As the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia marks its 150th anniversary, an exciting new era is about to begin for the gallery: the completion of the Sydney Modern Project at the end of 2022. The Sydney Modern Project is an important transformation of Australia’s flagship public institution into a two-building art museum that will almost double the space for the display and enjoyment of art.
A new standalone building, public art garden, and refreshed historic building with a grand forecourt will bring together art, architecture, and landscape in spectacular new ways, with dynamic galleries, site-specific works by leading Australian and international artists, and extensive outdoor spaces for everyone to enjoy.
Together these new works establish the expanded Art Gallery as a global art museum offering a unique experience in Sydney.
Michael Brand, Art Gallery of New South Wales director
Pritzker Prize-winning architects SANAA have designed a new, open and accessible home for art, sensitive to the beautiful parkland setting overlooking Sydney Harbour, on Gadigal country. We’re Australia’s first art museum to be awarded the highest rating for sustainable design. The Gallery remains open during construction.
The project will create a new art museum experience across two buildings connected by a public art garden. The project involves the construction of a new building, the revitalization of the existing building, and significant landscape works. The new building will almost double the current exhibition space with seamless connections between indoor and outdoor spaces, delivering rich and diverse experiences for all visitors.
According to Lonely Planet, some of the works to be on display at the gallery are by Yayoi Kusama, Lorraine Connell-Northey, Karla Kickens, Sumryn Gill, Jonathan Jones, Richard Lewer, Lee Mingwei, Lisa Reihana, and Francis Upritchard.
The experience will be purposeful and engaging. Each visit will create new encounters, new stories and new connections.
Michael Brand, Art Gallery of New South Wales director
The design by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects will restore original architectural features of the building, provide more space for art and scholarship, and enhance the visitor experience and sustainable operations.
The project will create an exceptional experience of art, architecture, and landscape in one of the world’s most beautiful urban locations. Kathryn Gustafson, Seattle firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, and Australian landscape architects McGregor Coxall are working together to design feature landscape elements as well as an overall campus landscape strategy that draws upon endemic ecological communities that give Sydney Harbour its rich character.
The $344 million construction is the largest government and philanthropic arts partnership of its kind to be achieved to date in the arts in Australia. Together with the NSW Government’s $244 million in funding, the Gallery has attracted unprecedented philanthropic support, exceeding its fundraising target of $100 million.
Infrastructure NSW is managing the delivery of the project on behalf of the NSW Government and the Gallery. Richard Crookes Constructions is the contractor for the new building. The Gallery remains open during construction, which is scheduled for completion in late 2022.
