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  1. Exterior view of MCA building with Sydney Harbour Bridge in background.
    Photograph: Anna Kucera | Museum of Contemporary Art
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  2. Exterior view of MCA entrance and forecourt
    Photograph: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia/Brett Boardman
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  3. Exterior view of MCA forecourt with Lindy Lee sculpture installed
    Photograph: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia/Ken Leanfore | Lindy Lee, Secret World of a Starlight Ember, 2020, installation view, Lindy Lee: Moon in a Dew Drop.
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Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)

Sydney's home of contemporary art is at stunning Circular Quay
  • Museums
  • The Rocks
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Alannah Le Cross
Written by Alannah Le Cross
Arts and Culture Editor, Time Out Sydney
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Time Out says

Perched on Circular Quay and open six days a week, the MCA (or the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, if you're to use its formal name) is Sydney's year-round destination for new-age and left-of-centre art. 

Opened in 1991, the MCA's harbourside home was once the administration offices of the Maritime Services Board. The building was overhauled head to toe (well, almost) with light, airy, uncluttered interiors, more floor space, and a boxy new facade. Thankfully, they kept the building clad with sandstone that was long ago quarried at Maroubra.

Inside, the gallery spaces themselves are clean, logical and open – with long vistas to entice and draw you in further. While the design of the exterior is about drawing attention, the opposite is the case for the interior – the look and feel is simple, so the art can shine. 

Where to eat at the MCA, Sydney

In late 2024, the rooftop café was transformed into Canvas. A swish new fine diner that’s actually reasonably affordable, it features a new chef every six months, and, of course, those unbeatable views which take in the Sydney Opera House on the other side of the harbour. If you’re peckish for something a little less fancy, the gallery's ground-floor café is now twice the size.

How much does entry cost at the MCA?

For 25 years, the MCA was free to visit (with exception of major ticketed exhibitions). However, the museum introduced a General Admission fee at the start of 2025, citing crippling financial issues and a lack of government support (read more here). General Admission is now $20 for adults and $16 for concessions, but it is still free for MCA Members, under 18s and Australian students. Major exhibitions may incur additional fees.

Where is the MCA?

Getting to the MCA is easy, considering it's a short six-minute walk from Circular Quay Train Station and the ferry wharves. 

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Details

Address
140 George St
The Rocks
Sydney
2000
Opening hours:
Wed-Sun 10am-5pm, closed Tuesdays

What’s on

Julie Mehretu: A Transcore of the Radical Imaginatory

Julie Mehretu is widely regarded as one of the most significant painters of her generation, acclaimed for her large-scale paintings which erupt with colour, line, energy and movement. This summer, the first major survey of the New York-based artist’s work ever exhibited in Australia is coming exclusively to the MCA Australia on Sydney's Circular Quay.  Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and now based in New York City, Mehretu has exhibited extensively at major institutions across the US, UK and Europe. Most recently, Mehretu was commissioned to create an 83-foot tall glass mural for the Obama Presidential Centre in Chicago. She was named one of the “100 most influential people in 2020” by Time magazine; and in 2024, The New York Times described her as “one of today's most original and thought-provoking painters.”   Opening on November 29 and running until April 27, the much-anticipated Julie Mehretu: A Transcore of the Radical Imaginatory addresses urgent concerns of our globalised world including revolution, migration and climate change. Featuring 13 new works created especially for the exhibition, the presentation will include more than 80 powerful abstract paintings, prints and drawings dating from 1995 to the present. The exhibition will also feature a series of talks and tours, with extended hours for Art Up Late for Sydney Festival on Wednesdays, January 8, 15 and 22 until 9pm.  Julie Mehretu: A Transcore of the Radical Imaginatory is part of the Sydney International...
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Warraba Weatherall: Shadow and Substance

Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) presents the first solo museum exhibition by Kamilaroi artist Warraba Weatherall, whose work has been exhibited widely nationally and internationally over the past decade. Through a dynamic combination of installation, sculpture and video works, Shadow and Substance turns a critical eye to the colonial record – reframing existing narratives about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture found within archival and museum collections.  Drawing on his own family’s experiences, Weatherall’s work draws attention to the ethics of how Indigenous property, cultural information and materials have been historically acquired and displayed. A refined display that invites contemplation, this exhibition curated by MCA Australia Curator Megan Robson premieres several brand new artworks, including ‘Trace’ (2025) a major new co-commission between the MCA and the Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025, which resembles a giant spinning toy. ‘Dirge’ (2023) is a particularly fascinating piece, which draws attention to the ways in which information is “translated and transmitted”. Weatherall has created a large-scale, custom-built polyphon – a disc-operated mechanical music box – and the score it plays is a Braille translation of a colonial document relating to Aboriginal land rights found in an Australian museum.  Running until September 21, Shadow and Substance is part of the MCA’s autumn 2025 exhibition program. You can spend up to an hour inspecting...
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