Image above: Meng Site, Future Land of Happiness, 2023

2026 gallery visits, summaries and images

Exhibitions list

Thursday 21 August 2026 Wollongong Art Gallery, Wollongong
Two exhibitions: (1) Edge City – mix of interesting works and techniques, settlement and suburbia “drawing on works by local and regional artists, exploring suburbia as a shifting edge.” (2) Recollection – brilliant – every bark painting in the gallery’s collection, all donated, in storage for decades, works from Arnhem Land, Groote Eylandt, Tiwi Islands “cultural memory, powerful gathering of Ancestral beings, totems, narratives, dreaming, lore, cultural continuity.”

Christopher Zanko, Regent I-V, 2024

Madeleine Kelly, Port Kembla, 2016

Djawida Nadjougorie, Crocodile, Brolga, Kangaroo, 1990, West Arnhem Land

Recollection – installation view – West Arnhem Land

Friday 14 August 2026  Anna Glynn ‘Unbridled – The Year of the Horse’, The Garden Gallery, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
The works in oil, ink, and Xuan paper scrolls “reflects a deeply held philosophy of living close to nature, aligned with the Chinese concept of harmony between heaven and humanity.”

Anna Glynn, Birds at Burrill

Anna Glynn, Strange Ballet – Polonaise

Anna Glynn, Red Sailing Horse and Bird

Anna Glynn, Waiting for Redemption

Thursday 30 July 2026  Billy Bain – By the River, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Time, place, stories and culture “reflects on the migration of the long-finned eel – a passage from saltwater to freshwater that mirrors his own path of cultural return.”

Billy Bain, Wirambi (Fruit bat), 2026

Installation views




Wednesday 22 July 2026 Avatar Forms of Vishnu, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Intricate spiritual quietude “brings together centuries of art and storytelling from South and Southeast Asia celebrating Vishnu, the Hindu deity who preserves order in the universe. Avatar, meaning ‘descent’ in Sanskrit, describes the many forms Vishnu takes to descend from the heavens to restore balance on earth.”

Vishnu with attendants, Bangladesh, early 1000s

Vishnu and his avatars, India, 1000s

Narasimha, India, 1600s

Installation view

Friday 10 July 2026  Tony Albert: Not a Souvenir, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Devastating blast from the past and the present day – yet optimism permeates the exhibition – reappropriation “considers the commodification and misrepresentation of Aboriginal people and culture, both historically and today, while celebrating survival and cultural pride.”
Installation views

More than Words

Conversations with Margaret Preston

Hyper Aboriginalia

Blak velvet

Thursday 25 June 2026  Proximate Cosmologies, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Always inspiring to be re-acquainted with artists and their works “draws from the Art Gallery’s rich collection to consider the universe as undefinable, where different ways of thinking reveal porous boundaries between the spiritual and material worlds.”

Adrián Villar Rojas, The End of Imagination IV, 2022

Julie Mehretu, Femenine in nine, part 3, 2022–23

Michael Riley, Cloud series, 2000

Myrtle Pennington, Kanpa, 2018

Wednesday 17 June 2026 Salon des Refusés 2026 S H Ervin Gallery, Sydney Annual roundup of the known and unknown – a lot of hard work and paint pays off “works selected for quality, diversity, humour and experimentation, and which examine contemporary art practices, different approaches to portraiture and responses to the landscape.”

Tony Costa, Angophora

Robert Malherbe, The Silver Lake

Julia Ciccarone, This is what I saw (Anu Kumar, photographer)

Noel Thurgate, Self Portrait, In Search of Balance

Friday 29 May 2026 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2026, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Packed annual event that never loses its curious appeal. Archibald Entries: 1034 (59 selected), Wynne Entries: 773 (52 selected), Sulman Entries: 717 (26 selected)

Richard Lewer, Iluwanti Ken (Archibald Prize winner)

Gaypalani Waṉambi, The Waṉambi tree (Wynne Prize winner)

Betty Campbell, Minymaku inma

Lucy Culliton, Toolah, artist model (Sulman Prize winner)

Thursday 14 May 2026  ACAR Art Prize, Australia China Art Residency, ACAR Art Space, St Leonards, Sydney
Excellent selection, broad range of works. “The prize celebrates landscape in its broadest interpretation – encompassing natural environments, built spaces, urban landscapes, and conceptual interpretations of place.”

