SURRY HILLS.- The Art Gallery of New South Wales invites visitors back into the world of iconic Australian artist Brett Whiteley with the reopening of the Brett Whiteley Studio on Saturday 25 July, following extensive building upgrades that preserve the spirit of one of Australia’s most significant artist’s studios.

Located in Whiteley’s final home and studio in Surry Hills, the Brett Whiteley Studio offers an intimate and unfiltered encounter with the life and practice of Brett Whiteley (1939–1992), one of Australia’s most celebrated and influential artists, whose work continues to resonate nationally and internationally.

Meticulously reinstalled with artworks, objects and ephemera as Whiteley left them, the Studio invites visitors to experience his art in the very place where it was made — an encounter unlike any traditional gallery setting.

The complex renovation of the three-storey former warehouse was delivered by award-winning Australian architectural firm Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (TZG), which has meticulously revitalised the building to meet contemporary museum standards while maintaining the unique character of Whiteley’s environment.

The project includes extensive upgrades to the building’s structure, environmental controls and accessibility, with the addition of a lift, new staircase, accessible and ambulant amenities, library and a new purpose-built roof and façade extension encasing acoustically treated plant and mechanical equipment to ensure a controlled interior environment for the long-term care and management of the collection.





The capital works, which commenced in June 2024, were proudly funded by the NSW Government in association with the Art Gallery, the Brett Whiteley Foundation and Tim Fairfax AC and Gina Fairfax AC.

Extensive building works have significantly improved accessibility and the visitor experience, while ensuring the long-term preservation of the culturally significant building and the artworks within it. The upgrades enable the Studio to welcome broader and more diverse audiences, while maintaining the intimacy that defines the site.

Art Gallery of New South Wales Director Maud Page said the Studio remains central to understanding Whiteley’s place within Australian art history.

‘The Brett Whiteley Studio is unlike any other site managed by the Art Gallery. It reveals the intensity, curiosity and ambition of Whiteley’s practice, offering visitors direct insight into how he lived and worked. Its reopening deepens our connection to Sydney’s artistic and cultural history and reinforces Whiteley’s enduring influence,’ said Page.

The reopening will be celebrated with a special opening weekend on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July 2026, featuring talks, events and the new exhibition Brett Whiteley: Coming Home, which showcases ambitious works produced by Whiteley in 1969 while the artist was living in Fiji and then into the 1970s, when the Whiteley family settled back into Australia after a decade living and working overseas. The exhibition brings together 80 paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, prints, photographs and sketchbooks from the collections of the Art Gallery and the Brett Whiteley Studio, including his 16 metre wide autobiographical epic Alchemy 1972–73.

The works reveal the energy, daring and experimentation of Whiteley’s practice following his return to Australia after a decade living and working abroad between 1960 and 1969.

Wendy Whiteley, gardener, cultural icon, arts patron, and the former wife and muse of Brett Whiteley said the reopening honours the late artist’s legacy while keeping the space alive.

‘The Studio carries Brett’s presence in every room. I’m grateful that it has been cared for so thoughtfully and not preserved as a museum relic, but as a living place of creativity that continues to inspire artists and visitors,’ said Wendy Whiteley.

Brett and Wendy Whiteley bought the former warehouse in 1985 and converted it into a studio and exhibition space. He lived there from 1987 to 1992, the year he died in Thirroul, south of Sydney. The Studio has been managed as a museum by the Art Gallery of New South Wales since 1995. The living area has artwork and memorabilia such as unfinished works, painting materials, photographs, objects, books, postcards, furniture, his music collection and sketchbooks. The gallery has changing exhibitions of the artist’s works that encompass paintings, drawings, sculpture and graphics from the Brett Whiteley Studio, Art Gallery of New South Wales and private collections.

The Brett Whiteley Studio is open Thursday to Sunday, 10am–4pm and entry is free.