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Art Gallery of New South Wales - Tours

From its magnificent site on Sydney Harbour, on Gadigal land, the Art Gallery of New South Wales is one of Australia’s flagship art museums and the state’s leading visual arts institution.

In 2021 the Art Gallery celebrated their 150th anniversary, and in 2022 they completed their significant expansion through the Sydney Modern Project. This transformation creates a new art museum campus across two buildings connected by a public art garden in one of the world’s most beautiful cultural precincts. The expanded Art Gallery is one of the finest tourism destinations in Australia and an absolute must-see for an art and cultural experience in Sydney.

Just a 15-minute walk from the city centre, admission to the Art Gallery is free.

Dine at Crafted by Matt Moran or MOD. Dining by Clayton Wells. Enjoy refreshments from the Gallery Café, or Kiosk featuring a takeaway menu with each item, curated by Indigenous Elder Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, featuring native Australian ingredients.

Visit on a Wednesday evening until 10pm for Art After Hours and see a slice of Sydney culture with free celebrity talks, music, performances, films and special events.

For times and dates of all exhibitions, events, tours, and experiences, please check the Art Gallery of NSW website.

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Pure joy as you wake to the sunrise. Awe as you make it to the snowy peak. A sense of adventure as you motor across red plains. The relief of rejuvenation as you wade into an alpine stream. Connection as you taste native, fragrant leaves. A sense of belonging as you return to your favourite holiday house. Freedom as you dash into the waves. Discover the endless feelings a visit to NSW can inspire.

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NIRIN Virtual Tour: Art Gallery of New South Wales

By Biennale of Sydney

22nd Biennale of Sydney: NIRIN

A Dickensian Circus A Dickensian Circus (2020) by Karla Dickens Biennale of Sydney

NIRIN  at the Art Gallery of New South Wales is situated throughout the ground level, occupying the facade, vestibule and entrance court, and intervening within the collection in the Grand Courts. Opening up dialogues across different architectural spaces and within existing displays,  NIRIN  invites inspiring modes of intervention, new ways of telling histories and stories, dynamic sensory experiences, and radical transformations of space, with the aim of shifting the way we experience traditional museum architecture and display.

A strong theme informing this exhibition is DHAAGUN ( earth , sovereignty and working together). Sovereignty is taken beyond a legal definition of authority to consider cultural, emotional, spiritual and ancestral ties to place. Many artists draw upon serious and playful relationships between popular culture, place and community. They gather narratives of individual and collective survival that resist mainstream practices, racism and dispossession and through their work seek to redefine the status quo. 

NIRIN  negotiates new visual proposals within these gallery walls to expand our understanding of what an ‘edge’ is and how to make more room for other possibilities. Navigate through the Art Gallery of NSW and explore the artworks of NIRIN .

NIRIN at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (2020) Biennale of Sydney

Machiluwvn / Iniciación / Initiation Machiluwvn / Iniciación / Initiation (2020) by Elicura Chihuailaf Nahuelpán Biennale of Sydney

Elicura Chihuailaf Nahuelpán (Chile)

The blue banners of Machiluwvn / Iniciación / Initiation transform our experience of entering the colonial neo-classical facade of the Art Gallery of New South Wales with powerful messages by Mapuche poet Elicura Chihuailaf Nahuelpán.  Read more

Karla Dickens (Australia)

In the grand surroundings of the vestibule, rusty, bent and gnarly sculptures of A Dickensian Circus   divulge the hidden histories and stories of marginalised people.  Explore the artwork

Musa N Nxumalo (South Africa)

These energised photographs - Are the fees gonna fall or nah? and Moonchild Sanelly - Anthology of Youth   are wallpapered across the entrance wall to the Grand Courts, projecting a youthful vibrancy that is both infectious and transformative.  Explore the works of Nxumalo

Barbara McGrady (Australia)

These three striking images - Black Lives Matter, Sovereignty Never Ceded and  Justice for TJ Hickey - capture moments of protest and remembrance and dynamic stories of individual and collective action in public spaces. Dramatically scaled up, the photographs serve as a testimonial to the urgent continued struggles and unfinished stories that are embedded within.  View the artworks

Kunmanara Mumu Mike Williams (Australia)

Filling the entrance court are banners bearing words and images from Kunmanara Mumu Mike Williams' personal archive, projecting his belief in the power of words to effect change.

