Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

Experience the Museum in a different light, after dark! As our major international exhibition enters its final weeks, we’re keeping the doors open late for the next two Fridays so you can soak in ‘Julie Mehretu: A Transcore of the Radical Imaginatory’. Wander the galleries at your own pace, linger in the details and take in the city’s glow from the Sculpture Terrace. Take a moment at MCA Cafe at Tallawolladah, grab your Museum memento from MCA Store and, if you are a NSW resident, enjoy 2-for-1 All Access tickets (please bring proof of residency). – Friday 4 and 11 April, until 9pm – Special 2-for-1 All Access tickets for NSW residents purchased onsite after 5pm – MCA Members enjoy 20% off MCA Cafe at Tallawoladah – MCA Store is open until 7pm _____ Images: A Heaps Gay Valentine, MCA, 2025, photo by @annakucera.au #MCAAustralia #JulieMehretu

On Thursday 20 March, the MCA welcomed over 140 attendees of The Inspire Conference, bringing together an international group of educators and practitioners from the Early Childhood sector. This enriching day immersed participants, in the power of arts-based curriculum, inspired by the transformative creative and cultural practices of contemporary artists. Jonathan Jones, a member of the Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi peoples of south-east Australia, and MCA Collection artist, delivered a keynote address on raising children to be aware of cultural history and practices; and joined Rebecca Ray, MCA Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions and academics Clare Britt and Dr Belinda Davis for a dynamic panel discussion on the intersection of education and First Nations culture. Attendees joined interactive gallery and studio workshops with MCA artist educators, and learnt new methods on how to integrate thoughtful, culturally rich artistic practices into their teaching. Interested in participating in MCA’s education programs or using tool kits that engage learners of all ages with creative practice in your classroom? Visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gUz4Uqrs #CreativeLearning #ArtsEducation #LearningThroughArt #CreativeCurriculum Thanks to Semann & Slattery and Anthony Semann who presented the conference. — Images: The Inspire Conference, Thursday 20 March 2025, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, photographs: Jacquie Manning

Last Thursday, we celebrated the launch of our 2025 Autumn Season, a compelling and bold program of contemporary art.      The evening marked the official opening of ‘Warraba Weatherall: Shadow and Substance’, the Kamilaroi artist’s first solo museum exhibition. This powerful presentation critically examines the power structures embedded in museum archives and the colonial acquisition of Indigenous cultural materials.      Guests also experienced ‘The Intelligence of Painting’ featuring works by 14 Australian women artists, Diena Georgetti’s Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission, ‘The Civilisation of the  Abstract’ — a ’striking new site-specific work bringing a bold and dynamic presence to the Museum’s entrance, and the autumn displays of  ‘MCA Collection: Artists in Focus.’       A huge thank you to the incredible artists, curators and the MCA team for bringing this dynamic season to life, our exhibition partners including Eterno Property Group and Oceania Cruises, Government partner Creative Australia for ‘Warraba Weatherall: Shadow and Substance’, and our event partners AV1, The Big Group and beverage partners and Mount Pleasant Wines.     If you haven’t yet, make sure to visit and experience it for yourself.      #MCAAustralia #WarrabaWeatherall #TheIntelligenceOfPainting #DienaGeorgetti ___ Images: Museum of Contemporary Art opening night, 20 March 2025, Photo: Jacquie Manning;  Diena Georgetti, 'The Civilisation of the Abstract' (detail), 2025, installation view, Commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2025, image courtesy the artist, 1301SW, Sydney and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia © the artist, photograph: Jessica Maurer; Warraba Weatherall, 'Shadow and Substance', 2025, installation view, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, image courtesy the artist and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, photograph: Jessica Maurer; Gemma Smith, 'Compression dissolve' (detail), 2024, installation view 'The Intelligence of Painting', Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2025, acrylic on canvas, courtesy the artist and Sullivan + Strumpf © the artist, photograph: Jacquie Manning; Gordon Bennett, 'Im wald (Divided Unity)', 1995, installation view MCA Collection: Artists in Focus, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, Private collection, Brisbane © The Estate of Gordon Bennett, photograph: Hamish McIntosh 

