The best exhibitions to see in Sydney this month

It's arguable that the beautiful Sarah Bernhardt (the famous French actress) was the world’s first international celebrity, and when Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) painted her, the posters of the painting quickly became ubiquitous in Paris, and were ripped from the streets by collectors as soon as they were pasted up. Now, the work of this art nouveau maestro is coming to the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) this winter, in a Sydney exclusive.

It’s the face that stops the nation. Australia’s favourite portrait prize is back for 2024, and as always it's a delight to see which famous faces have made it into the mix of painterly interpretations. This year, more than 1,000 paintings were submitted, and you can peruse the 57 finalists at the Art Gallery of NSW before they ship off around the country. Along with the Archies, you can check out the Wynne Prize for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery, and the Sulman Prize for the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project 

If you’ve ever heard the words “feminist” and “Australian contemporary artist” in the same sentence, then you’ve probably also heard the name Julie Rrap. She is known for stripping down and incorporating her own body into her multidisciplinary art practice, in which she examines representations of the female nude. You have the chance to have an intimate encounter with Rrap’s work at the the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) with Past Continuous.

Want to see something fresh? Six of the most exciting emerging visual artists in the country are currently exhibiting at Artspace in Woolloomooloo, and it won’t cost you anything to stroll on in and take a look. The long-running NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) exhibition has earned a reputation as a highlight in the NSW visual arts calendar, showcasing the diverse and exciting talent of a new generation of artists, and helping to launch many careers.

If you can’t quite hack the requisite international airfare and/or annual leave to explore the Amazon, meet polar bears, or go deep sea diving right now – there is another method for getting up close and personal with some of the world’s most incredible animals. For the 59th year in a row, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is on loan from London’s Natural History Museum at the National Maritime Museum.

The Maritime Museum’s chilling new underwater exhibition is more than just a tribute to one of the world’s most celebrated underwater storytellers, shark researchers and conservationists. It’s a call to action for all environmental enthusiasts and future changemakers to protect our beautiful oceans, their animals and their habitats from further threat.