Art Gallery of New South Wales - independent travel guide
The Art Gallery of New South Wales is spread across two large complementary campuses - Naala Nura, the original 1909 gallery and Naala Badu, a new 2022 space, often referred to as Sydney Modern.
The original gallery is now a five floor exhibition space with a huge permanent collection of Australian and international art. There's a significant collection of Asian art. Regular special exhibitions feature local and international works.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Art Gallery of New South Wales
The original building holds a vast collection of 19th and 20th century Australian work. This is a good place to think about how colonial artists, some of them former convicts, interpreted Australia's unique landscapes.
Naala Badu - Sydney Modern
Naala Badu, aka Sydney Modern (2022), houses one of Australia’s best collections of Indigenous art in the upgraded Yiribana gallery. There's also a permanent collection of contemporary art and special exhibitions.
The Tank, a converted subterranean WWII-era oil tank, is a major exhibition space in the new gallery and provides a memorable experience for viewing art.
Naala Badu (Sydney Modern) gallery is right next door to the main gallery in an impressive new building designed by award winning Japanese architects, SANNA.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Sydney Modern Naala Badu - Sydney's newest art space
The past 50 years has seen a welcome shift to a more extensive coverage of Indigenous and Asian art that is boosted further by Naala Badu’s upgraded Yiribana First Nations Gallery. There are pieces by Indigenous on display through both gallery buildings.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Experiencing the Art Gallery of New South Wales
This is a large institution - you could easily spend a day here including breaks in the cafes and restaurants. You can even break up your art viewing by taking a walk in the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens and The Domain.
The Art Gallery of NSW has always featured local and international art. Part of its original mission was to bring European civilisation to the distant colony. The inscription of the names of Giotto, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Rubens and others on the gallery’s neo-classical its ambition to the join the great galleries of the world. And it’s made real progress in the past decade.
The Australian collection will be of most interest to international visitors. The gallery is a good place to get a sense of how British colonial artists, some of them former convicts, were captured by Australia’s unique light, landscapes, flora and fauna. The gallery holds some of the most treasured Australian art pieces from the colonial era to the present.
We’ve taken very good free tours with gallery experts - a great way to connect with the gallery and its collection.
Extended opening hours till 10pm on Wednesdays make this an excellent time to visit - especially if you like exploring the outdoors by day.
Getting to the Art Gallery of New South Wales
A walk - If time and weather permit, the long harbour walk from Sydney Opera House, around the harbour foreshore, to the gallery, through Royal Botanical Gardens. This route includes Lady Macquarie's Chair - a famed view across the harbour - and is one of the best walks in central Sydney.
By train - the gallery is 10 minutes walk from St James railway station and Hyde Park Barracks Museum.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Adrian Villar Roja’s, The End of Imagination in The Tank - Sydney Modern
Funding and controversy at Sydney’s most celebrated art gallery - Art Gallery of NSW
Like all cultural institutions, the Art Gallery of NSW is in a perpetual battle for funding. The new Naala Badu building cost more than $300millionAUD and saw some of Sydney’s most deep-pocketed philanthropists cough up more than $100 million. You’ll see their names as you enter the various galleries of the new building . They’re the big names in Sydney real estate, gambling, healthcare and finance and others. The connection with Sydney's gambling plague has attracted some community concern. So has the previous directors appetite for expensive wining and dining while on gallery business.
Funding and staff cuts have been announced in 2025, which seem odd given the firm visitation the gallery enjoys It also plays a special role in Sydney's oft-neglected cultural tourism scene.
Disclosure
Rusty Compass listings are always independent. We list the places we think you should know about. That's it. We will always disclose any commercial arrangements.
If you are interested in cultural travel in Sydney, head over to www.oldcompasstravel.com our boutique travel company for active cultural travellers.
There are no comments yet.