City of Newcastle invests $135,000 into multi-arts activation at landmark site

City of Newcastle

Local arts, cultural, and tourism businesses are set to benefit from the opening of a multi-arts activation lead by the Hunter Writers Centre, funded by City of Newcastle in response to COVID-19’s impact on the Newcastle economy.

Nobbys-Whibayganba headland cottages will provide studio and exhibition spaces for Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers, musicians, visual and digital artists on weekdays, and host exhibitions and events on weekends.

With COVID-19 significantly impacting the arts, cultural and creative industries, the Lighthouse Arts project was identified as critical to Newcastle’s post COVID-19 recovery by the City Taskforce, in support of community wellbeing, social and cultural connectedness.

This unique space for artistic collaboration also celebrates one of the city’s historically significant Indigenous, wartime and maritime sites, Nobbys-Whibayganba, and features an arts trading store showcasing the creative communities of Newcastle, in a bid to increase tourism visitation.

The Industry Response Package is a component of City of Newcastle’s adopted $5.5 million COVID-19 Community and Economic Resilience Package, to provide direct support to the industries hit hardest by the pandemic.

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