The Mulka Project (Australia)

Watami Manikay (Song of the Winds) is an immersive collaborative performance by the Yolŋu digital artists of The Mulka Project - a collective of highly active artists who work with cutting-edge digital technologies, producing video art that links across land, recording and archiving song and everyday life.  Read more

Joël Andrianomearisoa (Madagascar/France)

The black textile interventions of  THERE MIGHT BE NO OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD AS GOOD AS WHERE I AM GOING TO TAKE YOU  create a shifting experience which plays with our viewing perceptions of the Gallery's collections.  Explore the artwork

Emily Karaka (New Zealand)

Emily Karaka's powerful paintings reflect her physical involvement in Māori Land Rights and Treaty Claims issues. The works are almost cartographic, creating visual space on each canvas that is tethered to material, cultural and political geographies and languages.  View the artworks

Préfète Duffaut (Haiti)

A shipbuilder, artist, poet and mystic, Duffaut started painting after a woman urged him to do so in a dream. His paintings vividly depict his dreams – usually imaginary cities and boat-filled harbours in the bay of Jacmel – and reveal his poetic sensibility, mystical tendencies and broad imagination.  Learn more

Mostaff Muchawaya (Zimbabwe)

The colourful, layered paintings of Muchawaya present a complex mix of portrait and self-portraiture, autobiography and fiction, closely tied to place and memory.  View the artworks

Karim Bleus (Haiti)

Bleus presents sculptures made with wood carvings mixed with recycled metals, including the pictured  Sosyete (Society) and Migrasyon (Migration).  View the artworks

Josep Grau-Garriga (Spain/France)

Retaule dels penjats (Altarpiece of the Hanged People); and Màrtir (Martyr) presents a monumental tribute to unknown martyrs throughout time.  Read the story

Lhola Amira (South Africa)

AmaKhosi displays an intimate set of mini icons of 'so(u)ldiers' placed on a bed of healing salt.  Read more

Iltja Ntjarra (Many Hands) Art Centre (Australia)

Painted with beautiful landscapes and marked with powerfully assertive messages, these 'dollar shop' bags trace stories of Country and struggles with housing and displacement.  View all of the artworks

Rosana Paulino (Brazil)

Búfalas (she buffalos) and Jatobás (archetypes of female wisdom) investigate and celebrate the representation of black women in Brazilian society. View the images

Bronwyn Katz (South Africa)

Imbedded within the Gallery’s collection works, Katz explores the interaction between the visual and the aural. The titles of the sculptural works  ǂ, //, /   and   !  are based on four click consonants from endangered southern African languages.  View the artworks

Maria Thereza Alves (Brazil)

In  OIKOVYTERI ITEKO'A MÔĪNGUEVYA (Decolonization Continues) a newspaper written in Guarani and English sits among a display of 18-19th century European art, highlighting oppression and racial violence in Brazil. Alongside this,  A Casa da Maria (Maria’s House)  is a testimonial to the late Maria Gansha, whom Alves met in her father’s village in 1983.  Read more

Andre Eugene (Haiti)

"My piece is called Life & Death, because from the moment you are born you are sucking on the breast of death. The motivation behind my work is to change the situation for life and art in Haiti, and for the rest of the world to understand that Vodou is the soul of the people in Haiti."  Read more

The White Album The White Album (2018/2019) by Arthur Jafa Biennale of Sydney

Arthur Jafa (USA)

The political, intimate and pop-cultural film footage in Arthur Jafa’s The White Album constructs a portrait of the United States of America and a racialised view of the complexities of ‘whiteness’ through personal opinion and confronting news events that continue to affect many people today.  Read more

Keep exploring NIRIN at the Art Gallery of New South Wales or take another  NIRIN Virtual Tour .

Ibrahim Mahama

Biennale of sydney, karla dickens, ackroyd & harvey, tony albert, the great animal orchestra, zanele muholi, torres strait 8, lhola amira, john gerrard.

• Music & ballet
• Short Breaks

Sicily and Malta

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Explore the alluring Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Malta through a wealth of art and archaeology, tracing their history from the Neolithic to the Baroque.

At a glance.

• Wander through impressive Greek theatres and temples in Syracuse and Agrigento, two of the most powerful cities in the wider Hellenic world
• Visit Taormina, the picturesque Sicilian town whose Greco-Roman theatre gazes out towards the dramatic slopes of Mt Etna
• See masterpieces of art ranging from Classical Greek bronzes in Sicily to Caravaggio’s Beheading of St John the Baptist in Malta
• Marvel at treasures of Norman-Sicilian art and architecture such as the exquisitely decorated Palatine Chapel in Palermo and Monreale Cathedral

Begin in Sicily, the largest island of the Mediterranean and Homer’s ‘Land of the Cyclops’. Visit the imposing remains of Classical Greek and Roman theatres in Taormina and Syracuse and the evocative Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. View lesser-known masterpieces of Classical Greek art, like the bronze Dancing Satyr at Mazara del Vallo, and explore the Norman history of Sicily in the churches of Palermo and Monreale.

Continue to the island of Malta, whose Neolithic temples still stand as some of the oldest religious structures on earth, and discover its extraordinary Mediaeval and Renaissance history which saw Caravaggio serve as court painter to the Knights Hospitaller.

**WAITLIST** Please click ‘Enquire’ if you would like to be notified if a place becomes available on tour.

This tour is part of the World Art Tours program organised by the Art Gallery Society of NSW in partnership with Renaissance Tours.

15 – 28 September 2024 (14 days)

Tour leader

Julian Droogan

Tour Status

Sunday 15 September 2024 / Arrive Palermo

Arrive in Palermo on suggested flights and make your own way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel), private hotel transfer, accommodation before or after the tour and a room category upgrade.

