The 19 best art exhibitions to see in Australia in 2025

 “What’s in a name?” The idea has captivated ever since Shakespeare had Juliet ask of Romeo in his tragic tale of star-crossed lovers. Hobart’s game-changing Museum of Old and New Arts digs into what makes the biggest names in the worlds of art and design, whether it’s gleaming sports cars like a Porsche or the surrealist panache of Picasso. Revealing unseen works from founder David Walsh’s collection alongside international loans, Namedropping examines status and the power we place in certain monikers.

Where: MONA, Hobart

When: June 15, 2024 - April 21, 2025

Following a sell-out season in Melbourne, uber-popular Australian street artist Rone has brought his latest multi-sensory installation to Perth. The immersive art experience, titled Time, encompasses 12 themed rooms, all featuring Rone's distinctively haunting murals, which are always centred around an image of a beautiful woman. The grand-scale works will be accompanied by meticulously recreated period objects by interior set decorator Carly Spooner and a set-building team led by Callum Preston. Evocative lighting and sound design by composer Nick Batterham will tie it all together, offering a reflection on a long-forgotten era of mid-century Australia. 

Where: Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth

When: July 27, 2024 – February 2, 2025

Cost: $22-$44

Renowned American artist Dale Chihuly's large-scale glass sculptures have graced gardens in the USA, London and Singapore. Now, Adelaide has scored exclusive rights to Chihuly’s first major Australian outdoor exhibition, Garden Cycle. As you wander through the lush two-kilometre outdoor garden trail, you’ll encounter a captivating collection of 15 large-scale, hand-blown glass structures, featuring both iconic works and brand-new pieces crafted especially for Adelaide. 

Where: Adelaide Botanic Garden, Adelaide

When: September 27, 2024 – April 29, 2025

Cost: Free and ticketed

The creativity of 42 local artists shines bright in the second edition of HOTA Gallery’s Gold Coast Triennial, Here and Now. Gallerygoers can wander through seven interconnected spaces, featuring medium-scale installations, video projections, sculptures and 2D works. High-end dining fans can linger longer at Palette – the gallery’s gorgeous restaurant – which is offering a tenth exhibition tasting menu featuring five courses inspired by the themes, colours and emotions of the showcased artists.

Where: HOTA Gallery, Gold Coast

When: September 28, 2024 - February 16, 2025

Cost: Free

“Larger-than-life” is one way to describe the National Gallery of Australia’s (NGA) latest and most expensive artwork, which was finally unveiled in Canberra after an exhilarating three-year wait. Titled ‘Ouroboros’, this spectacular $14 million masterpiece by Chinese-Australian artist Lindy Lee was commissioned to celebrate the NGA’s 40th anniversary in 2022 and took more than 60,000 hours to bring to life. In conjunction with Lee’s latest sculpture, the NGA has launched a self-titled retrospective showcasing artistic highlights from the Chinese-Australian artist’s 40-year colourful career.

Where: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

When: October 25, 2024 - June 1, 2025

Cost: Free

After a remarkable global tour, Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia returns to the capital for a final stint at the National Gallery. The largest exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, it showcases more than 260 artworks produced by 200 Aboriginal and Torres Islander artists. The visually captivating installations, bark paintings and sculptures grapple with Australia’s complex histories, with works dating as far back as 1890.

Where: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

When: September 14, 2024 - August 24, 2025

Cost: Free

The Art Gallery of NSW has secured Australia’s biggest and first-ever retrospective exhibition dedicated to surrealist pioneer René Magritte. You could consider Magritte the master of symbols, and this exhibition takes art lovers and history fanatics through 20 years' worth of Magritte’s paintings, starting from the 1920s. More than 100 works make up the showing, and they’ve been flown in from all over the world, including from the MoMA in New York, the Musée Magritte in Brussels and Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art.

Where: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

When: October 26, 2024 - February 9, 2025 

Cost: $18-$35

Do you have golden retriever energy, or are you more of a black cat kind of person? Felines and canines form an important part of the everyday lives, pop culture and mythology of humans, and the latest exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria celebrates the role of these animals. Cats and Dogs is now showing at the NGV’s Ian Potter Centre until July 2025. The exhibition will feature more than 250 works of art, design and fashion, with one side of the exhibition dedicated to all things dogs and the other side to our feline friends.

Where: Ian Potter Centre at NGV, Melbourne

When: November 1, 2024 - July 20, 2025 

Cost: $8-$16

Flamboyant Aussie artistic duo, The Huxleys, have headed to Western Australia to unveil a massive retrospective exhibition, Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams. Partners in both life and art, Will and Garrett Huxley have spent more than a decade championing the queer agenda with their extravagant art installations, costumes, photography, craft and performance art. This kaleidoscopic showcase spans ten years of their elaborate collaborative projects, featuring 58 vibrant works that pay tribute to the parts of their identity they were once silenced for expressing.

Where: Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle

When: November 9, 2024 - January 27, 2025

Cost: Free

There’s something so intriguing about exploring the depths of the ocean, because we don't get many chances to check out what's down there. If you’re not a diver but you’ve always wanted to see what happens underneath the ripples of the water's surface, check out the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 exhibition. It will display 118 of the most awe-inspiring wildlife shots ever snapped, immersing you in the otherworldly magic of the ocean and bringing you face-to-face with some of the sea's most majestic creatures.

