Your Guide to Art Exhibitions Across Australia
Immerse yourself in the dynamic realm of Australian art and culture,
brought to life by an eclectic range of exhibitions. Take a sneak peek
into the ongoing showcase of creativity that awaits you.
VIC
Margaret Preston: A Retrospective Exhibition
Margaret Preston 'Gum Blossoms'
September 4, 2026 - January 31, 2027
NGV Australia
NGV Australia's 'Margaret Preston' is a major retrospective exploring the artist’s contribution to Australian modernism and her influence on national identity. Drawing on Post-Impressionism, Arts and Crafts, and Japanese ukiyo-e, Preston sought a distinctly Australian visual language. For lovers of the iconic Australian artists, or those fascinated by her legacy, this exhibition is not one to miss.
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize
Richard Lewer 'Iluwanti Ken'5 September - 1 November 2026
Shepparton Art Museum
The Archibald Prize is one of Australia’s most anticipated art awards, celebrating outstanding portrait painting since 1921. Presented by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, it captures the personalities and stories shaping our times. This touring exhibition offers the chance to experience the 2026 finalists at Shepparton Art Museum. For lovers and appreciators of portraiture painting, this exhibition is not one to miss.
Burrinja Climate Change Biennale #4
August 22, 2026 - October 25, 2027
Burrinja Cultural Centre, Upwey
The Burrinja Climate Change Biennale #4 Acquisitive Award Exhibition brings together more than 40 artists from across Australia, showcasing local and nationally recognised talent. Spanning painting, photography, sculpture, installation and digital media, the exhibition presents diverse contemporary responses to climate change, environmental challenges and the future of our planet.
Rebel Heart: Love Letters and other declarations
Michael Leunig 'Untitled (Bottle and Heart)'
February 12, 2026 - January 7, 2027
State Library of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria’s ‘Rebel Heart: Love Letters and Other Declarations’ exhibition celebrates defiant love across centuries, drawing on the library’s archive of intimate letters, diaries and manuscripts. Enhanced by new music commissions, it honours courageous romances - from same-sex and cross-cultural relationships to digital-age connections - exploring love’s enduring power to challenge convention and transcend time.
NSW
Artists and Their Pets
Charles Blackman 'The Painter's Studio'
30 May 2026 - 2027
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Pets have long played an important role in artists’ lives and creative practices, serving as companions, muses, models and studio assistants. Drawing from the National Art Archive and Brett Whiteley Studio collections, this display celebrates the animals who inspired artists including Martin Sharp, William Dobell and David Hockney across diverse media.
Nolan: Origins
Sidney Nolan 'Woman on Beach, St Kilda' with 'Untitled (Abstraction)' (verso)'
October 3, 2026 - February 7, 2027
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Experience the creative force of Sidney Nolan in this major exhibition of his formative Australian years. Featuring around 100 works made before his move to the United Kingdom in 1953, the exhibition includes his iconic Ned Kelly series alongside powerful depictions of St Kilda, the Wimmera, K’gari and Central Australia. Nolan: Origins traces how he reshaped ideas of place and nation, developing a distinctive modernist visual language drawn from landscape, myth and Australian history. For lovers of Sidney Nolan and Australian modernist art, this exhibition is not one to miss.
Brett Whiteley: Coming Home
Brett Whiteley 'Cat'Ongoing
Brett Whiteley Studio, Surry Hills
Brett Whiteley: Coming Home celebrates the artist’s ambitious 1970s practice following his return to Australia after a decade abroad. Featuring 80 works across painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking and photography, the exhibition highlights Whiteley’s energy and versatility, anchored by Alchemy, his monumental autobiographical work exploring the people and experiences that shaped him. For those visiting Sydney, the newly-renovated 'Brett Whiteley Studio' is a jewel to discover.
ACT
Migration and Modernism: Émigré artists in post-war Australia
23 May 2026 - 7 March 2027
National Gallery of Australia
The NGA's current exhibition 'Migration and Modernism' explores how migrant artists have shaped Australian art and culture from the mid-20th century onwards. Drawing on diverse cultural traditions and experiences, artists featured in this exhibitions fused memories of their homelands with Australian landscapes and ideas, enriching the nation's modern art through innovation, collaboration, and enduring contributions to its multicultural identity. For those fascinated by modernist art in Australia, this exhibition is a joy to discover.
ARTHUR BOYD: TAPESTRIES
David Boyd 'King of the Castle'
20 June - 18 October 2026
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery presents a world-first chance to see all 20 monumental tapestries by Australian artist Arthur Boyd. Commissioned during his exploration of the life of Saint Francis, the works were produced by the Manufactura de Tapeçarias de Portalegre in Portugal and acquired in 1975. Each large-scale tapestry, measuring 2.5 by 3.4 metres, transforms Boyd’s original images into intricate woven works, vastly enlarged and meticulously stitched, highlighting a major international collaboration in textile and artistic practice. For lovers of Arthur Boyd, textiles and Australian art at large, this exhibition is not one to miss.
QLD
National Interest: Australian Art in the 20th Century
Arthur Boyd 'The Serpent (plate 6 from the Prodigal Son Suite)'
Until February 21 2027
Hervey Bay Regional Gallery
Hervey Bay Regional Gallery’s ‘National Interests’ exhibition is an exploration of the development of modernism in Australia. Pairing works from the gallery’s own collection with significant works from the National Gallery of Australia, this exhibition delves into the interconnected nature of Australian nationalism and the creation of a distinct national art movement. Featuring artists such as Arthur Boyd, Keith Namatjira, Sidney Nolan, and Margaret Preston, this exhibition captures the broad scope of modernism in Australia.
SA
Rethinking Australian Art
Philippe Le Miere 'The Carhill Expressway'
Currently Showing
Art Gallery of South Australia
By re-hanging these selected artworks from their collection, the Art Gallery of South Australia aims to re-explore Australian Art History. Challenging the notion of a national art scene that was isolated or singular, this presentation of art showcases the intricate and revolutionary shifts that took place in Australian art following the Second World War - including the emergence of Aboriginal art, the momentum of the Feminist art movement, and the ascent of conceptual art and postmodernism.
WA
Attachment Styles: Modes of Belonging in Modern and Contemporary Art
December 13 2025 - October 11 2026
Art Gallery of Western Australia
'Attachment Styles' brings together artworks from the 19th to 21st century to explore how emotional patterns of attachment—anxious, avoidant, disorganised and secure—shape the ways we relate to one another. Through works by Frederick McCubbin, Hans Heysen, Arthur Boyd and Russell Drysdale, among others, the exhibition uses these psychological concepts as a lens to reveal the tensions, desires and contradictions embedded in human connection. By framing the gallery as a kind of collective therapy space, the display shows how both personal and social bonds are formed, tested and reimagined across time, place and experience.
NT
Holding Country: Araluen Art Collection
14 August - 31 December 2026
Araluen Arts Centre
Curated from the Araluen Collection, this exhibition celebrates the enduring connection between Aboriginal people and Country across Central Australia. Through painting, sculpture, photography and watercolours, the works explore cultural identity, ancestral knowledge and everyday life, highlighting art’s role in maintaining traditions, affirming connection to land and recognising the legacy of Aboriginal land rights.