At 18:00, join your tour leader Julian Droogan and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing followed by dinner.

Mon 16 Sep / Palermo

This morning, visit the Palazzo dei Normanni, seat of the Norman Kings of Sicily in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and the oldest royal residence in Europe. The focus of the palace is the Palatine Chapel, whose stunning mosaics stand out even amongst the great works of Byzantine art for the subtlety of their colours and the delicacy of their depiction of the draped robes of the saints.

Then, see Palermo Cathedral and the Byzantine-influenced church of La Martorana before travelling to the nearby town of Monreale. Visit its magnificent cathedral, one of the masterpieces of Norman architecture, whose interior is almost entirely covered with brilliant mosaics.

In the evening, attend a performance by the Puppet Opera, a traditional Sicilian entertainment in which giant marionettes act out chivalric contests between the Franks and the Saracens.

Tue 17 Sep / Palermo

Following a morning talk by Julian, explore the Palermo Regional Archaeological Museum, filled with artefacts from prehistoric times to the Roman era, including major Sicilian finds from the Phoenician, Punic, Greek, Roman and Saracenic periods.

After lunch, enjoy a private visit of the Palazzo Gangi, an eighteenth-century palace and last home of Princess Carine Vanni Mantegna of Gangi. Learn about how the Palazzo was used as a set for Luchino Visconti’s film’, Il Gattopardo based on Lampedusa’s masterpiece, The Leopard, which sees the virtual annexation of Sicily in 1860 through the eyes of an ancient aristocratic family.

Continue to the Regional Gallery of Sicily, located in the Palazzo Abatellis, a fifteenth century palace that once belonged to the Port Master of the Kingdom of Sicily. The gallery houses a collection of Mediaeval paintings, maiolica and frescoes gathered from monasteries suppressed in the mid-eighteenth century, including the exquisite Virgin Annunciate by Antonello da Messina.

Wed 18 Sep / Palermo – Agrigento

Depart Palermo and transfer to the archaeological site of Segesta, one of the major cities of the ancient Elymian people who, along with the Sicanians and the Sicels, constitute the indigenous inhabitants of Sicily. The Elymians eventually came under the cultural influence of the Greeks, as is evident in the impressive ruins of the Greek-style theatre and temple at Segesta.

Continue to Mazara del Vallo to visit the Museum of the Dancing Satyr, housing the bronze statue ‘Dancing Satyr’ dating from the third century BC and exhibiting an artistic refinement recalling the works of Praxiteles from the previous century.

Then, travel to the south coast of Sicily and arrive in Agrigento in the late afternoon.

Thu 19 Sep / Agrigento

Following a morning talk, explore the Valley of the Temples, whose expansive archaeological park is the largest in the world at 1,300 hectares. The scale and quality of the archaeological relics earned the Valley of the Temples a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The site includes seven Doric temples; the remarkably well-preserved Temple of Concord is a stunning sight.

After lunch, enjoy the afternoon at leisure to continue your exploration of Agrigento at your own pace.

Fri 20 Sep / Agrigento – Syracuse

This morning, depart Agrigento and travel to Villa Romana del Casale at Piazza Armerina, famous for the richness and quality of its mosaics. Discover the spectacular floor mosaics dating back from the fourth century AD, depicting mythological subjects, hunting scenes, animals and people.

Continue to Caltagirone for lunch, the centre of Sicilian ceramic ware and particularly famous for its production of maiolica and terra cotta, before arriving in Syracuse in the late afternoon.

Sat 21 Sep / Syracuse

Enjoy a morning talk before exploring the Ancient Greek Theatre, recessed into the Teminite Hill and overlooking the Bay of Syracuse. Discover the third century BC Altar of King Hiero II, the largest known altar from antiquity, and visit the ancient quarries ( latomie ), which supplied the doughty and durable limestone of which Greek Syracuse was built.

After lunch, visit the Regional Archaeological Museum, boasting a large collection from the Neolithic to the Roman period of Sicilian history. See the skeleton of the Pygmy Elephant, an extinct species of dwarf elephant native to Sicily and Malta whose skulls are thought to have been mistaken for the remains of the Cyclopes described in Homer’s Odyssey , earning Sicily the sobriquet ‘Land of the Cyclops’.

Then, see Caravaggio’s altarpiece Burial of St Lucy in the church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. Caravaggio was commissioned to paint the work when he fled to Sicily after escaping from prison in Malta.

Sun 22 Sep / Syracuse

Begin the morning with a walking tour of Ortigia, the island which forms the historic centre of Syracuse. Discover the Fountain of Arethusa and the remains of the ancient Temple of Apollo. Visit the Cathedral, one of the best examples of the conversion of Greek and Roman temples into Sicilian Baroque architecture.

Enjoy the afternoon at leisure to explore Ortigia at your own pace.

