SYDNEY.- The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) today announced its 2025 exhibition program.

In 2025, MCA Australia will present an exciting program celebrating Australian contemporary art in all its forms as well as international firsts, new commissions, and a new large outdoor public sculpture on Tallawoladah Lawn.

The Museum will stage two major exclusive international exhibitions over winter and summer alongside a dynamic program of exhibitions, commission and artist led projects. In spring, MCA Australia will unveil the inaugural Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission by British artist Thomas J Price – a major moment for the Museum and Warrane/Sydney Harbour.

MCA Australia Director, Suzanne Cotter said, ‘Next year the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia will partner with leading artists from across Australia and the world to present today’s most exciting contemporary art and ideas here in Sydney.

In 2025 we will provide a platform for Australian artists while also exhibiting acclaimed international artists Cerith Wyn Evans and Thomas J Price alongside groundbreaking contemporary artists from around the world working with emerging technologies for our Summer show.

The program speaks to our contemporary world in all its richness and complexity. These exhibitions ask profound questions ranging from the significance of First Nations art and cultures in a museum context, to the impact of artificial intelligence at a time when the boundaries between culture and technology are being radically redefined.

In 2025 MCA Australia will bring large public sculpture back to the Sydney Harbour foreshore, a highlight for millions of visitors and Sydney locals to enjoy.'

More than 50 Australian artists will present work for the 2025 program. Opening in March The Intelligence of Painting features 14 Australian women artists and celebrates the dynamism and energy of contemporary painting. In March the Museum also launches the first major institutional exhibition by Kamilaroi, Meanjin/Brisbane based artist Warraba Weatherall, a powerful presentation exploring the histories of Kamilaroi cultural objects in a museum context.

In spring MCA Australia presents a solo exhibition by Australian Darug Country/Sydney based artist Yasmin Smith who will introduce new works in dialogue with her large-scale ceramic installation Seine River Basin (2019), acquired for the MCA Collection in 2020, and originally commissioned for Cosmopolis #2: rethinking the human, Centre Pompidou, Paris.

During the year, the Museum launches two new commissions by Australian artists, the Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission by Diena Georgetti in the Autumn and Loti Smorgon Sculpture Terrace Commission by Ricky Swallow in Winter. The Museum will also present new displays as part of the popular MCA Collection: Artists in Focus including a communal presentation by Tiwi artists. Primavera 2025: Young Australian Artists will showcase Australian artists under 35 years. MCA Australia’s influential C3 West program working with artists and communities in Greater Sydney includes two new projects.

For its international winter exhibition, MCA Australia will present renowned Welsh conceptual artist Cerith Wyn Evans. For this Sydney-exclusive exhibition, the Museum will work in close collaboration with the UK-based artist to secure a significant selection of major works never seen before in Australia.

For the Sydney International Art Series 2025–2026 major summer exhibition, MCA Australia presents Data Dreams: Contemporary Art in the Age of AI. The first of its kind in a major Australian institution, Data Dreams will feature new commissions and major projects by leading contemporary artists that examine how artists are engaging with artificial intelligence to imagine new ways of being and explore the implications that these technologies hold for our collective future. The participating artists will be announced in 2025.

Both the summer and winter exhibitions are proudly supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.

Minister for the Arts, Music and the Night-time Economy, and Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham said: 'From the big Thomas J Price sculpture on the shore of Circular Quay, to the series of international and Australian artists inside, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia is set to have another spectacular year of engaging locals and visitors with the best contemporary art on the planet.

'Part of what the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia does so well, is championing new and exciting works that attract new generations of art lovers. With shows like Data Dreams, that grapples with the impact of AI, and the first solo show from Kamilaroi artist Warraba Weatherall, that mission continues.'