matters more to her is how people feel.
“For me it's about the public sentiment. I love hearing comments about people feeling proud of the city's abundance of creativity and talent or feeling more connected to other people. That is what we also measure through surveys, and some of the comments make me cry… when someone finds a new artist they love or rekindles their own creativity. We offer lots of hands-on experiences and workshops, so I really encourage people to get involved. It is for everyone.”
For first-timers, or anyone still deciding whether to come along, Loudon has one clear recommendation: “Head to the water!”
“If you have never been to the Newcastle Ocean Baths, then you are in for a treat if you come to SOAK, the free music at sunset, or come and join in the mass ceremonial floating experience, Wansolmoana Lunar Assembly, to be held under a full moon. It will be a special tribute to the ocean and the power of collective gatherings.”
Tickets for New Annual 2026 are on sale now. For the full program, visit www.newannual.com.
Source: intouch Magazine, Issue #122, Spring 2026, p. 25.
