Curated by Early Career Curator Elloise Ansell, the exhibition positions emerging bodies of work within a professional collecting context, reframing experimentation as both rigorous and collectable.

Shop the works available this year:

COLLECT: Focus ONLINE STORE

Presented as an intimate, concentrated exhibition, COLLECT: Focus 2026 offers artists the opportunity to present a cohesive body of work while engaging with exhibition-making in The Lock-Up’s unique historical setting. By connecting early career artists with new audiences and collectors, COLLECT: Focus supports artistic and career development while strengthening the creative ecology of the Hunter Region.

This year, Focus showcases bodies of work by local early-career artists Emerald Ruby and Mahalia Leckner.

EMERALD RUBY

“I’ve always been a bit of a bower bird, or perhaps a magpie, drawn to collect tchotchkes, curios and other delicate, shiny trinkets. This is evident in the nebulous nature of my arts practice, where I work across many mediums including sound, sculpture, painting, fashion design, writing, film, and photography.

As a neurodivergent (autism/ADHD) individual, I often find the world to be an overwhelming and chaotic place, which is why I like to create moments of whimsy and respite – a tiny landscape to view, a comfy place to rest, a calm sound to accompany a quiet moment of reflection.

Much of my sculptural process involves countless hours of meditative movement, which are integral to my daily functioning and ongoing stability. It’s only in the final moments of each work I am able to capture whimsical phantasms that bubble up from my dopamine. Bringing life to these silly little ideas brings me an immense amount of joy.”

MAHALIA LECKNER

Mahalia Leckner is a ceramicist living and working on Awabakal Country in Mulubinba (Newcastle, NSW). Using clay as her medium to ponder the mundane—how we live with the earth, shaping and being shaped by the materials we use. After completing a Diploma of Ceramics in 2024, Mahalia works from The Soap Factory, a collective of makers in Mayfield East.

In 2025, Mahalia undertook a residency at the Broken Hill Art Exchange, where she developed Rock Hunter, a body of work using materials found onsite in Broken Hill. Through testing these materials in the heat of the kiln, she explored what melts, transforms, or endures, incorporating them into experimental glazes and surfaces. The history of BHP connects Newcastle and Broken Hill through the movement of mined materials across NSW. This body of work continues by turning toward Newcastle’s own rocks and landscape, embedding locally sourced materials into her ceramic practice.

COLLECT: Focus is open now until 5 July 2026.

This exhibition forms part of The Lock-Up’s 2026 curatorial season, A Call Across the Universe. Through sound, movement, image and encounter, artists and audiences are invited to tune in to new frequencies of understanding and exchange.