Sydneysiders are excited about the transformation finally of the Art Gallery of New South Wales into a two-building gallery, a project that was 11 years in the making. The new building opened to the public late last year with the informal name of The Sydney Modern. Hmmm.
The announcement of a proper name will be made, we are told, after community consultation, but it’s not clear which communities will be consulted. However, it has been suggested that both buildings could be known collectively under the one new name, similar to Brisbane’s Qagoma – the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. There is also speculation that the new name may be taken from a First Nations language.
Aerial view of the new Art Gallery of New South Wales SANAA-designed building, 2022, photo © Iwan Baan.
Whatever the name it’s a grand building, although quite different to and possibly at odds with the original sandstone building. Nevertheless, this once-in-a-generation project is an important transformation of Sydney’s flagship public institution into a two-building art museum that almost doubles the space for the display and enjoyment of art, providing more art for more people.
A new standalone building, public art garden and revitalised historic building 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.
Interior view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, 2022, photo © Iwan Baan.
Pritzker Prize-winning architects SANAA have designed a new, open and accessible home for art, sensitive to the attractive parkland setting overlooking Sydney Harbour, on indigenous Gadigal country. It is Australia’s first art museum to be awarded the highest rating for sustainable design.
According to the state government, the $344 million Sydney Modern project is the most significant cultural development in the city since the opening of the Sydney Opera House nearly half a century ago. Together with the government’s $244 million in funding, the Art Gallery has raised more than $100 million from private donors to support this significant investment in art and culture for future generations.
Exterior view of the Welcome Plaza of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new building, featuring Yayoi Kusama Flowers that Bloom in the Cosmos 2022, photo © Iwan Baan.
Interior view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, 2022, photo © Iwan Baan.
The project has created a fusion of art, architecture and landscape in Australia's largest and most recognisable city. Australian landscape architects McGregor Coxall worked together with renowned landscape architect, Kathryn Gustafson, and Seattle firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, to design the feature landscape elements as well as an overall campus landscape strategy.
Exterior view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, 2022, photo © Iwan Baan.
Architectural features include three limestone-clad art pavilions that gently step down towards the harbour; 250 metres of rammed earth wall over two levels made with material sourced from across New South Wales; and 3,400 square metres of accessible roof ‘art terraces’ and courtyards.
The Tank space in the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, 2022, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.
New art spaces include a column-free gallery, a gallery for time-based art, and adaptive re-use of a decommissioned Second World War naval fuel bunker, now known as the Tank (above), a 2,200-square-metre space that is one of Australia’s most unique art destinations.
The expansion almost doubles exhibition space for the display and enjoyment of art. It also creates a prominent new destination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, with a larger dedicated space to showcase the Art Gallery’s internationally renowned collection. Yiribana, meaning ’this way’ in the Sydney language, is the first gallery visitors encounter when they enter the new building.
Whether Sydney has the long-term capacity for two major public galleries of modern art remains to be seen. Responding to this concern, the AGNSW director, Michael Brand, has dismissed suggestions of competition with the Museum of Contemporary Art – the 30-year-old institution housed at The Rocks, that has a commitment to exhibiting the work of living artists. The MCA’s director, Suzanne Cotter, has also downplayed the suggestion, describing the Sydney Modern as complementary to her museum.
The public opening on December 3 was the day I arrived back from my last overseas trip, so I haven’t had a chance to see inside the building yet. When I do I’ll write a follow-up blog post for Gumbo.
Title picture: Aerial view of the new Art Gallery of New South Wales SANAA-designed building, 2022, photo © Iwan Baan.
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