Art exhibitions to see in Sydney this week

When it comes to regional art galleries, Bundanon is top tier. But it’s difficult to convey the magic of this place if you haven’t experienced it for yourself. Hidden within a nature reserve and perched between a snaking bend of the mighty Shoalhaven River and the foot of a mountain, it's a special place to unplug and connect with art and nature. Hence, the latest exhibition to take up residence in the Art Museum, which encourages new ways of thinking through collaborations between humans and non-human worlds, is a natural fit.  From large-scale paintings in traditional Indigenous art styles to experimental technologies, Thinking together: Exchanges with the natural world features new major commissions from contemporary artists and collectives that take a range of unexpected forms and unusual perspectives. For example, Greek-Australian artist and performer Tina Stefanou has been “collaborating” with retired horses for almost a decade, and these equine beauties are now the stars of ‘Horse Power’ (2019) – a video work in which we see them dressed in costumes festooned with jangling keys, creating freestyle percussion as they graze nonchalantly.  Meanwhile, music-making mushrooms are the heroes of ‘Growth in the shadows’, a living artwork from Sydney-based interdisciplinary artist Keg de Souza – and that’s not a euphemism. Working with ecologists and Bundanon’s natural resources team, de Souza has “borrowed” live mycelium and fungi samples from the landscape and housed them...

The $30,000 Dobell Drawing Prize has a rich history of celebrating some of Australia’s most renowned artists, and you don’t have to hand over a cent to head down to the gorgeous gallery inside the sandstone walls of the National Art School to check out all of this year’s finalists. Curated by Lucy Latella, the exhibition features 56 artworks from an exciting cross-section of established, mid-career and early-career artists, selected from 965 nationwide entries. Now in its 24th year, this biennial art prize celebrates the enduring importance of drawing in contemporary art practice, with a focus on technique, innovation and expanded approaches. The selected works span various media – from coloured pencil, charcoal, chalk and watercolour to clay, human hair, aluminium, LED, and video – and consider a range of themes including domesticity and social dynamics, environmental care, and impacts of climate change and colonisation. NAS alumna Rosemary Lee took out the prize this year – her winning work ‘24-1’ depicts an urban landscape in Sydney’s Inner West, and the judging panel praised her work for the way it “observes tonal and compositional profundity in everyday life”. The judges also said: “We were most impressed by the level of visual intensity the artist has achieved in this complex work, both through its vibrant colour and in the extraordinary detail of the composition. The artwork’s exploration of the urban landscape and gentrification of the Sydney suburbs of Ashfield...

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...

Ngununggula, for the uninitiated, is a gorgeous little gem of a gallery residing in a repurposed dairy shed near Bowral, a chilled 90-minute drive from Sydney. The latest exhibition to take over the walls is Tender (April 12 – June 15), an all-women showcase of seven leading Australian painters exploring the sensitive yet provocative concept of “tenderness”. Through new and existing work, artists Sally Anderson, Sarah Drinan, Laura Jones, India Mark, Dionisia Salas, Julia Trybala and Amber Wallis urge audiences to explore tenderness as a multifaceted human experience; and challenge the gendered associations of this term, which is often associated with notions of care and femininity. Tender follows the popular 2024 exhibition Once More With Feeling, and is part of the gallery’s annual program committed to showcasing the work of Australian women artists. This colourful, defiant and emotionally charged exhibition is the only excuse you need to gather up your coven for a drive to the Southern Highlands. But if you need any more encouragement – aside from free entry – Ngununggula also features Hearth by Moonacres, a flavour driven farm-to-table café, and the whole lot is surrounded by landscaped gardens and green fields. A perfect place to catch your breath, if you ask us. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news and things to do, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: The best exhibitions to see in Sydney Here’s the best theatre to see in...

Get ready to raise a glass to curious encounters and immerse yourself in a colourful world of art, because The Other Art Fair is landing back in Sydney from May 8–11, and it’s once again taking over the cavernous White Bay Cruise Terminal in Balmain. Cast aside your preconceptions – this global event is a place where barriers are broken and the usual art-world rules don’t apply. You have the chance to connect with more than 100 independent artists; get hands-on with immersive installations; witness unexpected performances; and discover artwork that makes you stop, think, and maybe even laugh out loud. With live DJs on the decks and a buzzing bar serving up refreshments, you can also expect the return of fair favourites like live Art Battles and fine line tattoos from local stick-and-poke artists – and yes, that ink is permanent, we have road tested getting tattooed at the fair (refer to the video below).  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out Sydney (@timeoutsydney) This time around, you can also take a chance on a Blind Date With An Artwork (for $200) and check out James Patrick’s Art Vending Machine filled with one-of-a-kind, entirely human-made miniature artworks. The May fair is also all fired up for The Ceramics Edit, which puts the incredible work of Australian ceramicists in the spotlight. And the matriarchs haven’t been forgotten either, on Sunday (May 11) the fair becomes “The Mother Art Fair” – a special Mother’s Day...