LiddellWORKS Exhibition

Sixteen artists entered the iconic power station in its last days, to create remarkable work that explores the legacy and transformation of the site and its people.

Bowls made with smokestack fly-ash. Crocheted “hard hats”. A VR tour of the power station. Paintings of once busy industrial spaces. Workers in drawings and recorded reminiscences. Sound and installation art pieces.

You will experience these at the Liddell WORKS exhibition, opening 7 June 2024 in Singleton. Liddell WORKS is a program marking the closure of the iconic power station in Muswellbrook Shire after 52 years. The centrepiece of the program is sixteen artist residencies – artists visited the site, met with workers, collected pieces and ideas – culminates in this must-see exhibition at two regional galleries, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre and Singleton Arts & Cultural Centre.

Liddell WORKS is the brainchild of Arts Upper Hunter (AUH), the Regional Arts Development Organisation for the Upper Hunter Valley. “Our goal has been two-fold,” says AUH Executive Director John O’Brien, “to explore the legacy of a powerstation and its workers, and to find a way to pivot the conversation into the future. When Liddell’s last turbine hummed to a halt in March 2023, an era ended, truly. Now our Valley has to face the question: where to next?”

The program is funded by the Department of Regional NSW’s Stronger Country Communities Fund and support from AGL (current owner of Liddell). AGL, with a clear eye on the future, plan to evolve the site into a renewables hub.

Artists: Tim BLACK | Mark BROWN | Suellyn CONNOLLY | Penny DUNSTAN | Anna RANKMORE | Andrew FRENCHNORTHAM | Todd FULLER | Huw JONES | Fiona LEE | Will MAGUIRE | Rachel MILNE | Rebecca RATH Kirri TOOSE | Fran WACHTEL | Lisa WISEMAN | Kara WOOD