Mon 23 Sep / Syracuse – Taormina

Today, travel along the east coast to Taormina, an ancient city set between the towering Mount Etna and the azure waters of the Ionian Sea. Upon arrival, wander through its picturesque streets and visit the Ancient Theatre. Often referred to as the ‘Greek Theatre’, the foundations date from the Hellenic era, but the brick construction of the edifice itself indicates that the building in its present form dates from the Roman period.

Tue 24 Sep / Taormina (Messina)

This morning, transfer to Messina and visit the Norman cathedral, one of the city’s main landmarks. Continue to the Regional Museum of Messina, housing a large collection of Italian and Sicilian artists, including masterpieces by Caravaggio and Antonello da Messina.

Return to Taormina and enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure.

Wed 25 Sep / Taormina – Valletta, Malta

Check out of the hotel in the morning and transfer to Catania Airport for an afternoon flight to Valletta in Malta (flight included in tour price).

Arrive in Valletta and transfer to the hotel, followed by dinner.

Thu 26 Sep / Valletta

Following a morning talk, enjoy a walking tour of Valletta, including the Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta City Gate, the bastion walls atop the city’s legendary fortifications and the Auberge de Castille.

Then, visit St John’s Co-Cathedral, where Caravaggio’s giant altarpiece, The Beheading of St John the Baptist , stands as testimony to the painter’s brief stint as a member of the Knights Hospitaller.

Fri 27 Sep / Valletta

Begin the morning with a visit to the 5,500-year-old temple complexes of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, whose Stone Age megaliths, among the national symbols of Malta, are around a millennium older than the most ancient of Egypt’s pyramids.

Continue to Mdina, which served as the capital of Malta from antiquity to the Middle Ages. Explore the ancient capital on a walking tour of the sights, including the main square, the Cathedral of St Paul and the bastion fortifications. Discover the Siculo-Norman, Gothic and Baroque architecture of the houses of Malta’s noble families. Finish at the Greeks Gate, one of the few remaining visible sections of the medieval city walls, before returning to Valletta.

Tonight, celebrate the conclusion of the tour with a farewell dinner with Julian and fellow travellers.

Sat 28 Sep / Depart Valletta

Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast.

For those returning home today, make your way to Malta Airport for suggested flights to Australia or New Zealand. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including a private airport transfer, additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel).

Per person, twin-share

Single supplement

Deposit per person (at time of booking)

Final payment due

15 July 2024

Room category upgrade available on request; please enquire with us.

Tour price includes

• Accommodation in 4-star to 5-star hotels with breakfast daily (B)
• Meals as per itinerary (L = Lunch, D = Dinner), including drinks with dinners
• Comprehensive sightseeing, including local guides and entrance fees as per itinerary
• Transportation throughout on comfortable, air-conditioned coaches
• Economy class flight from Catania to Malta (baggage allowance 23kg)
• Lectures and talks with your tour leader, Julian Droogan
• Gratuities for local guides, drivers and wait staff
• Hotel porterage (one piece per person)

Tour price does not include

• International airfares (please contact Renaissance Tours or your travel agent for assistance)
• Airport/hotel transfers on arrival and departure
• Airport porterage
• Items of a personal nature (e.g. telephone, laundry, room service, minibar, taxis etc.)
• Travel insurance (a condition of travel; please contact Renaissance Tours or your travel agent for assistance)

Your hotels Palermo –Hotel Palazzo Brunaccini, Palermo**** Agrigento – Hotel Della Valle**** Syracuse – Hotel Parco Delle Fontane**** Taormina – Splendid Hotel Taormina**** Valletta – Hotel Phoenicia*****

N.B. Hotels of a similar standard may be substituted.

More Details

Tour code: AG2421

Fitness level: Moderate Please see Terms & Conditions for fitness level definitions here .

Suggested airlines: Emirates/Qantas Please contact Renaissance Tours or your travel agent for current airfares and flight reservations.

Visa Australian and New Zealand passport holders do not require a visa to visit Italy and Malta.

Download booking form  here .

Valley of the Temples, Agrigento in Sicily

Palatine Chapel Byzantine mosaics, Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo

Cloister of the Cathedral of Monreale

Ortigia island at the city of Syracuse

Ancient Greek Theatre of Taormina

Caltagirone ceramics

Valletta skyline, Malta

HIstoric Mdina, Malta

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Participation in tours

Most of our tours require a MODERATE level of fitness. However, in certain destinations, or in certain seasons, or because of the nature of travel, certain tours will require an ABOVE MODERATE or CHALLENGING level of fitness. For the overall benefit of the group, at the time of booking we will require you to declare in writing that you are fit to participate in your chosen tour according to the level of fitness required for that tour. If you (or we) have any doubts about your level of fitness, you may be required to undergo a doctor’s appraisal. This would require your doctor to read the itinerary of your chosen tour, including the fitness level, and provide you (and us) with a written confirmation of your ability to participate. We reserve the right to refuse admission to the tour for any reason before commencement of the tour. Further, if after the tour has begun it becomes apparent that you are unfit or unsuitable to travel on the tour, we reserve the right to require you to withdraw from the tour at the earliest opportunity to do so. No refund will be provided. It is also a requirement that you do not cause any significant disruption to the tour or the tour group, and we may refuse admission on the tour, or require you to withdraw from the tour at any time if your participation causes significant disruption for other guests or the tour group or there is any safety issue as a result of your ongoing participation in the tour.

