The best art exhibitions to see in Sydney this month

While we wait for Vivid to return, there’s another festival of art and light that you def need to check out this month. Curated Stories in Light will set Warrane (Sydney Cove) ablaze from May 19 to 23. It’s the sort of festival that rewards the curious, transforming the city’s lesser-known nooks and crannies with First Nations, Black and Brown, queer and activist stories. It’s been curated by filmmaker and producer Jacqui North in collaboration with Illuminart Australia.

Love & Revolution lights up Tallawoladah (The Rocks) with illuminated artworks, song and slam poetry, calling for a peaceful uprising driven by women reclaiming the streets. You’ll be able to hear powerful poetry from award-winning poet and Arab-Australian human rights lawyer Sara Saleh, and see a stunning new mural by street artist Ms Saffa that pays tribute to the dear departed queer priestess of poetry Candy Royalle.

The Sydney Eye Hospital will play host to visual artist, photographer and filmmaker John Janson-Moore’s work Contact Trace. It’s a moving portrait captured in the canvas of hundreds of photographs captured during last year’s lockdowns, written large on the hospital’s historic southern archway on Macquarie Street. It creates a mesmerising portal, accompanied by stirring music from composer Andrée Greenwell and narration by the inimitable Uncle Jack Charles.

Artist Leanne Tobin, a Dharug woman, reclaims the old colonial sandstone walls of Angel Place to trace First Nations stories on their surfaces for Bungaree. Her projection art will cast its glow over the spot where the Tank Stream once flowed, and where the Gadigal people crafted stone tools. Bungaree of the Garigal clan (Broken Bay) was a teenager when the First Fleet sailed through the heads. He went on to become a diplomat, interpreter and witty mimic of the colonials. He circumnavigated the country with the Royal Navy, but unlike Captain Flinders and his cat, there’s no statue for Bungaree. Tobin’s work writes him back into the story.

“For me, it’s that underlying landscape, underlying country,” Tobin says. “It might be covered in concrete, but those rivers and creeks are still running through this place. They still retain and hold those stories of country.”

Love street art? Check out our guide to the best places to take it all in. 

Things are a little up in the air right now, but appreciating art outdoors remains a safe bet. Which is why we’ve been loving Sydney’s first open-air art fair for emerging artists, which has popped up in Martin Place this week. Unlike most galleries or museums, I Came to See is open 24/7. You can pop along, check out cool work and then scan a QR code on any piece that takes your fancy and buy it online right there and then. Supported by City of Sydney and Transport for NSW, the exhibition acknowledges the significant role art and creativity has played in keeping us all sane during the wild ride of the last year. It’s also all about re-energising the CBD, which lay dormant for so long.

The world may feel very small right now, with international travel not a thing for the most part. But hurrah to Campbelltown Arts Centre (CAC) for bringing a truly global celebration of creativity to our doorstep with I am a heart beating in the world: Diaspora Pavilion 2. Showing at CAC from May 22 until July 25, it’s a collaboration with 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and the International Curators Forum that aims to explore what it means being very far away from your ancestral home. Curated by Adelaide Bannerman, Mikala Tai and Jessica Taylor, it’s not just the theme that spans international borders; it’s also the artists involved. The show includes new works from local heroes Lindy Lee, Leyla Stevens and Abdul-Rahman Abdullah as well as contributions from the UK’s Kashif Nadim Chaudry and Zadie Xa, and Caribbean creator Daniela Yohannes.

Every year since 2017, the Sydney Opera House’s gleaming sails have been transformed by light and sound into a celebration of the lore and artistry of First Nations people. During Badu Gili – which means ‘water light’ in Gadigal language – mesmerising projections undulate on the world-famous canvas, showcasing the work of Indigenous artists. This year’s theme is 'Wonder Women'. Overseen by Coby Edgar, the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, the dazzling array showcases the work and stories of six female First Nations artists, Marlene Gilson, Kaylene Whiskey, Sally Mulda, Judith Inkamala, Marlene Rubuntja and the late Aunty Elaine Russell.

With her latest project, Untitled.Showa, Japanese Australian artist and writer Mayu Kanamori has taken on the role of detective – and she’s calling on the public for help. In 2015, on the table of a quiet stall in the corner of a busy flea market on the outskirts of the quaint country town of Daylesford in Victoria, Kanamori found a pile of bulky envelopes. Inside, she discovered a collection of over 300 beautiful, tiny hand-printed black and white vintage photographs. The beautifully composed, filmic and daresay romantic photographs contain stories of peoples’ lives – young and old, families together, children at the beach, rotund babies in their Sunday best, portraits, groups, landscapes. There are scenes of vacation and ceremony, play and family. They all appear to be taken in Japan sometime between the 1930’s and 60’s – during what is often referred to as Japan’s Showa period (1926-1989), which can be translated as “the era of enlightened peace” or “the era of Japanese glory”. The photos came from a deceased estate in Geelong, but nothing is known about their background, who took them, who appears in them, and how they came to be abandoned in Australia. Kanamori is on the case. 

