From the much anticipated opening of Powerhouse Parramatta to the next instalment of Sydney’s Biennale, 2026 promises monster exhibitions. But beyond the headline-grabbers, there’s much more worth marking in your calendars.

Whether it’s deep-diving into the art of summer, celebrating the power of graffiti, contemplating the artistic possibilities of AI or melting your brain at Sydney’s coolest new family attraction, our options for getting cultured are vast and varied.

The Beach

Australian National Maritime Museum, until February 1

Opened late last month, this summer exhibition is a beachy keen look at the oversized impact seaside living has had on our national identity. There are takes on sun, surf and sand by Anne Zahalka, Max Dupain, Lola Ryan, Charles Meere and Ken Done, alongside historical photographs and objects, and kid-friendly playscapes.

The packed schedule includes morning yoga sessions, a sparkly mermaid takeover of the space on two evenings in January, exclusive early openings for babies up to 24 months, and an after-dark Beach Ball with cocktails and foam sandcastle building on January 29.

Deep dive into summer at the Australian National Maritime Museum’s exhibition, The Beach.Credit: Geoff Magee Photography

Data Dreams: Art and AI

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, until April 27

Among humanity’s most pressing concerns is the impact of artificial intelligence and the MCA faces the question head-on in this exhibition, presented as part of the 2025-26 Sydney International Art Series. Ten artists from around the world, having examined some of the concerns, incorporate the technology into their work to illustrate the possibilities. Thought-provoking considerations of this technological turning point include Fabien Giraud’s 1000-year film, shot and edited by AI, and Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler’s look at the resources needed to power these innovations.

Christopher Kulendran Thomas’ The Finesse, 2022, from Data Dreams: Art and AI, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.Credit: Hamish McIntosh/MCA Australia

The Hooligans

White Rabbit Gallery, until May 17

The recently opened exhibition at Judith Neilson’s much-loved gallery dedicated to contemporary Chinese art centres on the Mao-era crime of “hooliganism”, a term slippery enough to target anyone deemed a threat. On four levels, the politically charged pieces include 500 kilograms of Ai Weiwei’s porcelain sunflower seeds, an eerie carousel from Huang Yongping, Li Wei’s uncanny imaginings of world leaders as children and Tian Longyu’s enormous sculpture of a tiger that has swallowed an elephant. The striking works form a potent creative critique on the forces of oppression.

Li Wei’s eerie Once Upon a Time (2019), from The Hooligans at White Rabbit Gallery.

Museum of Illusions, Sydney

City, open daily

Freshly launched in Sydney’s CBD on Boxing Day, the latest in a chain of family-friendly museums that started in Croatia in 2015, this attraction can now be found in 28 countries. There are more than 80 interactive exhibits with such optical wonders as a dizzying spinning tunnel, an Ames room where visitors shrink and grow seemingly in an instant, and an upside-down Aussie pub. The mind-bending illusions are Instagram-worthy but the museum also delves a little deeper into the science of how eyes can be deceived, providing an educational experience for STEM-curious youngsters.

Surviving Australia

Australian Museum, open daily

In a continent filled with danger at every turn, the museum’s new, free, permanent exhibition explores what it took and still takes for the country’s incredible diversity of species to survive. This reimagined version of the museum’s previous Surviving Australia exhibit – initially only to be a renovation – adds 350 new displays for an almost completely fresh experience. Visitors can meet prehistoric creatures such as fanged kangaroos and the enormous wombat-like Diprotodon, while also learning how urbanisation and climate change present new threats to Australia’s current wildlife.

Searchers: Graffiti and Contemporary Art

National Art School, January 17-April 11

As part of Sydney Festival and the 20th anniversary of NAS Gallery, this vibrant exhibition displays works by more than 35 Australian artists, linked by the medium of spray paint. It covers street to fine art and tracks the aesthetic journey of the humble spray can over the decades. View works by Adam Cullen, Mikala Dwyer, Dale Frank, Shaun Gladwell, Fiona Lowry, Ben Quilty, Khaled Sabsabi, Reko Rennie and more. Graffiti writers will create large-scale, temporary works on the gallery walls.

Reko Rennie’s Three Little Pigs, 2024, at Searchers: Graffiti and Contemporary Art, at the National Art School.

Rosalie Gascoigne: Sky, Earth, Water

Bundanon, March 7-June 14

At Bundanon, on 1000 hectares of idyllic wildlife refuge, it’s not surprising that the art gallery’s first major exhibition for 2026 would focus on someone who celebrated the sweeping Aussie landscape. Sculptor and assemblage artist Rosalie Gascoigne was the first woman to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale in 1982, with work that incorporated salvaged materials, particularly those weathered by the country’s harsh conditions. More than 20 of her key works, on loan for the show, will be displayed alongside new commissions from contemporary First Nations women artists Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Janet Fieldhouse and Glenda Nicholls.

Rosalie Gascoigne’s Plenty, 1986. The acclaimed Australian artist (1917-1999) is the subject of a major exhibition at Bundanon.

Biennale of Sydney

Various locations, March 14-June 14

The 25th edition of the Biennale is titled Rememory, a term drawn from novelist Toni Morrison, with the aim being to explore the meeting of memory and history, particularly for those who have been overlooked, suppressed and erased. Festival artistic director Hoor Al Qasimi kicks things off with opening night event Lights On on March 13, with a ticketed evening of cutting-edge music one day before the main event opens free to the public. More than 50 artists and collectives announced so far include Joe Namy’s Automobile arriving in Parramatta to turn the speakers of cars into the PA for a public dance floor, and Dennis Golding transforming Redfern Town Hall into a First Nations-led bingo night.

Avatar: Forms of Vishnu

Art Gallery of New South Wales, June 20-October 5

AGNSW’s major exhibition draws on centuries of art from South and South-East Asia depicting the Hindu deity who maintains cosmic order. The show examines the many forms of Vishnu via sculpture, painting, textiles, photographs and film drawn from collections around the globe. New works from Desmond Lazaro, Gitanjali Das, Kalam Patua and Sumakshi Singh have been created for the exhibition. The show will precede another major opening, a Sidney Nolan survey starting in October and examining the formative years in the artist’s career.

Lotus-clad Radha and Krishna, c 1700–10, on display at Avatar: Forms of Vishnu, at the Art Gallery of NSW.Credit: Art Gallery of NSW

Task Eternal

Powerhouse Parramatta, opening late 2026

Powerhouse Parramatta is set to launch later this year and the inaugural exhibition focuses on humanity’s drive to take to the sky, projecting from aviation history to what the future of space travel might hold. The epic Task Eternal has been developed over the past four years and will be on show in the museum’s largest exhibition space, covering 2200 square metres. More than 600 objects will be on display, from the Powerhouse’s own collection and borrowed from space agencies, the British Museum and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, along with new artist commissions.

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