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.
Sydney’s best art galleries and top museums contain treasure troves of inspiration just waiting to be discovered. Better yet, these institutions are also cool places to beat the heat of a belting hot summer day, or to hide away from nasty-looking storm clouds.
A few of the city’s blockbuster summer exhibitions are sticking around into March – at the Art Gallery of NSW you can take a surreal, cyber-futuristic journey with the interactive, tentacle-filled world of Cao Fei: My City is Yours (until Apr 13) – which we confess, might just be our favourite exhibition of the summer!
If you like the sound of that, then you absolutely do not want to miss White Rabbit Gallery’s current exhibition, XSWL (’til May 18). Taking its name from the Chinese internet slang term for “laughing to death”, this exhibition features four floors of wild contemporary art where silly, harmless fun and jokes are deployed to bypass taboos and tackle politically sensitive topics.
There’s some artistic gems to uncover in Sydney’s West, too. Campbelltown Arts Centre presents Marikit Santiago: Proclaim Your Death! (‘til Mar 16) – a major solo exhibition from this Western-Sydney-based Filipina-Australian artist, who won the prestigious La Prairie Art Award in 2024. Renowned for her refined oil paintings and use of reclaimed materials, Santiago invites viewers into an interactive gallery that challenges the Western art-historical canon.
Qtopia Sydney also recently unveiled a handful of colourful new exhibitions that dive into LGBTQIA+ culture, including an exploration of a certain Aussie pop star’s deep bond with her LGBTQ+ fanbase in Kylie Minogue & Queer Devotion as well as a fabulous showcase of painstakingly crafted costumes from past Sydney Mardi Gras Parades in BE:DAZZLED Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Costume Extravaganza.
Are you more in the mood for some ancient history? Well, the Australian Museum just extended its glittering major exhibition Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru (‘til May 11), so prepare yourself for a journey into the “lost city” of the Amazon.
Better yet, all of the above is just the tip of the iceberg. Read on for the coolest exhibitions to have a gander at.