Peter Godwin, Li River Landscape (Pale Peak and Mist)

Angus Nivison, Veiled Landscape Zhangjiajie

Michelle Hungerford, Memories of Many Mountains

Lin Pan, Twin Peaks

Friday 8 May 2026 Different Views, Interpreting Landscape, The Garden Gallery in the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney.
Bright new gallery – wide range of works “a group exhibition featuring 12 artists exploring diverse perspectives on the Australian environment. The show highlights works focusing on personal interpretations of place.”

Susanna Chen Chow, Towards Mount Blanc

Mathew Hooker, Here It Is

Amanda Mahony, Into the Light

Vicki Potter, Refrain

Wednesday 22 April 2026 The Art of Adaptation: Culture Changes Everywhere, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney
Inspirational initiatives “surveys a decade of projects by the Kandos School of Cultural Adaptation – highlights how creative practice can support cultural change in response to climate challenges – grounded in the belief that art is an active tool for shaping how communities adapt to shifting social and environmental conditions.”

Leanne Thompson, Weaving Water: Welling and Seepage, 2026

Leanne Thompson, Weaving Water: Welling and Seepage, 2026

Georgina Pollard, The Long Sleep, 2018

Laura Fisher, Silk Water, 2024

Friday 10 April 2026 25th Biennale of Sydney Rememory Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney
Inspiring – issues explored powerfully through a range of materials. 13 artists’ works at this venue. “The Biennale connects the delicate space between remembering and forgetting. By engaging with ‘Rememory’, artists highlight marginalised narratives, share untold stories, and inspire audiences to rethink how memory shapes identity, belonging, and the creation and celebration of new communities and connections.”

Norberto Roldan (Philippines), from the Sydney Shrines series, 2026

Basel Abbas (USA/Palestine) and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (USA/Palestine), Until we became fire and fire us – installation view

Basel Abbas (USA/Palestine) and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (USA/Palestine), Until we became fire and fire us – installation view detail

Helen Grace (Australia), Justice for Violet and Bruce, 1980/2022

Wednesday 1 April 2026 25th Biennale of Sydney Rememory, Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney
Subtle – plenty to think about. 14 artists’ works at this venue. “A means of revisiting, reconstructing, and reclaiming histories that have been erased or repressed, Rememory signifies the intersection of memory and history, where recollection becomes an act of reassembling fragments of the past—whether personal, familial, or collective.”

Khalil Rabah, Common Threads, 2025

Benjamin Work, Papaaki, 2025

Ema Shin, Hearts of Absent Women (Tree of Family), 2026

Lamia Joreige, Uncertain times – War Diaries, 2026

Thursday 26 March 2026 25th Biennale of Sydney Rememory, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Imposing range of works. 16 artists’ works at this venue “explores themes of migration, exile and belonging, giving particular attention to First Nations stories and the voices of diasporic communities that shape Australia today.”

Yaritji Young (Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, Australia), Tjala Tjukurpa, 2026

Ngurrara Artists (Great Sandy Desert, Australia; Walmajarri, Mangala, Juwaliny, Wangkajunga, Manjilarra), Ngurrara Canvas 11, 1997

Nahom Teklehaimanot (Ethiopia-Kenya), The House Forgets My Name, 2025

Angélica Serech (Guatemala; Maya Kaqchikel), Facing the Flames, 2025

Wednesday 18 March 2026 25th Biennale of Sydney Rememory, White Bay Power Station, Rozelle, Sydney
Artistic gems within the industrial sublime. 32 artists’ works at this venue. “The White Bay Power Station built 1912-1917, decommissioned 1984. A bold and thought-provoking celebration of contemporary art curated by internationally acclaimed Artistic Director Hoor Al Qasimi. Rememory explores how memory and history shape identity, belonging, and collective storytelling.”

