We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of New South Wales stands.

Sydney Modern Project

The transformation of the Art Gallery of New South Wales – the Sydney Modern Project – is open.
A view of the Sydney CBD, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the foreground and the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House top right

Aerial view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, including the new SANAA-designed building, 2022 photo © Iwan Baan

A building made up of a series of white and glass pavilions and terraces with the Sydney city skyline in the background

Aerial view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, 2022, photo © Iwan Baan

Exterior view of the Welcome Plaza of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new building, featuring Francis Upritchard Here Comes Everybody 2022, photo © Iwan Baan

View of the Welcome Plaza of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new building, featuring Francis Upritchard Here Comes Everybody 2022, photo © Iwan Baan

Inside a large, glass-walled gallery space

Interior view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, featuring Takashi Murakami Japan Supernatural: Vertiginous After Staring at the Empty World Too Intensely, I Found Myself Trapped in the Realm of Lurking Ghosts and Monsters 2019 © 2019 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved., 2022, photo © Iwan Baan

People inside a large glass-walled building

Interior view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, photo © Iwan Baan

School students inside a large glass-walled building with an internal curved roof

Interior view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, photo © Iwan Baan

Inside a large gallery space with curved roof and escalator between levels

Interior view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, featuring works by (lower wall, left to right) Lindy Lee and Stanley Whitney and (upper wall) Lisa Reihana, 2022, photo © Iwan Baan

A large sculpture of spotted flowers on a terrace outside of a glass-walled building

Exterior view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new building, featuring Yayoi Kusama Flowers that Bloom in the Cosmos 2022, photo © Iwan Baan

This once-in-a-generation project is an important transformation of our 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 brings 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.

Pritzker Prize-winning architects SANAA have designed a new, open and accessible home for art, sensitive to our beautiful parkland setting overlooking Sydney Harbour, on Gadigal country. We’re Australia’s first art museum to be awarded the highest rating for sustainable design.

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 NSW 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.

The new building, designed by SANAA with Architectus as executive architect, has been delivered by Infrastructure NSW on behalf of the government and the Art Gallery and built by Richard Crookes Constructions.