The Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns has taken home the Critics' Choice Best Art Exhibition Award 2024 in Time Out Sydney’s inaugural Arts & Culture Awards.
The Biennale of Sydney pulled out all stops for its 50th anniversary edition in 2024. It took over six different locations around the city with stunning and provocative art by artists from all over the world, and while we wouldn't want to play favourites, the stand-out venue was absolutely White Bay Power Station. After being closed to the public for more than 100 years, the heritage-listed industrial site in Rozelle was relaunched as a hub for arts, culture and community with the Biennale. Exploring the space itself is just as exciting as the art – but the curators didn't hold back either.
A huge painting by artist Dylan Mooney overlooked the scene. With a high-impact art style awash in saturated colours, Mooney has drawn on his experiences as a Queer Indigenous man to pay tribute to Aboriginal dancer and activist Malcolm Cole in the iconic Captain Cook drag costume he wore in the 1988 Sydney Mardi Gras Parade, the year of Australia’s Bicentenary (look out for more references to this cultural moment throughout the Biennale – including in images from the legendary photographer William Yang).
Other highlights included the head of a giant blue deity, people dressed as human-sized foxes making mischief in domestic debris, and many more weird and wonderful sights.