Travel bucket list idea:
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Credit Shutterstock.com/EQRoy
Last updated: 24 June, 2023
Open up your creative mind and contemplate the rich collections here of Australian, Aboriginal, Asian and European art.
This venerable cultural institution has just emerged from a major refurbishment, including the addition of a new wing called Sydney Modern – due to open at the end of 2022. The gallery’s existing works, numbering around 30,000, are being divided between the two adjacent buildings, with Sydney Modern focussing on the work of contemporary artists from Australia and around the world.
The Archibald Prize
This highlight of the Sydney and Australian art calendar is awarded here in March for the best portrait of a person distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics, by an Australian resident artist. All finalists are exhibited.
Logistics
Price: Free
Minimum age: 0
Age suitable: 13+
When: All year around
Getting there & doing it
The Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) is a 10-minute walk from the city centre (follow the signs from the Sydney Opera House); it’s a superb harbourside walk skirting the Royal Botanical Garden. Otherwise, there is a modestly priced carpark next to St Mary’s Cathedral; street parking is very limited in this part of Sydney, and expensive.
The website has a number of themed video guides, including one on the museum’s secrets, worth a listen before you go.
The gallery offers free monthly tours on the last Sunday of the month, plus regular events, such as After Dark exhibitions and talks; see the website for details. There are special children’s trails and activity boxes, making the art more accessible to kids.
The new and expanded café is an excellent place for lunch or a mid-afternoon tea break.
When to do it
Open all year round, seven days a week. On Wednesdays the Gallery stays open until 9pm to host ‘Art After Hours’ a weekly-changing programme of tours, talks, performances and films.
