Night Spaces Project - Kuwumi Catalogue

Welcome to Kuwumi Place In Awabakal language the term Kuwumi means “to collect and gather“.

“We all sit on Awabakal and Worimi land “Niirun Yalawa Awabakal and Worimi burrei”.

The City of Newcastle (CN) Acknowledges its Local Government Area sits within the Country of the Awabakal and the Worimi peoples. We Acknowledge that Country for Aboriginal peoples is an interconnected set of ancient relationships. CN acknowledges the custodianship of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples and the care and stewardship they have performed in this place since time immemorial.

Night Spaces Project

This is the Night Spaces Project.

The project.

This project is an exercise in the concept that the more people in a space, the safer it will be.

The Henges.

Our light box configurations are a modern play on the ancient concept of a stone Henge. Arranged in a semi-circle, they invite exploration, play and discovery.

They illuminate the space and also display works of art drawn from the Newcastle Art Gallery collection.

This is only the beginning of the ways in which you can interact with the space through the Henge.

The Henges have been built in such a way that while they are modular, each location can have different experiences.

They also sleep.

When no one is nearby, or the batteries are low the Henge will sleep, demonstrating the finite resource of power and the importance of conserving supply.

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Kuwumi Collection Ever feel like you are being watched?

The works of art selected for Kuwumi Place explore the genre of portraiture within Newcastle Art Gallery’s collection. You will see the range of styles in which people have been painted over time.

You may also notice the different ways in which the themes address and challenge you as the viewer. Some works make a comment on social issues, while others depict a simple interaction between the artist and the subject in the picture.

This selection of works reflects the national significance of the Gallery’s collection. Iconic images include Portrait of a Strapper by William Dobell, a self-portrait of Margaret Olley in her Church Street terrace and Rupert Bunny’s expressive painting of muse and wife Jeanne.

Use the zapper codes to reveal a little extra about the works.

Did you have a play?

You will hear different noises, notes and music from these Henges.

Curated by world renowned composers Huw Jones and Jon Drummond, the sound files have been carefully selected.

Can you

create your own soundtrack

for Kuwumi Place?

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Dallas BRAY Going to town 2010 (detail) oil on canvas 120.5 x 149.0cm Recipient of the 2010 Kilgour Prize from the Jack Noel Kilgour bequest as administered by the Trust Company of Australia Limited Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy the artist

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Rupert BUNNY In a Summer house (portrait of the artist’s wife) c1914 - 21 (detail) oil on canvas 80.3 x 53.5cm Gift of NBN Channel 3 1969 Newcastle Art Gallery collection

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Charles BLACKMAN Night tide at Flinders 1958 oil on composition board 59.8 x 75.2cm Purchased 1958 Newcastle Art Gallery collection

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Robert DICKERSON Guy 1957 (detail) oil on hardboard 136.4 x 90.0cm Purchased 1959 Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy the artist’s estate

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William DOBELL Portrait of a Strapper (detail) 1941 oil on canvas 88.6 x 63.6cm Gift of Captain Neil McEacharn 1959 Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy The Sir William Dobell Foundation

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Auguste RODIN Balzac ‘athlete’ (Study ‘F’) 1896 recast 1981 bronze no. 8 93.0 x 40.0 x 36.0cm Gift of Dr William Bowmore AO OBE 1991 Newcastle Art Gallery collection

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Hilda Rix NICHOLAS The Spanish Shawl c1936 (detail) oil on linen 99.5 x 80.0cm Gift of Dr William Bowmore AO OBE 2004 Newcastle Art Gallery collection © Estate of Hilda Rix Nicholas

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McLean EDWARDS Gnome home 2003 (detail) oil on canvas 183.0 x 122.0cm Gift of the artist through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program 2005 Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy the artist

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Margaret OLLEY Self portrait with everlastings 1974 (detail) oil on board 74.6 x 59.3cm Anne von Bertouch OAM bequest through the Newcastle Region Art Gallery Foundation 2003 Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy The Margaret Olley Art Trust

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Grace COSSINGTON SMITH Open window c1919 (detail) oil on cardboard 21.0 x 20.3cm Purchased with assistance from the Art Gallery and Conservatorium Committee 1967 Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy Estate of Grace Cossington Smith

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The Story of the Henges The Henges have been built using sustainable products, utilising local suppliers wherever possible, solar powered and using a green concrete product. They may look simple but they are very smart in terms of design.

This project has been joint funded by City of Newcastle and NSW Justice and Communities, as part of the NSW Community Safety Fund. The intention is that, in known spots where safety is a concern, we can deploy the Henges to light the space and create activity.

The Henges were built under the New City Makers program, using interdisciplinary collaboration, user co-design and test-bed access in real-life environments.

Newcastle has a long history of innovation and resilience, and have emerged as a leading post-industrial smart city with a culture of makers, creatives and problem solvers.

Newcastle is the perfect environment to test which applications will be the most successful in solving urban challenges. The Henges are an outcome of this process concerned with understanding and solving problems that matter.

The building of the Henges has been a collaborative and local endeavour. Working with our partners Design Anthology, a local industrial design business, an idea has been turned into a physical and technological reality.

Newcastle Art Gallery has applied their creative eye and curated dedicated exhibitions for each deployment, utilising the vast collection of the gallery and reimagining it in a new context, for a whole new audience. FastLAB, at the University of Newcastle, applied creativity with technology, music and interaction, working with local business Design+ Industry to create the bespoke light box.

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