1. Exterior of Ngununggula gallery
    Photograph: Ngununggula/Zan Wimberley
  2. Exterior of Ngununggula gallery
    Photograph: Ngununggula/Zan Wimberley
  3. Entry Pavilion of of Ngununggula gallery
    Photograph: Ngununggula/Zan Wimberley

Ngununggula

This exciting new gallery in the Southern Highlands makes for a contemporary-art packed day trip
  • Art | Galleries
  • Bowral
Alannah Le Cross
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Time Out says

Boasting ambitious works from contemporary artists, the Southern Highlands’ first regional art gallery raises the bar for rural arts institutions. Founded by celebrated artist Ben Quilty, and now under the leadership of Megan Monte, Ngununggula has repurposed a former dairy shed and veterinary clinic at Retford Park in Bowral, a property of the National Trust, as an art destination with a heritage-sensitive, state-of-the-art design by Tonkin Zulaihka Greer.

Make the time to make the 90-minute drive from Sydney, and follow up the food-for-thought with food for your belly at the on-site Hearth Café. The team serves up a flavour-driven seasonal menu created using ingredients from Moonacres Farm and local growers. 

The gallery’s name comes from the word for 'belonging' in the traditional language of the Gundungurra people. With a focus on visual arts, education, artistic practice, and cultural voice, the gallery’s program represents the region and beyond through significant exhibitions, artist-led projects, live events, workshops, artist talks and more. Surrounded by landscaped gardens, the building contains four gallery spaces, including an Entry Pavilion which will house a new commission each year by an Indigenous artist.

Ngununggula is open daily from 10am to 4pm, and entry is free.

Details

Address
1 Art Gallery Lane
Bowral
Bowral
2576
Price:
Free entry
Opening hours:
10am-4pm

What’s on

Tender

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...
  • Paintings
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