Internationally renowned photographer returns home for Newcastle's flagship cultural festival New Annual - closing Sunday 1st October

Newcastle Art Gallery will unveil the first major exhibition of work in the Hunter by internationally renowned photographer Atong Atem as part of City of Newcastle's New Annual festival. 

The exhibition is a home-coming of sorts for the Ethiopian born, South Sudanese artist and writer, who moved to Australia in 1997 and spent her early years living at Wyoming on the Central Coast before relocating to Waratah while studying at the University of Newcastle. 

Newcastle Art Gallery Director Lauretta Morton OAM said securing the visually stunning exhibition for New Annual was a real coup, with Atong Atem's work having been exhibited across Australia and around the world, including a current show at the Tate Modern in London. 

"Atong Atem's arresting photographic practice has garnered her international acclaim. Atem began experimenting with her creative practice in Newcastle and we are honoured to be presenting her first major exhibition in the Hunter Region. " Ms Morton said. 

Featuring striking video and photographic portraiture from her Banksia and Surat collections, which explore migrant stories on a cinematic scale, the exhibition is a vivid offering that traces the cultural experience of belonging to two places, and how this history is remembered through images and objects. 

With Newcastle Art Gallery currently closed while it undergoes a major expansion, the exhibition will be presented at 134 King Street, Newcastle as part of City of Newcastle's flagship arts and culture festival, New Annual, from September 22 to October 1. 

"The exhibition is presented as part of Newcastle Art Gallery's ambitious offsite and digital program while we undergo our major expansion project, which will deliver an additional 1,600 square meters of exhibition space, a new café and retail shop, multi-purpose and educational program spaces, and a secure international standard loading dock," Ms Morton said. 

"We look forward to relaunching Newcastle Art Gallery with an artistic program of ground-breaking temporary exhibitions alongside long term displays of the permanent collection, however it is vitally important in the meantime to stay connected with our community and continue to give them opportunities to experience the work of highly esteemed artists such as Atong Atem." 

The exhibition will be activated by a dynamic series of events presenting fashion, music, discussion, and storytelling celebrating African culture. 

There are, guided tours to help visitors delve deeper into the Atong Atem exhibition including an Auslan-interpreted session, and the closing party on 1 October featuring a fashion show with bespoke label ÆGLE Couture, a book launch with local mother-daughter duo Jackie and Nuru Gunter, and Sydney-based DJ GNGR behind the decks. 

To find out more about the Atong Atem exhibition and the diverse range of dance, circus, visual art, music, and theatre on offer by local and nationally renowned artists throughout New Annual visit www.newannual.com.

For interview and media enquiries contact

Lyn Thurnham                lthunrham@thurnhamteece.com.au

                                    0418 490 989