Free things to do in Sydney today

The Museum of Contemporary Art stays open until 9pm each Wednesday night with a program of live music on the terrace, discussions, performances, talks and workshops, to complement the exhibitions. The indoor-outdoor MCA Cafe, on the Sculpture Terrace, also stays open until 9pm. It's got some of the best views of the harbour at night – assuming there aren't any cruise ships. See our hitlist of art exhibitions this month and check out where else you can enjoy art at night.

July 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the moon landings and to celebrate, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre is launching a month of lunar-themed arty events, including three new exhibitions. In Astronaut, artists such as Adam Norton, David Haines and Joyce Hinterding consider the world of space exploration from the perspective of the astronaut, exploring the impact of space travel on the body and the sounds of space. Future takes inspiration from the films and posters of the “space race” of the 1950s and 1960s and examines how contemporary artists such as Christelle Hug, Michael Cook, Clinton Gorst and David Greenhalgh have created their own futuristic visions. Finally, Under the Same Moon explores cultural beliefs, myths and legends surrounding the moon, and features works by artists including Daniel Boyd, Guan Wei, Hedar Abadi and Leanne Tobin.

Shaun Gladwell is best known for his mesmerising slow motion video works depicting him skateboarding or riding BMX bikes against classic Australian backdrops, or more recently, for his virtual and augmented reality works that have been shown at the Cannes and Sydney Film Festivals. Now the Museum of Contemporary Art is presenting the largest survey exhibition of Gladwell’s work to date, tracing his evolution from skateboarding outsider (the critic John McDonald once described watching Gladwell’s burgeoning success as akin to being “the only teetotaller at a drunken party”) to cutting edge artist determined to push the technological possibilities of 21st century art as far as they will go. The exhibition has been beautifully installed in the MCA's third-floor galleries, with some video works taking over entire walls and others splashed across the floor. Highlights include 'Pacific Undertow Sequence', a 2010 video made underwater at Bondi, showing Gladwell upside down on a surfboard, struggling against the forces of nature. There's also his famous 'Storm Sequence' video, also made in Bondi (but on a skateboard, above the surface this time), and the Mad Max-esque 'Approach to Mundi Mundi', which features a motorbike rider storming down a freeway in slow motion with arms outstretched like Da Vinci's 'Vitruvian Man'. But our favourite is 'BMX Channel', which fill a massive wall with a misty seaside scene with a BMX rider in the foreground.

Tjungu Palya is an Aboriginal-owned and run art centre in South Australia, around 450 km south-west of Alice Springs at the base of the Mann Ranges. Given that it’s situated in the Nyapari community, of which there are only around 85 members, it’s a significant and influential force in Australian art. This exhibition from the centre is two years in the making and is taking place across both Artbank in Sydney and Melbourne. If you’ve not heard of Artbank, it’s an Australian government initiative that purchases works from contemporary Australian artists and rents them to the public. But they also throw some wonderful exhibitions to show their own collection. This exhibition, the full title of which is Tjungu Palyangku Tjukurpa titutjara kunpu ngaranytja-ku: As we come together we stand strong for our story, tells Tjukurpa (sacred stories) through painting, drawing and performance. There are 12 artists displaying work: Teresa Baker, Maringka Baker, Kani Tunkin Baker, Ruth Fatt, Kunmanara (Wipana) Jimmy, Beryl Jimmy, Imitjala Pollard, Keith Stevens, Bernard Tjalkuri and Ginger Wikilyiri.

Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand women with iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian) heritage take over Campbelltown Arts Centre to celebrate their culture as part of a new exhibition, Marama Dina. Featuring new commissions from ten female iTaukei artists, the exhibition explores what it means to be iTaukei outside of Fiji, and the ways in which Indigenous Fijian culture has been eroded by decades of colonisation and migration. Constructed within the exhibition is a vale ni soqo (village meeting house), offering a space where Pasifika communities can gather, and visitors can learn and explore what it is to be a ‘Fijian’ woman in Western Sydney today.

Michael Armitage is only in his mid-thirties but his uniquely beautiful paintings are in huge demand around the world. The MCA is presenting his first exhibition in Australia, which includes recent work and new large-scale paintings telling stories of folklore, history and memories from East Africa. They're painted on lubugo bark cloth, sourced from the Mutuba tree in Uganda, giving his work a unique and rough texture. Armitage is known for mashing together his own politics with some fantastical imagery to create paintings that tell strange and sometimes unsettling stories. You'll want to pick up one of the handy free guides at the entry to help explain the eclectic imagery, but even if you don't understand what's happening, the painting is undeniably beautiful.