City of Newcastle will work with the NSW Government to assess options for long-term affordable access to creative spaces for artists, makers and cultural organisations.
The action is a priority under the new Cultural Plan 2026-2036, which was unanimously adopted at last night’s council meeting.
Civic Theatre’s Upstage at the Playhouse is one of the current City of Newcastle programs supporting the city’s cultural sector. Pictured here is the production of Karma Kafe being performed at the Playhouse in 2025. Photo credit: Elena Gan
The plan will guide City of Newcastle’s commitment to local arts, culture and creative industries during the next decade.
Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said nurturing Newcastle’s creative soul was essential as it continued to grow and develop into a vibrant global city.
“Culture is not simply entertainment. It shapes how our neighbourhoods feel, how we relate to our past and how young people imagine their future,” Cr Morris said.
“This plan supports practical action, from affordable creative space and stronger support for local artists to investment in live music, nightlife and community infrastructure.
“It recognises that creativity happens across the whole city and commits to creating opportunities for communities across Newcastle’s suburbs.”
By 2036, the plan aims to deliver a city where First Nations leadership is embedded throughout cultural life, where culture is accessible in every neighbourhood and where artists can sustain careers locally.
It is split into a series of short, medium and long-term goals, and clarifies City of Newcastle’s role as a champion, advocate or enabler of those actions.
Community and Culture Strategic Advisory Committee Chair, Councillor Jenny Barrie said extensive industry consultation had grounded the plan in lived experience.
“We worked with more than 70 stakeholders to understand the opportunities, pressures and real-world conditions experienced every day by cultural workers, organisations, communities and Traditional Custodians,” Cr Barrie said.
“What we heard most often was the need for more accessible spaces, more sustainable pathways, stronger inclusion, and a cultural identity that appropriately represents the city.
“The final plan provides a shared vision and clear pathway to ensure Newcastle remains a city of storytellers, enriched by the many histories, cultures and communities that call Newcastle home.”
The plan responds to feedback received throughout the public exhibition, including the need for more affordable and fit-for-purpose places to create, rehearse, perform, gather and share work.
This includes progressing discussions with the NSW Government into the feasibility of a Creative Land Trust, that would acquire, hold and manage land and buildings in perpetuity for creative use.
City of Newcastle is one of only two councils in the state working with the government to safeguard cultural floor space in this way.
Other short-term actions in the plan include trialling a new microgrant program to support small-scale creative and community-led activity, championing the development of an annual creative summit and partnering with the independent sector to increase year-round cultural activity in the western suburbs.
The plan recognises the enduring cultural leadership of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples and commits to ensuring First Nations knowledge, stories and connection to place continue to inform Newcastle’s cultural future.
The adopted Cultural Plan 2026-2036 can be viewed on City of Newcastle’s website.
Still from Angela Tiatia The Matildas 2025. National Portrait Gallery of Australia. Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Angela Tiatia, Narcissus (still), 2019, single-channel 2K high definition video. Image courtesy the artist and Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney © the artist