Fitness to participate

Tour members must be able to:

• negotiate airports and railway stations without wheelchair assistance
• use combined shower/bath facilities (it is impossible to guarantee walk-in shower facilities)
• undertake walking tours of 1-2 hours duration, including using stairs, walking over cobblestones and other uneven surfaces
• stand for long periods in museums and other sites
• embark / disembark coaches, trains and other methods of transportation without assistance
• handle your own luggage

Above Moderate

In addition to the above, tour members must also be able to:

• undertake walking tours of 2-3 hours
• climb staircases of 100 or more steps

Challenging*

• handle extremes of temperature (e.g. below 0 or above 35 degrees)
• handle extremes of altitudes (e.g. 4000 metres and above)

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‘Sheer spectacle’: biggest Kandinsky show to reach Australia opens in Sydney

You may know his Blue Mountain but there’s much more to the impenetrable artist, says the curator of the Art Gallery of NSW show

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I f you are a person who doesn’t “get” art, there is something thrilling about Wassily Kandinsky . Because trying too hard to find something concrete under all the sugary colours, random shapes and squiggles would give anyone a headache.

“Looking at a painting by Kandinsky, we are simultaneously looking at what it is concealing,” the art historian and painter John Golding once wrote. Critic David Sylvester instructed that no one should not stare too long: “As soon as we look at the picture, it starts making faces at us,” he huffed. “Some day Kandinsky will be the best known and best loved of men,” a starry-eyed Diego Rivera wrote in 1931; for now, though, he’s mostly known as opaque and impenetrable.

The Russian artist once deemed a dangerous “degenerate” by the Nazis hurtled from impressionism to expressionism to abstraction over four decades from 1896 until his death in 1944. He didn’t begin painting until he was 30, having been inspired by one of Monet’s haystack paintings, which showed him the dazzling possibilities of art. . Years later, late in his studio one night, he’d have another earth-shattering realisation while gazing upon one of his own paintings, laid on its side: subject matter did not matter.

The biggest Kandinsky show ever staged in Australia has arrived at the Art Gallery of New South Wales , his first solo show here in more than 40 years. It arrives two years after a similar exhibition at New York’s Guggenheim museum: Solomon R Guggenheim was such a Kandinsky fan that he snapped up more than 150 of his paintings over 20 years. (Kandinsky’s instantly recognisable 1923 painting Composition 8 once hung in Guggenheim’s bedroom.)

“Abstraction had existed in diverse world cultures for millennia, but in Europe, Kandinsky is right at the forefront,” says Megan Fontanella, curator of modern art and provenance at the Guggenheim, who also curated the AGNSW show. “He was radical. And I strongly believe he is very accessible.”

A big show is the best way to experience him. “Sometimes you might see one of his 1923 geometric works out of context, and you have no idea how he got there, or where he would go – but all his works speak to one another,” she says.

Kandinsky wrote long treatises about what certain symbols and colours meant to him, although the task of decoding what it all means feels almost silly when faced with one of his painting. Take the colour red – in his own words, it represents: “Strength, energy, purpose, striving, resistance, resoluteness, violence, passion, joy, triumph, high sound, and the penetrating call of fanfares mixed with tuba./Everything human.” Blue meant balance and purity. White: silence and possibility. Black: grief and death. (Unsurprisingly, he was fascinated by synaesthesia; we will never know if he had it.)

Shapes also had special meaning: Russian icon St George, a frequent subject in his early paintings, eventually morphed into a circle, standing in for the concept of cosmic balance. Triangles were metaphors for the way avant-garde art was leading society forward. “The impact of the acute angle of a triangle on a circle is actually as overwhelming in effect as the finger of God touching the finger of Adam in Michelangelo,” he once wrote.

It’s not a comparison many others would make – but you can still appreciate the sheer spectacle of Kandinsky without understanding him, says Fontanella. “You don’t have to know that yellow, for instance, sounds to him like a trumpet blast, to know that yellow is a bold colour or to feel that painting as bold,” she says, gesturing at his Yellow Painting (1938) on the wall. “There’s something very intuitive about him. Often times he’s threading that needle between abstraction and representation, where you might still have what looks like a reclining couple or the evocation of a cannon, the suggestion of an amoeba – he’s putting something in there to help you feel a little at ease.”

History can weigh heavily on some people; Kandinsky more than most. He was criticised by his countrymen for being dangerously singular. Russian poet and revolutionary Anatoly Lunacharsky once described Kandinsky as being “obviously in the final stage of psychic degeneration … why do they permit him to exhibit, really?” By 1914 Kandinsky was forced to move from Munich back to Russia when Germany declared war. His homecoming coincided with the Russian Revolution of 1917; the previously wealthy artist watched as his family land and fortune was redistributed by Bolshevicks. In 1920 his three-year-old son Lodya died of causes attributed to malnutrition. Kandinsky and his wife, Nina, moved back to Germany the following year.