Just about an hour’s drive from Sydney, the coastal village of Bundeena is not only home to stunning natural surroundings, but also a talented crop of local artists. On the first Sunday of each month, you can hit the road with the Bundeena and Maianbar Art Trail. Stop in at open studios along the way, meet the artists, see works in progress, soak up the studio atmosphere and, if you’re so inclined, make a purchase. A fresh crop of artists have joined the trail in 2021. Every month a new art trail map is available for download with a different mix of open locations, with artists working across various mediums including painting, sketching, ceramics, jewelry, and mixed media. Artists include Sulman Prize-winning painter Bob Marchant, whose vivid works center around the Australian landscape, and multidisciplinary artist Liz Borghero, whose work incorporates painting and sculpture to explore weathering and impermanence.

Intrepid artist George Gittoes has spent the last four decades travelling the globe, throwing himself into fraught situations, from the ostentatious surrounds of Uday Hussein’s palace, shortly after the fall of Baghdad in 2003, to the killing fields of Cambodia and the brutal massacres of Rwanda. Wherever he goes, he listens and learns from the locals, then documents what he witnesses, creating art inspired by both the horrors and the undimmed hope he finds: the light in the darkness. A new exhibition at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre offers an invaluable insight into his process. George Gittoes: On Being There demonstrates both the best and worst of humanity. Gathering his incredible visual record through street art-style paintings, sketches, striking photography and excerpt from his many compelling documentaries, the show is an audiovisual celebration of survival. Art persists in even the worst of situations.

A new exhibition of UNSW Galleries celebrates the work of UK-based Australian artist and filmmaker Sam Smith, surveying of a decade of exciting video installation, sculpture and live performance. Capture, running from May 7 to July 31, features both the equipment behind the art and the digital distribution of his work. Exploring montage, shifting narratives and the camera itself, it includes experimental video and documentary works that marry scientific data with the 'what if?' of speculative fictions, getting to the nub of how the moving image can manipulate our sense of time and space and draw us into imagined realms.

Victorians and New South Welshmen don’t have too much in common (they for some reason insist on calling parmis a "parma") but there is some common ground – namely the beautiful Murray River which separates our two states. This year, the Murray border community of Echuca Moama is throwing a brand new festival around this legendary river.  Moama Lights is a sound and light event that runs from May 8 to 22. It will take place at the Horseshoe Lagoon, a 600-metre-long lit-up trail that visitors can traverse and explore three different chapters of Echuca Moama’s story – its Indigenous heritage, subsequent European colonisation and finally, modern-day Echuca Moama. A light show will be projected across the lagoon and you’ll be able to see a field of illuminated flowers and colours shining across the Murray River. 

There are outstanding riches of colour on offer in the marvellous MCA outing for biennial contemporary art show The National. It’s a veritable cornucopia of creative excellence well worth whiling away a few hours in, especially as Sydney eases into the cooler months. Even when the work is black and white – like Caroline Rothwell’s mesmerically swirling digital animation ‘Carbon Emission 5, Constructivist Rococo’ – it is vibrantly so. APY Lands artist Betty Kuntiwa Pumani’s beautiful large-scale works on linen are a riot of reds and blues that thrum with desert life. Deborah Kelly’s dazzling video installation and accompanying portraits are whirlwind of human hybrid forms twirling for glory that will put you into a blissed-out trance. There’s a deep blue dingo stalking Pakistan-born, Sydney-based multi-disciplinary artist Mehwish Iqbal’s gorgeous tapestry work ‘Assemblage of the Fragmented Landscape’ and Maree Clarke’s stunning photography of topless men wearing traditional jewellery. Judith Wright’s stunning hanging portraits daubed on Japanese rice paper, and Lauren Berkowitz’ bright plastic pendants are also wow-making.