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On the 15 March the Museum became an enormous canvas for The MCA Mega Draw, a one-day event inviting visitors of all ages and abilities to get drawing, inspired by our major summer exhibition 'Julie Mehretu: A Transcore of the Radical Imaginatory'. Creative making activities were developed in collaboration with The A List as part of the Create Space Arts Initiative, designed with neurodiverse visitors in mind. This included best practice approaches including: – Self-paced, drop-in workshops – Staff and volunteers trained in disability confidence – Reduced PA announcements and dedicated quiet space – Visual story guide to the MCA and Sensory map   The day was a super-sized success thanks to the additional support of our project partners Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) and Faber-Castell Australia. We look forward to making arts and culture more accessible for all through our important ongoing relationships.   World Autism Awareness Day is coming up on the 2 April, so be sure to head to our website for additional resources on how to foster inclusivity as an organisation: https://lnkd.in/e2j7EmDa   Photographs by Eliya Cohen and supplied, MCA.

This Saturday, join us for an unmissable conversation with Kamilaroi artist Warraba Weatherall as he sits down with Bundjalung and Kullilli journalist and broadcaster Daniel Browning. This is your chance to hear directly from Weatherall about his artistic practice, his groundbreaking research into museum collections and the creation of his powerful new work, 'Trace' — a major commission for the MCA and Hawai’i Triennial 2025. #MCAAustralia #WarrabaWeatherall

We are excited to announce the MCA’s Commission for Vivid Sydney 2025, ‘King Dingo’, a bold new nightly projection by artist Vincent Namatjira, featuring powerful symbols of First Nations strength, pride and resilience. In collaboration with projection specialists The Electric Canvas, Namatjira will transform the MCA façade into a spectacular rock’n’roll experience with an original score created by Namatjira and Indulkana-based guitarist-composer Jeremy Whiskey. Known for his bold, satirical portraits, Namatjira depicts the dingo – a protector totem and symbol of Indigenous power. Dressed in regal attire, King Dingo, leads us through Australia’s colonial history and reimagines power, resilience, and identity. From the hallowed halls of Buckingham Palace to the raw energy of a rock concert, 'King Dingo' envisions a dream where First Nations culture, leadership, and Country are fully recognised. 'King Dingo' 23 May – 14 June Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gQJXSKcM — Image: Vincent Namatjira in collaboration with The Electric Canvas, 'King Dingo', 2025, artist impression, detail, image courtesy the artist, Iwantja Arts, Ames Yavuz and Destination NSW #MCAAustralia #VividSydney

Join Kamilaroi artist Warraba Weatherall and Bundjalung and Kullilli journalist Daniel Browning on Saturday 22 March to celebrate the opening of ‘Shadow and Substance’, Weatherall’s first solo museum exhibition.     Weatherall’s artworks illustrate how cultural knowledge and objects are collected, archived and presented within museums and archives.    Don’t miss this powerful conversation on art and colonial legacies Saturday 22 March, 2-3pm. Book now: https://lnkd.in/g-4VPuJg     ‘Warraba Weatherall: Shadow and Substance’   Opens 21 March   —    Images: Warraba Weatherall, 2024, photograph: Mick Richards, image courtesy and © the artist; Warraba Weatherall, ‘Dialectic’ (still), 2025, 2-channel digital video, sound, videography and editing: Joshua Maguire, sound design: Samuel Pankhurst, image courtesy and © the artist.    #MCAAustralia #WarrabaWeatherall 

Join Senior Curator and Associate Director of Curatorial Programs at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Dr Adrienne Edwards, for a talk on the work of Julie Mehretu: 'At the Precipice of the World: Line, blur, colour, pixel'. Edwards surveys the artist's distinct approach to abstraction and the dynamic body of work currently on display at the MCA, followed by a Q&A. Tickets include exhibition entry. This lecture is co-presented with The Power Institute at the University of Sydney and the MCA as part of the Visual Research Program.

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