The rise of the Bauhaus movement, of which Kandinsky was part, coincided with the rise of the Nazis. The art school dodged increasingly conservative local governments in Weimar, Dessau and then Berlin, before being shut down in 1933. In 1937, the Nazis ordered that 57 Kandinsky paintings be removed from German museums; 14 of those were displayed in the Nazi’s famous Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition in Munich. It was less an art show than a freak show, encouraging Germans to sniff at artists Hitler had accused of being “driving forces of corruption”. Kandinsky fled the Nazis to Paris in 1939. The Nazis followed him there a year later.

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You may not understand all the circles and lines, but history is so visible in Kandinsky’s paintings. The early jewel-toned rural scenes in Munich, when he was still trying to figure out what kind of painter he was. The sherbet pastels of his work in Paris, where he found the light brighter. And his last paintings, noticeably smaller and thinner than the rest, which were painted on paper and board due to wartime canvas shortages. He lived long enough to see Paris liberated in August 1944, but died four months later in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, at the age of 78. He did not see the end of the war.

Among his contemporaries – Matisse, Picasso, Klee, Duchamp, Chagall, Breton, Miró, Dali – Kandinsky as a man feels almost as abstract as his works. But glimpses of him are visible, says Fontanella.

“He wrote about his art with great enthusiasm … but he held the more salient personal details close to his chest,” she says. “We know small things – he was a cyclist, he enjoyed getting out of the city and into nature. And from his vast array of interests – religion, science, music, folklore – we know this is a person who’s very curious, who is really looking at the world around him.”

“People think they know Kandinsky because maybe they know Blue Mountain,” she adds. “But there’s so much more to his life – he will surprise you.”

Kandinsky opens at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Saturday and runs until 10 March 2024.

• Wassily Kandinsky
• New South Wales

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Make it May Auslan program

Pickling workshop at the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Make it May is an inspiring series of community-minded events at the Art Gallery of New South Wales highlighting connection and imagination.

On Saturday 18 May, two of the workshops will be Auslan interpreted for visitors who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. Join us for these hands-on sensory experiences.

At 1.30pm take part in Rainbow Rock Mountain, an art-making project in which you’ll collaborate with artist Rosie Deacon on a sculptural installation that grows over time.

Then at 2.30pm move to the Pickle and stuff workshop where you’ll learn how to make delicious pickles using salt brine and vinegar and a selection of colourful, seasonal vegetables, spices and herbs with artist Marian Abboud, Think+DO Tank Foundation’s Seed of Hope Collective, and their friends.

All materials and instructions provided. All ages and skill levels are welcome, and no experience is necessary. Children under 12 must be supervised by an adult at all times.

This Auslan event – along with Rainbow Rock Mountain and Pickle and stuff – is part of the Art Gallery of New South Wales program  Make it May

Saturday 18 May 2024 1.30pm

Duration 2 hours

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Naala Badu, our north building

Ground level

Meet in the Entrance Pavilion

🛈 Find out what you need to know before visiting

Free, bookings required

We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of New South Wales stands.

ARTEXPRESS 2024

James Doak Latte – art in the everyday (video still), ARTEXPRESS 2024 © the artist 

Held annually, this is one of our most popular and dynamic exhibitions.

8 February – 21 April 2024 Preview 7 February, from 5pm

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Naala Nura, our south building

Lower level 2

🛈 Find out what you need to know before visiting

Featuring a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the art-making component of the HSC examination in Visual Arts in 2023, ARTEXPRESS 202 4 provides insight into students’ creativity and the issues important to them.

The exhibition, in the Art Gallery of New South Wales historic south building, encompasses a broad range of approaches and expressive forms, including ceramics, collection of works, designed objects, documented forms, drawing, graphic design, painting, photomedia, printmaking, sculpture, textiles and fibre, and time-based forms.

Since 1989, the Art Gallery has been the principal venue for ARTEXPRESS, displaying bodies of work by students from across NSW. Presented in partnership with the NSW Department of Education, Arts Unit and the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

Visit information and accessibility

Visitors with intolerances or allergies are advised that an artwork in this display includes latex.

For more information about visiting, including physical access and facilities, see  Plan your visit

Inside ARTEXPRESS

Explore artists and works back to 2005

Start exploring

• Learning resources, visits and programs

ARTEXPRESS is a joint partnership between the NSW Education Standards Authority and NSW Department of Education in association with the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Art Gallery of New South Wales

• St James • 7 min walk
• Martin Place • 7 min walk

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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Art Gallery of New South Wales - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Credit Card Surcharge from 1 April 2024

Council has been reviewing areas of where it can make savings. One of these was to recover merchant fees, which is standard practice across businesses and local government authorities. Council opted for the lowest fee applicable to all of its online payments, and will introduce a 0.42% surcharge from 1 April 2024.