From the moment you set foot in the Art Gallery of New South Wales outpost (AGNSW) of this year's spectacular Australian art biennial The National, your eye is immediately drawn down into the belly of this beast of a show, curated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art specialist Erin Vink and Asian art expert Matt Cox. Melbourne-based artists Wona Bee and Charlie Lawler draw you in with their haunting work ‘Regenerator’, a suspended row of seven charcoal circles that conjure up the ghostly trace of the bushfire season’s aftermath, but also hint at new life caught in endless circulation. This powerful piece hands over to Judy Watson’s sky-blue tapestries ‘clouds and undercurrents’ hanging over the escalators. A powerful way to reclaim the atrium’s open space, they create a beautiful focal point glimpsed from many spots below. Two astounding installations take up space in the very best way in the AGNSW exhibition. Justin Shoulder’s glorious inflatable installation ‘Aeon+: Titan Arum’ depicts a primordial soup-like scenario where inflatable creatures flail as if emerging from their mother’s womb, all bathed in fluctuating pink and purple hues. It’s mesmeric, and if you’re lucky enough, you’ll catch one of the fabulous LGBTQ+ artist’s live performances in the space. We also love Torres Strait Islander artist Alik Tipoti’s knowing wink works ‘Dhangal Madhubal’, depicting Southern Cross-adorned creatures, including a shark hanging from one gallery space ceiling. Also check out First Nations artists Betty Muffler and Maringka Burton’s large-scale linen work ‘Ngangkari ngura (Healing Country)’.

Carriageworks has given over the vast hangar-like space of Bay 21 to contemporary art biennial show The National, as curated by Abigail Moncrieff. Don't miss Indigenous media group Karrabing Film Collective’s powerful 30-minute work ‘Day in the Life #1’. The group takes its name from the Emmi language word for “low tide turning” and their works interrogate inequality for First Nations’ peoples of the Northern Territory. A documentary-style work, it speaks up loud and proud. Elsewhere you can check out some really cool neon works by multi-disciplinary artist Darren Sylvester, including the funky ‘Psychic’s House’, and Brendan Van Hek’s ‘Portable Horizon (Aquamarine, midnight blue)’, which casts a vibrant glow over the space. A series of lightbox works by Alana Hunt also contribute to the glimmer as you walk through the cavernous space, filled with creativity.

Oh starry, starry night – we have been utterly transfixed by the blinding glow of lush exhibition Lumen. Currently on show at White Rabbit Gallery until August 1, if you haven’t had a looksee as yet, then prepare to be dazzled. The magnetic collection brings together glimmering works from more than 25 artists from China and Taiwan. We particularly love the work of collective LuxuryLogico, they fuse music, theatre, dance, film, architecture, installation and technology into their practice. Their mesmerising installation ‘Miniature’ corrals a starfield of LED lights into a large scale pendant work that transfixes you with its cellestial beauty. They also field the flickering awe of ‘Solar’, mimicking the interstellar eruption of solar flares on the surface of the sun via 300 donated desk lamps converted with low-energy bulbs.

Australia’s most prestigious art prize is hitting a major milestone this year, having presented a staggering century’s worth of portraits, including celebrities, politicians, artists, sports stars and ordinary folk. Home venue, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, will mark this glorious centenary with blockbuster exhibition Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize. Tracing the changing face of the nation by presenting some of the most memorable portraits from across the years, the show also delves into the backroom drama, warts and all. You’ll be able to find out juicy goss on all the controversies, triumphs and near misses from the past 100 years. Exhibition curator Natalie Wilson, who heads up Australian and Pacific art at the Art Gallery of NSW, had a tough task on her hands in putting together this landmark show. North of 6,000 portraits have been presented for consideration during the Archibald’s esteemed lifetime. Somehow she’s managed to whittle the field down to just over 100 highlights. They include Vincent Namatjira’s self-portrait, presented two years before his win for depicting sporting hero Adam Goodes; John Bracks’ 1969 pink-jacketed take on Barry Humphries as alter ego Dame Edna Everage; and Wendy Sharpe’s 1996 self-portrait posing as Diana of Erskineville.

Step into a beautiful world of darkness and light that glows brighter than colour when UTS Gallery presents a gorgeous survey exhibition of the incredible photography of First Nations artist Hayley Millar Baker. Pulled together under the title There We Were All in One Place, it collects 35 works spanning five photographic series created between 2016 and 2019. Opening on April 13 and in place until June 14, the show explores Aboriginal experience and culture: a sense of place, family and identity. Millar Baker’s work is informed by her Gunditjmara and cross-cultural heritage, by a keen interest in historical archives, and also integrates photographs taken by her grandfather in celebration of inter-generational creativity.

