Guidebook for Sydney
Arts & Culture
Home to an interesting, ambitious collection of contemporary Chinese art, showcasing work made after 2000. It’s very unique for Sydney—there aren’t many private museums in Australia. The owner travels regularly to China and Taiwan to buy new pieces, so it’s also very dynamic, and there’s a library on the third floor where you can browse art books.
After you check out the art, take a break at the Tea House cafe on the ground floor with a plate of handmade dumplings and Chinese flower tea. The lychee tea and green iced tea are also popular.
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Hvíta Kanínugalleríið
30 Balfour StHome to an interesting, ambitious collection of contemporary Chinese art, showcasing work made after 2000. It’s very unique for Sydney—there aren’t many private museums in Australia. The owner travels regularly to China and Taiwan to buy new pieces, so it’s also very dynamic, and there’s a library on the third floor where you can browse art books.
After you check out the art, take a break at the Tea House cafe on the ground floor with a plate of handmade dumplings and Chinese flower tea. The lychee tea and green iced tea are also popular.
A laboratory for some of the most interesting art being made right now. The curators are very connected with artists and run a studio residency program, so there are practitioners working on-site, making it feel very dynamic and engaged. They also put on fantastic talks, performances, workshops, films, book clubs, and exhibitions.
The gallery recently launched a Curated Shelf: a rotating selection of contemporary and vintage artist books chosen by New York’s artists-in-residence program Printed Matter. These Curated Shelves are popping up in art spaces around the world, with the goal of preserving print in the digital age.
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Artspace Sydney
51 Cowper Wharf RoadwayA laboratory for some of the most interesting art being made right now. The curators are very connected with artists and run a studio residency program, so there are practitioners working on-site, making it feel very dynamic and engaged. They also put on fantastic talks, performances, workshops, films, book clubs, and exhibitions.
The gallery recently launched a Curated Shelf: a rotating selection of contemporary and vintage artist books chosen by New York’s artists-in-residence program Printed Matter. These Curated Shelves are popping up in art spaces around the world, with the goal of preserving print in the digital age.
The permanent collection is excellent, but they also have top visiting exhibitions. I often visit on weekends and take my kids—they have a fantastic family program. Alongside every exhibition here is a learning space for younger visitors where they can be tactile and engage without touching the art.
They have a spectacular rooftop cafe with some of the best views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the city. You can sit inside or outside and enjoy coffee and cake or a glass of wine and lunch. It’s nice to go on Wednesdays when it’s open late—along with the rest of the gallery.
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Listasafn samtíma
140 George StThe permanent collection is excellent, but they also have top visiting exhibitions. I often visit on weekends and take my kids—they have a fantastic family program. Alongside every exhibition here is a learning space for younger visitors where they can be tactile and engage without touching the art.
They have a spectacular rooftop cafe with some of the best views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the city. You can sit inside or outside and enjoy coffee and cake or a glass of wine and lunch. It’s nice to go on Wednesdays when it’s open late—along with the rest of the gallery.
Their program is wide-ranging: The contemporary collection contains major works by over 400 Australian and international artists. The Australian collection is particularly interesting, covering pop art as well as abstract painting and screen culture. It’s also nice to be able to engage with older art here as well as the great temporary exhibitions.
I love Wednesday evenings, when they’re open late for Art After Hours. It’s lively and vibrant and has a varied audience. In addition to seeing the exhibits, you can also sit with a glass of wine and listen to a concert or talks or watch a film in the foyer. It’s a lovely night out with friends.
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Listasafn New South Wales
Art Gallery RoadTheir program is wide-ranging: The contemporary collection contains major works by over 400 Australian and international artists. The Australian collection is particularly interesting, covering pop art as well as abstract painting and screen culture. It’s also nice to be able to engage with older art here as well as the great temporary exhibitions.
I love Wednesday evenings, when they’re open late for Art After Hours. It’s lively and vibrant and has a varied audience. In addition to seeing the exhibits, you can also sit with a glass of wine and listen to a concert or talks or watch a film in the foyer. It’s a lovely night out with friends.
Set in Sydney’s Chinatown, this independent gallery often gets overlooked, but it’s well worth a visit. It runs a fantastic program examining contemporary art from all around the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to exhibitions, there are performances, cinema, and education programs, as well as an emphasis on commissioning new work.
To create more of a discussion around art—its stories, ideas, styles, responses to it—this gallery offers a digital publication: 4A Papers. Expect everything from critical essays to historical analyses, reviews, and travelogues that seek to create a dialogue. Read back issues on their website.
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
Set in Sydney’s Chinatown, this independent gallery often gets overlooked, but it’s well worth a visit. It runs a fantastic program examining contemporary art from all around the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to exhibitions, there are performances, cinema, and education programs, as well as an emphasis on commissioning new work.
To create more of a discussion around art—its stories, ideas, styles, responses to it—this gallery offers a digital publication: 4A Papers. Expect everything from critical essays to historical analyses, reviews, and travelogues that seek to create a dialogue. Read back issues on their website.
The workplace and home of late Australian avant-garde artist Brett Whiteley, this space is preserved as it was when Whiteley died, and visiting is a great way to connect with the way art is made. It’s like visiting a working studio, with his tubes of paint, unfinished paintings, art equipment, and collections of reference books lying around.
March through November, the studio holds poetry readings on the first Sunday of every month, as well as hourlong classical music recitals on the third Sunday of every month. They’re free, and you don’t need to book for either—you can just show up at the studio.
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Brett Whiteley Studio
2 Raper StThe workplace and home of late Australian avant-garde artist Brett Whiteley, this space is preserved as it was when Whiteley died, and visiting is a great way to connect with the way art is made. It’s like visiting a working studio, with his tubes of paint, unfinished paintings, art equipment, and collections of reference books lying around.
March through November, the studio holds poetry readings on the first Sunday of every month, as well as hourlong classical music recitals on the third Sunday of every month. They’re free, and you don’t need to book for either—you can just show up at the studio.