News

Biennale Of Sydney 2026 Is Taking Over The City With Rememory

16th Feb 2026
Written by:
Eloise Luke
Contributor | Urban List
  • Biennale Sydney

The Biennale of Sydney is officially back for 2026—and it’s going to be bigger, more widespread, and more community-focused than ever.

Titled Rememory, the 2026 edition will run from Saturday 14 March to Sunday 14 June 2026, presented free to the public across five major exhibition sites and a string of additional venues spanning the Inner City to Western Sydney. Curated by internationally acclaimed Artistic Director Hoor Al Qasimi, Rememory borrows its title from Toni Morrison, exploring how memory and history intersect.

With 83 artists and collectives from 37 countries, large-scale installations, community performances, food activations and major First Nations commissions, this is one to carve out time for.

Jump to:

Biennale Of Sydney 2026 Artists

Biennale Sydney 2026
Image credit: Biennale Sydney | Instagram

This year’s lineup is global in scope and grounded in lived experience, bringing together artists from Australia, New Zealand, Guatemala, India, USA, Argentina, Lebanon, France, Ireland, Ethiopia, Algeria, Taiwan and beyond.

International standouts include Dread Scott, Joe Namy, Nahom Teklehaimanot, Sandra Monterroso and Tuan Andrew Nguyen, alongside Australian artists like Abdul Abdullah, Dennis Golding, Helen Grace, Richard Bell, and Merilyn Fairskye & Michiel Dolk.

As Visionary Partner, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain has also commissioned 15 First Nations artists from around the world to create new works for the edition. Those artists—including Cannupa Hanska Luger, Rose B. Simpson, Gabriel Chaile, Gunybi Ganambarr, Warraba Weatherall and Tania Willard—are working closely with First Nations Curatorial Fellow Bruce Johnson McLean to realise ambitious new projects.

Expect practices spanning sculpture, sound, film, social practice, installation, textiles and large-scale collaborative works—many created specifically in response to Sydney and its communities.

Biennale Of Sydney Exhibitions

Biennale Sydney 2026
Image credit: Biennale Sydney | Instagram

The 25th Biennale expands across five major exhibition sites:

  • White Bay Power Station
  • Art Gallery of New South Wales
  • Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney
  • Campbelltown Arts Centre
  • Lewers: Penrith Regional Gallery

The footprint intentionally reaches into Western Sydney, reflecting a focus on access and inclusivity, with additional public programs hosted at venues including Marrickville Town Hall, Redfern Town Hall, Sydney Town Hall, Parramatta Artist Studios and more.

Among the major works announced:

At the Art Gallery of NSW, The great Ngurrara Canvas II—an 80-square-metre floor painting created in 1997 to demonstrate Native Title connection to Country—will be presented for what’s described as its final showing away from Country. Traditional owners, including dance troupes, will travel to Sydney for special performances.

Over at White Bay Power Station, Argentinian artist Gabriel Chaile will construct a monumental adobe clay oven onsite, activated during the festival to feed visitors—transforming sculpture into a living, communal ritual. In the same cavernous space, Cannupa Hanska Luger will present a sculptural sound installation of ceramic whistles shaped like dingoes, designed to “howl” through the Turbine Hall.

At the Chau Chak Wing Museum, Melbourne-based textile artist Ema Shin will show her largest work to date: a two-metre-tall, 3D handwoven heart exploring generational memory and the erasure of women in family histories. The museum will also screen Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s film The Unburied Sounds of a Troubled Horizon, examining memory as a form of political resistance.

Campbelltown Arts Centre will host Dread Scott’s photographic series Lockdown (2000, 2026), documenting conversations with incarcerated people in the United States and interrogating systems of imprisonment.

Beyond the gallery walls, public programming includes:

  • Lights On, the opening night concert at White Bay Power Station on Friday 13 March
  • Memory Lane Food Markets every weekend at White Bay, celebrating food as “living memory”
  • Performance commissions under the banner Working Memory in April
  • Africa Day celebrations in May
  • Richard Bell’s large-scale participatory project RESET, culminating at Sydney Town Hall in June

Throughout the season, expect artist talks, youth programs, access initiatives, tours, Art After Dark evenings and family-friendly programming designed to keep the conversation moving.

Sydney Biennale 2026 Dates

Biennale Sydney 2026
Image credit: Biennale Sydney | Instagram

Mark these in your calendar:

  • Friday 13 March 2026: Lights On opening night
  • Saturday 14 March – Sunday 14 June 2026: Exhibition open to the public
  • Admission: Free

Media previews and professional viewings will take place earlier in the week, but the public program officially kicks off on Saturday 14 March.

How To Get To Sydney Biennale 2026

Biennale Sydney 2026
Image credit: Biennale Sydney | Instagram

Because the Biennale spans multiple precincts, it’s worth planning your visit by zone.

For a city day, combine the Art Gallery of NSW (walkable from St James or Martin Place stations) with nearby venues and public programs in the CBD.

For a deeper dive into the industrial-scale installations and performance program, head to White Bay Power Station in Rozelle—easily accessed via Inner West bus routes, rideshare or by pairing it with a Marrickville or Inner West art stop.

The Chau Chak Wing Museum is located at the University of Sydney in Camperdown (a short bus ride from Central or Redfern), while Campbelltown Arts Centre and Lewers: Penrith Regional Gallery are accessible via direct train lines from Central, making them ideal for a dedicated Western Sydney art day.

With free entry across all sites, the 2026 Biennale invites you to move between neighbourhoods, institutions and communities—experiencing Sydney itself as part of the exhibition.

If your cultural calendar for 2026 is still taking shape, this one deserves a big, bold circle.

Image credit: Biennale Sydney | Instagram