Australia’s Art Scene
Within the southern hemisphere, Australia stands out for its significance in contemporary art. Its creatives draw upon influences like contemporary art trends, Torres Strait Islander art, and Aboriginal Australian artwork—the latter of which is believed to be the world’s oldest continuing tradition of art, with a legacy of nearly 30,000 years.
Throughout the 19th century, British settlers brought Western art techniques to Australia, often focusing on the unique outback landscape, and from this, developing distinctively Australian painting styles. These included the Heidelberg School (Australian impressionism movement) and Australian tonalism. In the 1930s, the Heide Circle output some of Australia’s most well-known modernist painters, including Sidney Nolan, Danila Vassilieff, and Joy Hester. Later, the Antipodean collective, consisting of members like Arthur Boyd, John Brack, and Clifton Pugh, made international headlines for its figurative art advocacy. Other notable artists of the 20th century include Fred Williams, Norman Lindsay, Brett Whiteley, and Emily Kame Kngwarreye.
The oldest Indigenous Aboriginal artworks are still preserved as paintings on rock and bark in national parks—but modern Aboriginal art was only born in the 1970s with Papanya Tula, a group which headed the Western Desert Art Movement (dot painting) and included members like Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Another significant Aboriginal art collective is the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative, created by influential artists such as Michael Riley and Tracey Moffatt.
These collectives continue to support emerging Aboriginal artists, and government-run organisations like Creative Australia and Art Bank support Australia’s art scene as a whole. Some of the country’s most significant artists today include Patricia Piccinini, Ben Quilty, and Fiona Hall. Art enthusiasts can see the works of new and established artists at the hundreds of galleries dotted throughout Australia’s metropolitan areas or at renowned art festivals like the Melbourne Art Fair and Bienalle of Sydney.
Art Hubs Across Australia
Australia’s art scene is spread among its large coastal cities. Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria and the arts and cultural hub of Australia, is home to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). This is Australia’s oldest and most visited art museum, which includes over 75,000 works by local and international artists. The Gallery hosts major exhibitions and events across its two buildings, NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.
The Heide Museum of Modern Art, named in reference to the Heide Circle, showcases works from members of the circle in addition to contemporary paintings and sculptures. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is the national museum of screen culture, focusing on the significance of TV, film, and video game works. On the streets, Melbourne is known for its vibrant graffiti—large-scale murals are impossible to ignore by anyone visiting the central business district.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), located in Sydney, boasts one of Australia’s largest art collections. A fundamental part of the city’s cultural landscape since 1871, it has recently been upgraded with Naala Badu, an underground art gallery focusing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and contemporary Australian art. The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) on the harbour is a must-see as the country’s only public museum dedicated solely to contemporary art. Carriageworks stands out as a multi-arts urban cultural precinct. The historical railway workshop-turned-arts centre features an assortment of radical visual and performing art exhibitions.
In Brisbane, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) exhibit a wide range of paintings and sculptures across two buildings in the city’s cultural precinct. The Museum of Brisbane, located just across the river, explores contemporary and historical Brisbane through art programs and social history exhibitions.
The Art Gallery of South Australia is Adelaide‘s major state-run museum. In addition to exhibiting over 38,000 pieces of artwork, it co-hosts the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, the country’s longest-running survey of contemporary Australian artwork. In Perth, the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) houses over 17,500 historical, modern, and contemporary artworks.
Leading Contemporary Art Galleries in Australia
Some of the best art galleries in Australia are found outside of major institutions. One such leading art gallery is Sydney’s Roslyn Oxley9, which has exhibited influential Australian artists and established international artists since 1982. Another significant art gallery in Sydney is Martin Browne Contemporary, which produces publications that reach thousands of private collectors and trans-Tasman museums. Gallery 9 focuses on early and mid-career artists, while White Rabbit dedicates itself to contemporary Chinese artwork created after the year 2000.
STATION crosses borders with its two locations in Melbourne and Sydney. It represents a stable of Australian and New Zealander artists while also hosting other solo and group exhibitions. The newly established 1301SW also represents artists in its two Melbourne and Sydney locations, drawing influence from its international sister galleries.
Perhaps one of the longest-running contemporary art galleries is Tolarno Galleries, established in 1967. Despite its age, the must-see Melbourne gallery showcases the cutting edge of contemporary Australian art, with four of its artists even representing Australia at the Venice Biennale. The Anna Schwartz Gallery is another major gallery that has cultivated the development of Australian artists for nearly 40 years.
Artist-Run Initiatives and Alternative Art Spaces
Australia has a strong legacy of artist-run initiatives since the 1970s. One notable former ARI is Sydney’s Firstdraft, now supported by public funding and part of Contemporary Arts Organisations Australia, a national network of public, independent, non-collecting art spaces.
Other members of CAOA include the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) (NSW), Artspace (NSW), the Institute of Modern Art (QLD), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (WA), West Space (VIC), and ACE Open, also known as Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (SA).
Australia is home to dozens of other independent, non-profit art centres, such as fortyfivedownstairs (VIC), 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (NSW), and ANCA Gallery. These art spaces help showcase new artworks from creatives around Australia, bypassing the traditional dealer gallery model and fostering a new creative culture.