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What's News 26 April 2024

Published on 26 April 2024

Community tree planting days

A community tree planting day will be held on and Sunday 28 April , starting at 10am, off Morrisset Street and Zante Lane, downstream of the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Lend a hand to help plant native plants for flying-fox habitat along the banks of the Macquarie Wambuul River.  After the planting activities, Bathurst Regional Council will host a free BBQ lunch for all participants.

For more information phone 0407 256 791 or (02) 6333 6100.

Council Meeting

A policy committee meeting and extra-ordinary Council meeting will be held in the Council Committee Room, Civic Centre, Bathurst on Wednesday 1 May 2024 at 6pm .

Public Forum will be held from 6pm to allow members of the public to raise any matters with Council.

Following the policy committee meeting, an extra-ordinary meeting will be held.

The meeting will be livestreamed on Council’s YouTube Channel https://bit.ly/3QIHAB7

Windy 1100 Ballot draw

Ideally located on the picturesque western gateway to Bathurst, Council is pleased to present stage 1 of Windy 1100. Stage 1 consists of 72 single service lots and 18 dual service lots.

A ballot will be drawn on 9 May 2024 commencing 10:30AM at the Windradyne Room, Pit Straight, Mount Panorama NSW.

For more information and to apply for the ballot – www.windy1100.com.au

Be Involved in the Bathurst Winter Festival

Applications are open to be involved in the 2024 Bathurst Winter Festival.

Opportunities are available for food and alcohol vendors, market stalls and performers to be part of the festival, as well as for local businesses to be involved in the program of events, window displays or as accommodation partners.

To find out more and apply, visit https://www.bathurstwinterfestival.com.au/Be-Involved

Proclamation Day

Bathurst will be acknowledging the anniversary of its first Proclamation by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1815, on Sunday 5 May 2024.

The event is to be held at the Flag Staff, Bicentennial Park at 10.00am.

The celebrations will include the following;

• An Acknowledgement of country
• A talk on Proclamation Day by Christopher Morgan
• Light refreshments
• Self-guided tour of the Delightful Spot walk

Proclamation Day is a free community event, providing a great opportunity to celebrate our shared history of Bathurst.

Waste 2 Art | Year of packaging.

Waste 2 Art is an annual community art exhibition and competition open to all residents of the Bathurst region. Waste 2 Art aims to challenge peoples’ perceptions about waste and to celebrate the reuse and recycling of waste through arts and crafts.

Council is inviting individuals, schools, and community groups to take up the challenge and create a new life for materials that would otherwise have been thrown away. Instead of ending up in landfill, waste Packaging can be turned into fantastic works of art.

Entry forms, resources and further information are available www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au/Services/Waste-Recycling/Waste-2-Art

Tree protection policy

Council wants to hear from the community about your views on the protection of trees. A survey is available at: https://yoursay.bathurst.nsw.gov.au/tree-protection-policy

Feedback is sought up until 15 May 2024. RSVPs for the community workshop are essential and can be made to Council’s Environmental Planning and Building Services Dept on 63336211 or [email protected]

Photography competition

The Bathurst Visitor Information Centre (BVIC) is celebrating the exceptional natural beauty of our region this autumn with a photography competition. The competition is open to all, with entries closing Saturday, 24 May.

Two winners will be selected, one by the BVIC tourism team and the other by a public vote from a shortlist compiled by BVIC from all submissions received. Public voting will be open in the final week of autumn from 24 to 31 May. Winners will be announced on Saturday the 1 June. Winners will receive a $250 Buy Local Gift Card.  For more information, terms and conditions, or to submit an entry visit www.bathurstregion.com.au

Village Meetings

Rockley, School of Arts Building 30 April 6pm

Perthville, Community Hall 7 May 6pm

Trunkey Creek, Community Hall 13 May 6pm

Sunny Corner, Community Hall 21 May 6pm

Wattle Flat, Recreation Hall 28 May 6pm

Hill End, Hosie’s 23 Clarke Street, 6 June 5pm

Author Talks @ the Library

Meet Jelena Dokic

Friday 3 May, 11.30am

Bookings essential: call (02) 6333 6281

Jelena Dokic shocked the world when her first book, Unbreakable, was released. Her story of survival made headlines worldwide. Fearless, her second book, talks about the power of sharing our stories, discovering your voice, finding meaning and purpose, and the importance of kindness. Meet Jelena and hear about her story in person at the library. Copies of her books will be available for purchase on the day.

Growing up on Wiradjuri Country

Saturday 4 May, 3pm

Tim Miller, a local artist, and his sister Patti, a writer, grew up on Wiradjuri country, here in the Bathurst area and further west in Wellington. As adults and by coincidence, they both decided to examine their connection to Wiradjuri country by the mean of their individual crafts. Patti talked to Wiradjuri elders and researched historical records to write the book The Mind of a Thief (published 2012), an exploration of country, belonging and identity. Tim Miller wondered what the world meant for people looking from Wahluu and the Wambool and beyond, pre colonisation. He began an in-depth investigation into the visual landscape and how it may have been perceived by people in these regions. Join Tim and Patti at the Library to hear more.

