Newcastle’s New Annual Festival Returns with Bold 2025 Program Celebrating Local Stories and Spaces

18 July 2025

newy.com.au – Newcastle’s flagship arts festival, New Annual, will return from 26 September to 5 October 2025 with a 10-day program transforming familiar city spaces into vibrant cultural venues, including the iconic Newcastle Ocean Baths. The fifth edition of the festival, presented by City of Newcastle, will feature 23 signature events encompassing music, theatre, dance, visual arts and public installations.

This year’s program will highlight local creativity, with more than 70 percent of events featuring Newcastle-based artists and storytellers. Festival Director Tory Loudon said the focus on local talent and site-specific works is a defining feature of the 2025 program. “We have commissioned new works from Newcastle artists this year, focusing on telling Newcastle stories in locations that are uniquely designed or chosen for a particular artwork or performance,” Ms Loudon said. “We are taking art to the streets, parks and Baths of Newcastle.”

Among the highlights is Meet Me at the Baths, a headphone theatre experience inspired by real stories from local residents, created by Whale Chorus and playwright Ang Collins. Running concurrently at the Newcastle Ocean Baths will be SOAK: Live at the Baths, a five-night sunset music series curated by musician Tim Levinson, featuring artists such as Tom Thum, Boy Soda and Dust, performing on a floating stage.

Public art will also be prominent, with a self-guided trail across the Foreshore and Camp Shortland, showcasing works such as Argo Escargot by Jen Denzin and Listen to a Starfish by Diana Chester and Damian Ricketson. Near Nobbys Beach, a camera obscura installation titled Anchor will invite audiences to see the world in reverse.

The program also includes First Night Art Party on Laman Street to mark the reopening of the expanded Newcastle Art Gallery, and Global Gathering in Hamilton’s Beaumont Street, celebrating multicultural arts with music, food and performance hosted by Benjamin Law and Jennifer Wong.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Ross Kerridge said the expanded focus on local stories and artists was driven by community feedback. “Some cultural festivals seem to be aimed at exclusive audiences… I have never felt that that is acceptable, particularly when public money is involved,” Cr Kerridge said. “This program will be of broad interest and very Newcastle.”

Councillor Jenny Barrie, Chair of the Community and Culture Strategic Advisory Committee, added that the festival would remain inclusive and accessible. “With a predominance of free and low-cost events, the festival provides a valuable way to make art and culture accessible to more people within our community,” she said.

New Annual is supported by the NSW Government through multiple funding streams, and presented in partnership with the University of Newcastle, Equip Multimedia and Newcastle Art Gallery. Tickets go on sale to the general public on 21 July via newannual.com.