Where: Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney

When: November 28, 2024 - April 27, 2025 

Cost: $25-$25

In a world in turmoil, this group show champions the vitally important role textile works have played in activism, protest and community organisation, which is timely indeed. Examining some 150 years’ worth of fabric that sends its message loud and clear, Radical Textiles begins with the pushback against machine-driven industrialisation by British tapestry weaver William Morris and spins from there through 100 artists, both local and international, with the collection also including photography, painting, sculpture and video art.

Where: Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

When: November 23, 2024 – March 30, 2025

Cost: $15-$30

The Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art’s consistently remarkable Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art returns for its 11th illustrious outing this year, with a strong focus on First Nations artists, creatives of many diasporas and other minority backgrounds, with the emphasis on community collectives. The list of 70-plus practitioners sees showstoppers and emerging artists from 30 countries sit side-by-side in a must-see show amplified by live performances, film screenings and a kids’ program.

Where: QAGOMA, Brisbane

When: November 30, 2024 - April 27, 2025 

Cost: Free

Descend down the escalators in the Art Gallery of NSW’s ultra-chic modern north building, and you’ll see an enormous octopus perched above the entrance to one of the most anticipated exhibitions of the Sydney summer – step inside a futuristic cyber cityscape with Cao Fei: My City is Yours. An unfurling of purple tentacles beckons you to step into the multidimensional world of this influential Chinese contemporary artist, and become totally immersed in playful and inventive multimedia installations.

Where: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

When: November 30, 2024 - April 13, 2025 

Cost: $18-$35

Half a century ago, a devastating category four cyclone tore through Darwin with gusts reaching up to 217 kilometres per hour. It lasted four days, claimed 66 lives, and resulted in the largest evacuation and relief effort in Australian history. To mark its 50-year milestone on December 24, 2024, the MAGNT has redeveloped its much-loved Cyclone Tracy exhibition. Visitors can now step into a classic 1970 Darwin house with surviving objects, monitor the cyclone in the Bureau of Meteorology office, experience an actual recording of Tracy in the new sound booth, and explore never-before-seen artefacts donated by locals.

Where: The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

When: Open daily from December 7, 2024

Cost: Free

One of Australia’s most significant yet underacknowledged modern artists takes the spotlight in the National Gallery of Australia’s latest major exhibition. Anne Dangar was a key figure in the French Cubism movement during the 20th century, developing a distinct style that blended traditional French pottery with bold cubist designs. This self-titled exhibition explores her life and practice via colourful ceramics, paintings, paper works and more.

Where: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

When: December 7, 2024 - April 27, 2025

Cost: Free

Australia, it’s time to get dotty, because NGV International is playing host to the largest collection of Yayoi Kusama’s work ever seen in Australia. The exhibition (aptly named Yayoi Kusama) has taken over the entire ground floor of the gallery, with 180 works from the artist best known for her unique use of dots. Many of the works coming to Melbourne for this impressive exhibition have never been seen locally before, including the Australian debut of 'Dancing Pumpkin', a towering five-metre-tall bronze sculpture that visitors can view by walking underneath. This exhibition also will break the world record for the most infinity rooms ever assembled in the same place, at a whopping total of ten.

Where: NGV International, Melbourne

When: December 15, 2024 - April 21, 2025 

Cost: $18-$38

Melbourne’s cutting-edge digital art gallery, The Lume, is bringing back its record-breaking Van Gogh exhibition for a summer season. Last time, the immersive experience attracted a whopping 1.8 million visitors between Australia and New Zealand, making it the region’s most visited ticketed cultural event. The immersive experience reimagines the now-famous painter's works as projections that completely ensconce you in an 11-metre-tall gallery, allowing you to feel like you're in Van Gogh's bedroom or under that famous starry night. A mirrored infinity room filled with countless sunflowers also features, which is particularly Instagrammable. For the return season, The Lume is adding a brand-new virtual reality experience called Finding Vincent. Slip on a headset and learn more about van Gogh’s life, alongside friends or companions. 

Where: The Lume, Melbourne

When: December 26, 2024 - June 1, 2025 

Cost: $29.90-$49.90

Females are at the forefront of this major exhibition, the first to focus on the pivotal role Australian women played in shaping international modernism during the 20th century. Featuring more than 200 works from 50 trailblazing artists, Dangerously Modern explores their remarkable journeys from Australia through Europe, prevailing against social constraints to pursue international careers. Stand-out names include Nora Heysen, Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith.

Where: Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 

When: May 24 - September 7, 2025 (AGSA) and October 11, 2025 - February 1, 2026 (AGNSW)

Cost: Ticketed

It’s the face that stops the nation. Australia’s favourite portrait prize is back for 2025, and as always it's a delight to see which famous faces have made it into the mix of painterly interpretations. Every year, just shy of 1,000 paintings are submitted, and you can peruse the 50-or-so finalists at the Art Gallery of NSW, after which they’ll ship off around the country.

Where: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

When: May 10, 2025 - August 27, 2025 (followed by a national tour until September 13, 2026)

Cost: $13-$25