We love food and we love art here at Time Out, so when those worlds collide, we are all over it. Consider our tummies rumbling at the sound of Art Gallery NSW's (AGNSW) show The Way We Eat: Celebrating food through Asian art. It presents just over 100 artworks, both contemporary and historical, sourced from the gallery’s collection and borrowed from places like the White Rabbit. Opening on April 3, it will be wetting taste buds right through to sometime next year. Divided into four categories –‘Essential’, ‘Exchange’, ‘Excess’ and ‘Enchanted’ – the works include everything from intricately adorned ceramic bowls to big, bold paintings that are a feast for the eyes. The exhibition considers how food is made, stored and consumed. It also traces the design evolution of culinary items, and how food helps facilitate cultural exchange. You’ll also find out more about the ritual and symbolic meanings of food in Chinese culture. Artists on show include Ah Xian, Tianli Zu, Jason Phu and Guo Jian.

One of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, Fiona Hall has represented Australia at the Venice Biennale, and her work explores issues of environment, exploitation and globalisation. She works in a wide range of media and is perhaps best known for intricate metalwork transforming the materials into organic forms. Throughout April and May she will be activating the courtyard of the Hyde Park Barracks to tell the stories of those who once occupied this place – namely convicts, immigrants and asylum inmates – and the officials who controlled their lives. Titled 'Who Goes Here?', the installation consists of 300 painted wooden signposts representing each person, adding up to a 'forest of signs'. Each sign represents someone who lived at the Barracks between 1819 and 1887, chosen for their fascinating life story prior to arriving in the colony and the life they subsequently led here. “The Hyde Park Barracks was a place that played a major role in the shaping of the colony, and what became the city of Sydney, for better or worse," Hall says. "What I am hoping to do here is to encapsulate the society of the time and to make us think about ‘who goes here?”

The Powerhouse Museum will mark Nowrouz – that's Persian New Year if you didn't know – on March 19 with a new exhibition, Iranzamin. It’s the museum’s first dedicated survey of their Persian arts and crafts collection, presenting more than 100 rarely seen gems. The show explores the rich social and cultural history of Persian society, known today as Iran, with a distinct focus on the Qajar era, spanning 1789-1925. The exhibition is divided into seven themes: Joy and Happiness, Purification and Cleansing, Spirituality and Devotion, Poetry and Calligraphy, Rituals and Performance, Patronage and Craftsmanship, and finally Nature and Design. Iranzamin encompasses everything from hand-woven carpets and rugs, to armour and weaponry, to beautiful blown glass pieces, ceramics, tiles and embroidery.

As anyone who recently saw them projected giant-sized at the Royal Hall of Industries during the recent run of exhibition Van Gogh Alive can attest, there’s something utterly mesmerising about the Dutch painter’s beloved ‘Sunflowers’. Now you have a chance to see the real deal up close and personal. Just take a road trip to Canberra for Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London. Opening March 5 at the National Gallery of Australia and running through to June 14, the astounding exhibition will proudly display ‘Sunflowers’, as borrowed from London. But talk about sensory overload, because it’s not just the vivid creations of Vincent that will transfix. Oh no, the roll call's insane. The show contains 61 of the most era-defining European paintings on display. You’ll be snapping your neck so much you’re bound to get headspin, from da Vinci, to JMW Turner to Rembrandt, Renoir, Monet and more...

Sydney is taking temporary custody of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition (WPY) again this year. On loan from London’s Natural History Museum, this world-class collection of mesmerising images will be housed at the Australian National Maritime Museum from April through to October. This collection showcases not only the best of the natural world, but the patience, ingenuity and talent of the photographers who spend their time embedded within wildlife so that they can get that one incredible shot. This year's competition had more than 49,000 entrants from both professional and amateur photographers. Judged by a panel of industry-recognised professionals, this year's pictures will also feature themed panels curated with expert scientists. Each photo has been chosen for its creativity, artistry and technical complexity, as well as the story it tells about the world in which we live. 

The late, great Australian artist Pat Larter rewrote the book on female desire and sexuality, throwing out hoary old conventions and busting stupid stereotypes. So much more than the muse of husband and fellow artist Richard Larter, Pat Larter Get Arted is the showcase shetruly deserves. The first solo exhibition of her work to be hosted in a public art museum, it’s long overdue. From her home in Luddenham, west of Sydney, Larter became one of the major voices in the international – and fiercely anti-establishment – mail art movement, coining the term ‘femail’ art. Revealing a collaborative, provocative, humorous and ultimately joyful artistic practice spanning three decades, Larter’s work centred the female gaze, exploring exciting new angles on gender and the body.

Sydney is home to a vibrant community of street artists, always ready to bring a splash of colour, a touch of provocation, or just the perfect Instagram backdrop to our city’s streets. But as with just about every piece of real estate in Sydney, these unlikely canvases are hotly contested spaces.