Carmen Glynn-Braun, To Hold the line of ‘Ware’ (fire), 2026

Edgar Calel, From the fog they will return, 2025

Daisy Quezada Urena, Somos Nosotros, 2026

Installation view

Friday 13 March 2026  Holding Ground, S H Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Wide range – atmosphere “works from 17 artists who have demonstrated a long-standing allegiance to place. Focuses on the state on New South Wales with a selection of paintings, ceramics, sculpture, photography and textiles that focus on the disparate state of the region’s natural systems along with the impact of unfettered industrialisation.”

John R Walker, Dry Ridge Walking 1, 2019

Lucy Culliton, Yambulla 1, 2026

Sophie Cape, Encountering what cannot be foreseen, 2015

Euan Macleod, Painter and Fire, 2019

Wednesday 18 February 2026 Paper Universe: The book as art, State Library of NSW, Sydney
Superb exhibition “showcases close to 100 rarely seen works. Featuring striking and innovative creations by leading artists, the exhibition reveals how artists transform the idea of a book into works of art. Ranging in size from just 5 centimetres to an astonishing 40 metres, and made from a range of materials and techniques, these works reveal intimate, moving and powerful stories beyond the written word.”

Garry Shead, Ern Malley, The Darkening Ecliptic, 2003

Tate Adams, Gesture, 2005

Theo Strasser, Ghost Bones – An artist book, 2017

Gracia Haby and Lousie Jennison, With Wings Outstretched and Quivering, 2021


Friday 13 February 2026  Ocean Photographer of the Year, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney
Always inspiring “more than 15,000 submissions from around the globe, distilled into a breathtaking gallery of winning and finalist images. From intricate macro shots of tiny amphipods to vast underwater vistas and dramatic drone scenes, these photographs reveal both the beauty of the ocean and the urgent need to protect it.”

Yifan Ling, Washington USA – Bigg’s orca, Salish Sea

Siachai Arunrugstichal, New Taipei, Taiwan – Fire fishing boat

Luis Arpa Toribio, Lembah Strait, Indonesia – Pinnate batfish

Yury Ivanov, Bali, Indonesia – Two amphipods (overall winner)


Friday 6 February 2026 Mary Tonkin: Among the Trees, S H Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Sense of place through pure light and colour “epic, immersive paintings respond to the changing seasons, lights and viewpoints of the bush where she paints en plein air. Based in a secluded corner of the dense damp, ferny bush of Corhanwarrabul/ Dandenong Ranges, Tonkin paints the landscape of her childhood.”

Mary Tonkin, Madre, Kalorama, 2008

Mary Tonkin, Turmoil, Kalorama, 2025

Mary Tonkin, Ripples, Kalorama, 2020

Mary Tonkin, That’s how the light gets in, Kalorama, 2012

Friday 30 January 2026 Ron Mueck – Encounter, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Uncanny, intense, curious, awesome – surreal “profound observation of human experience and emotion. His captivating figures, scaled from the monumental to the minute, embody themes such as birth and death, alienation and togetherness, tenderly inviting us to explore our relationship with the world.”

Ron Mueck, Woman with Sticks,  2009-10

Ron Mueck, Chicken-man,  2019

Ron Mueck, Big Man, 2000

Ron Mueck, Havoc, 2025

Friday 23 January 2026 The Hooligans, White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney
Another challenging exhibition at this gallery “For as long as rules have existed, people have found ways to break them. In the face of relentless restrictions, Chinese artists have learned to think beyond imposed boundaries. Refusing to cooperate, daring to defy, and stirring up trouble, the artists in this exhibition speak for those sacrificed to keep the peace.” Some of the works

Tian Longyu, A,,,O!, 2014-15

Meng Site, Future Land of Happiness, 2023

Song Yongping, from the series History, 2012-14

Song Yongping, from the series History, 2012-14