The finalist portraits in the biggest Australian art award of the year have been announced, alongside the winner of The Packing Room Prize: Northern Rivers–based artist Matt Adnate for his portrait of ARIA Award–winning Yolŋu rapper, artist and actor Baker Boy.
Festivals can be overwhelming, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. So we’ve curated the ‘must-see-but-on-a-budget’ art events at this year’s RISING—all free or low cost with no bookings required, from Richard Bell’s iconic Embassy tent to Jeremy Deller’s 24 Hour Rock Show to art-filled micro-bars.
As the harmony of nature feels increasingly fragile, what happens if your art centres nature itself? We asked five artists—Nici Cumpston, Karla Dickens, Jenna Lee, Janet Laurence and John Wolseley—how it feels to work with nature in these times.
Welcome to the first iteration of our monthly book review series, where we share the latest curation of titles straight from the Art Guide Bookstore. With each instalment, we’ll celebrate what’s on offer in the world of Australian art book publishing.“Creativity is never an individual competitive practice.” Jane O’Sullivan reviews CoUNTess: Spoiling Illusions Since 2008, a recent book exposing the data on gender inequity in the arts.
As Gina Rinehart calls for Vincent Namatjira’s portrait of her to be removed from the National Gallery of Australia, the rules of representation have come into question.
Destiny Deacon “was an artist who understood all that matters”, says the writer and poet Tony Birch, one of many friends and fellow creatives attending to their grief over the death of the esteemed multimedia artist last week, at the age of 67.
Congratulations to Shireen Taweel, who has won the 68th Blake Art Prize for her work Shoe Bathers.
This year’s Biennale of Sydney centres the “profound changes of the 21st century” from migration to diaspora to climate change—and how communities show perpetual resilience. From delicate kites to images of nuclear war, here’s our round up of what you can’t miss.
From the myth of gold-hunting termites to capturing minute rock particles, Nicholas Mangan’s survey at the Museum of Contemporary Art weaves narrative, materiality, and time.
The Biennale of Sydney has announced Hoor Al Qasimi, an esteemed curator and Emirati royalty, as the artistic director of the 2026 Biennale of Sydney.
25-year-old Serwah Attafuah is known for her hyper-luminescent dreamscapes and cybernetic archetypes. In her Sydney studio she discusses the scavenger methods, ancestral rituals, and socio-ecological concerns that scaffold her practice—and why The Matrix helps her understand the world.
“It’s a relationship I’m speaking about, a relationship with environment, place, my grandmother and family,” says Christopher Bassi. With inspiration vested in a matrilineal connection to Queensland’s far north, the sea, and the tropics, Bassi practises from a light-filled studio in Brisbane’s West End.
Kirtika Kain’s Western Sydney apartment on Dharug Country is crowded with boxes of materials and new canvases. She came back from a residency in Italy in late 2022 and since then she’s been living alongside her work, preparing for her solo exhibition at Roslyn Oxley9 and for the Biennale of Sydney next year. The cohabitation has been intense and sometimes messy, but Kain says studio life is teaching her new confidence.
