PART 1: Documenting the Old Tomago Water Treatment Plant

Newcastle Art Space (NAS) has partnered with Hunter Water to document the old Tomago Water Treatment Plant prior to its demolition. This project captures an important chapter in the region’s water history, highlighting the infrastructure, people and processes that supported the Hunter community for decades.

Commissioned artists Todd Fuller, Edwina Richards and Isabel Gomez have undertaken site visits to interpret the plant through their individual artistic practices, creating works that reflect both the engineering legacy of the site and its role in delivering safe drinking water to the community.

This documentation provides a rare opportunity to preserve the cultural and operational history of a critical water asset, making otherwise unseen aspects of water treatment accessible and engaging for the public.

PART 2: Freshwater to Fatbergs Exhibition – May 2026

The exhibition Freshwater to Fatbergs will be presented at Newcastle Art Space in May 2026.

The deliberately provocative title is intended to spark curiosity and conversation about water use, water conservation and the pressures facing urban water systems. While freshwater is a precious and carefully managed resource, issues such as fatbergs act as a confronting and highly visible signal of everyday behaviours that undermine water and wastewater infrastructure.

By juxtaposing the value of clean freshwater and healthy catchments with the consequences of misuse, the exhibition creates an accessible entry point for the community to engage with complex water issues including what happens beyond the tap and down the drain.

The exhibition seeks to encourage smarter water use, improve understanding of catchments, highlight the impacts of fats, oils and wipes on sewer systems and promote shared responsibility for protecting water resources now and into the future

Hunter Water’s existing education resources will complement the exhibition and provide practical pathways for audiences to translate awareness into action.

An open call for artists to participate in Freshwater to Fatbergs will be released, inviting creative responses that explore freshwater, catchments, wastewater and water futures.

Links to participate in this exhibition will be listed shortly.