CANBERRA.- This October, the National Gallery celebrates 40 years since the opening of its iconic building with a dynamic program of art and events.

From a futurist opera by multidisciplinary Australian artist Justene Williams to a new addition to the Gallery’s Sculpture Garden in the form of a figurative bronze sculpture by internationally renowned British artist Tracey Emin, the Gallery commemorates its 40th year with a dedicated artistic program in Kamberri/Canberra throughout the month of October.

Following the announcement that the Gallery has commissioned leading Australian artist Lindy Lee to conceive her first immersive public sculpture, the National Gallery continues to celebrate with a range of new acquisitions, exhibitions, collection displays, events and stories produced exclusively for its 40th anniversary.

The National Gallery 40th Anniversary Program invites audiences to look back on the past four decades and forward to the next, as the Gallery sets out to share the collection in new ways and widen the appreciation of arts in this country and beyond.

National Gallery Director Dr Nick Mitzevich reflects on the past, present and future of the national institution.

‘Over the last four decades, the National Gallery has become a site of connection. It’s now a receptacle of art, community interaction and ideas, of debate and discourse, a place where we might question or challenge history and where we can debate the big issues of the day.’

‘I feel very proud that the National Gallery was built as a site to house the national collection and has become so much more than that; I see it as a gathering place that creates opportunities to share art and knowledge, here on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country.’

Join the National Gallery on the journey to 40 and find inspiration and connection through the national collection by following nga.gov.au/about-us/40years/

40th Anniversary Program:

WHAT’S ON: ART




• Cressida Campbell
24 Sep 22 - 19 Feb 23
Ticketed | Temporary Exhibition Galleries
Experience over 140 of Cressida Campbell’s intricate woodcuts and paintings in her largest exhibition to date.

• Daniel Crooks:
Structured Light
9-16 Oct | 8-10pm
Free | National Gallery façade
Back for 10 nights only, Crooks’ 2022 Enlighten digital work celebrates architect Col Madigan's design, illuminating the building’s façade.

• The Aboriginal Memorial
Ongoing
Free | level 1
Recently relocated to the heart of the Gallery, The Aboriginal Memorial is the National Gallery's most significant work of art.

• Tracey Emin:
When I Sleep
1 Oct 22 - ongoing
Free | Sculpture Garden
Monumental yet fragile - Emin's four-metre resting bronze enters the national collection and the Sculpture Garden.

• Project 2:
Kara Walker
Until 5 Feb 23
Free | level 2
With an internationally recognised practice built on narratives of race, gender and sexuality, this is Walker's first exhibition in Australia.

• Rauschenberg & Johns:
Significant Others
Until 29 Jan 23
Free | level 1
In the early 1950s a new avant-garde began to emerge from a relationship between two young artists – Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.

• Project 3:
Angelica Mesiti
29 Oct 22 - 29 Jan 23
Free | lower ground
See Mesiti's 58th Venice Biennale work ASSEMBLY, a three-channel video immersive installation that considers the nature of connection.

• Bridget Riley:
Wall painting
17 Sep 22 - ongoing
Free | level 2
Commissioned especially for the 40th anniversary, Riley presents her first ‘dark’ metre wall painting.

• Linda Marrinon:
Woman in jumpsuit
1 Oct 22 - ongoing
Free | Sculpture Garden
Facing Lake Burley Griffin, Woman in jumpsuit is a new commission for the Sculpture Garden.

• Worldwide
1 Oct 22 - ongoing
Free | level 1
'Centre of art for the whole world' – this new major display drawn from the collection is inspired by the National Gallery's founding history.

• Gordon Bennett: Illuminations or a season in hell | Artlink Magazine
Australian Art
8 Oct 22 - ongoing
Free | level 2
This new major display of collection highlights tells wide-ranging and complex stories of Australian art.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art
Ongoing
Free | level 1
See art from across Country with the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.