National Simultaneous Storytime

Wednesday 22 May 2024, 12pm to 1pm

Bookings: (02) 6333 6281

Bathurst Library will participate in National Simultaneous Storytime, which is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association. Each year a picture book, by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously around the country.

Arrive by 11:50am for a 12pm sharp start.

Dress in blue to celebrate this year's featured book, Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker. There will also be stories, songs, rhymes and a take-home craft.

Throughout this week, collect a scavenger hunt sheet to complete for your chance to go in the prize draw, thanks to BooksPlus.

Tania Blanchard

Thursday 30 May, 6pm

Tania Blanchard writes historical fiction inspired by the true stories and the rich cultural heritage of her family's history. Her new book A Woman of Courage , is the story of the women’s suffrage movement in England 1890, told through the perspective of a young woman and the choices she must make to help forge a new future. Hear Tania speak about her writing research and more. Copies of the book will be for sale on the night.

Deep listening to Nature

Friday 14 June 2024, 11am

Master nature sound recordist, Andrew Skeoch, will guide you into hearing the languages of nature; developing your auditory awareness, identifying species by ear, recognising behaviours and repertoire, and finding empathy with the voices of other beings.  

Deeper listening allows us to discern the integrity of entire ecosystems, the influence of evolution and earth time, and reveal what the communications of the biosphere tell us about how nature functions to sustain itself. Andrew’s presentations are accompanied by vibrant recordings and spectrogram analysis that shows the beauty of birdsong.  You’ll hear the environment around you in a whole new way. 

Media contact: Lilli Reid  Digital Communications Officer

P: 02 6333 6592   

E: [email protected]  

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Upstate New York Property With Art Gallery and Rock History Is on the Market for $3.4M

In downtown Rochester, NY, in the East End Cultural District, there sits a very large, very cool, single-family home with some rock ‘n’ roll history.

“The house was erected on the site where Metallica did their first album,” says listing agent Tim Tompkins , with Howard Hanna–Rochester Main.

Previously, the site was known as Music America Studios, where Metallica recorded “Kill ‘Em All”   in 1983.

(Andy Olenick)

The current owner bought the property in 2008, tore down the studios, and custom-built the 10,175-square-foot contemporary in 2010.

The sleek space is now listed for $3.4 million.

Artistic and industrial

“It’s four different levels, with all kinds of porches, or decks or patios, including a sand beach on the very top level,” Tompkins says. The home is “aesthetically pleasing artistically and has industrial flairs and finishes.”

Despite its extensive square footage, the home has only two bedrooms.

“They designed it to have guests for the evening, not overnight,” Tompkins says with a laugh. “It’s a house designed for two people, but two people that love to entertain.”

There are also two kitchens, one on the lower level and the other upstairs in the residential space. Tompkins says the owners are foodies and there’s even a room for curing meat.

The lower levels house the kitchen and dining area, a wet bar, wine room, fitness area, media room, and adjacent art gallery.

“When they have large gatherings, that is open and people mill around with a drink in their hands and look at his art collection,” Tompkins explains.

The upper levels feature living spaces, two bedroom suites, and outdoor access.

“It’s right in the heart of the cultural district, and that’s one reason why they built this home there,” he says. “There are many fine restaurants and art galleries within walking distance.”

Perhaps the property could return to its musical roots: Tompkins notes that the property could be sold for commercial use and turned into business space downstairs with residential quarters upstairs.

• For more photos and details, check out the full listing.
• Homes for sale in Rochester, NY
• Learn more about Rochester, NY

Tiffani Sherman is a Florida-based writer who covers real estate, finance, and travel.

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Concrete Boys Announce 'It's Us Tour'

Kicking off in june..

After carefully constructing a captivating world on It’s Us Vol. 1 , the Concrete Boys are ready to go on tour. The Lil Yachty -led collective officially announced the It’s Us Tour this morning, which sees the group making 13 stops throughout North America this June.

KARRAHBOOO , Camo!, Draft Day and Dc2trill are set to kick off the tour on June 6 in Miami, Florida. It’s Us will then see stops in Houston, Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and Denver before closing out in Atlanta on June 29. Find the full list of dates and venues listed below.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by CONCRETE BOYS (@concreteboys)

Thu June 6 — Miami, FL — The Joint Sat June 8 — Orlando, FL — The Social Tue June 11 — Dallas, TX — House of Blues – Cambridge Room Wed June 12 — Houston, TX — House of Blues – Bronze Peacock Sat June 15 — Sacramento, CA — The Rink Studios Sun June 16 — Oakland, CA — The New Parish Mon June 17 — Los Angeles, CA — The Echo Wed June 19 — Denver, CO — Cervantes’ Other Side Sat June 22 — Detroit, MI — Saint Andrew’s Hall – The Shelter Mon June 24 — Toronto, ON — The Axis Club Tue June 25 — Boston, MA — Brighton Music Hall Thu June 27 — New York, NY — SOBS Sat June 29 — Atlanta, GA — Terminal West

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