Artist Virginia McDonald says she could "just cry" when she sees her work alongside the creations of fellow First Nations artists who all have links to Newcastle.
"It's so emotional," the Worimi woman said. "I'm hugely proud.
"People will come and see that we can produce quality items, beautiful things and just be proud and share our culture as well."
Ms McDonald's glass coolamons will be on display alongside works by 15 other Indigenous artists as part of Newcastle Museum's new exhibition FIRST.
FIRST features light projections, videos, paintings, glass work, fashion and even a giant colourful shark.
The museum put the call out for Indigenous artists to be involved, and museum director Julie Baird said she was "overwhelmed by the positive community response".
"We really wanted to showcase First Nations creatives, because we knew that there were all these people doing amazing work in the city," she said.
"We just went well, 'let's open it up and have a look.
"It's probably the most random show you can find - there's projections, there's musicians and then there's much more traditional works. But everything is made by people that are bringing their culture to the table in all different ways.
"We wanted it to be bright. This is a celebration of the amazing work that's coming out of our region. And so that's why we went for a really contemporary style. The walls are pink. There's lots of bright colors."
Another of the works was created by Gomeroi musician Jacob Cummins. It is the first piece of work he has ever exhibited.
"It's a piece of music called Matricide," he said. "It's got a video attached to it as well. I just wanted to draw the parallel between the disrespect of the earth and disrespect of women. In my opinion both stem from and are rooted in ongoing Colonial violence and that was the inspiration."
Newcastle councillor Deahnna Richardson, a Wiradjuri woman, said it was amazing to see First Nations culture represented in the exhibition.
"Newcastle is a melting pot of different Nations," she said.
"It's really exciting to see First Nations culture reimagined and portrayed through different and contemporary media. We're the the oldest living culture on Earth and we continue to reimagine culture through the tools that are available to us and this is just another example of that."
FIRST will officially open at Newcastle Museum from 6pm to 7.30pm on May 5 and will remain on display until August 6.
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