Coronavirus has truly thrown a spanner in the works for the live art industry, with galleries, museums and exhibitions, brought to a standstill. That hasn’t stopped some Artists around the world from finding unique ways to showcase their art. 

Our favourite is a bunch of Artists in Germany who set up a drive-through gallery to showcase their work. Held in an airport car park, social distancing regulations were met, and 50 artists displayed up to 300 pieces of work. With attendees able to take in paintings and sculptures from the comfort of their car, the take on Christmas light looking is sure to catch on. 

Galleries and museums are a great way to get out and about as restrictions ease in Australia. Usually you can’t touch the exhibits, so what better way to keep your hands to yourself on a much-needed day out. We’ve compiled a list of some museums and galleries taking the first cautious steps to reopening around Australia.  

.

Victoria: 

Melbourne Museum – Opening 27 June 

  • The Mini Mega Model Museum – Daily 10am-5pm 

Explore the shifting-scale world of models and miniatures through this quirky and intriguing experience. Discover more than 300 life-sized, miniature and zoomed-in models. 

National Gallery of Victoria – Opening 27 June 

  • Collecting Comme – 31 Oct 19 – 30 Aug 20 

Although you can experience this virtually, you can’t miss seeing more than fifty pieces from Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo. This exhibition examines “the radical concepts and design methods that have informed Kawakubo’s practice since 1981.” 

Scienceworks – Opening 27 June 

  • Air Playground – Until 4 Oct 20 

This is a fun-filled exploration of our most precious resource – air. Journey through an immersive and buoyant experience, and experiment with the weird, squishy, powerful and elusive properties of air. 

.

Australian Capital Territory: 

National Museum of Australia – Now Open  

  • Endeavour Voyage – Daily 9am–5pm 

Explore the new exhibition as the museum marks the 250th anniversary of the HMB Endeavour voyage along the east coast of Australia. Travel in the ship’s wake, sharing stories from Indigenous people and reflecting on key moments along the way. 

Canberra Museum & Gallery – Now Open 

  • Place: A travelling exhibition of artists’ books – 21 Mar 20 – 31 Oct 20 

An artist puts all their creativity into their books or illustrated diaries. This exhibition brings together artists; books from NSW, ACT, Victoria and Queensland. “Each artist has explored the theme of place in their work, whether a physical location or a place of their imagination.” 

National Gallery of Australia – Now Open 

  • Devotion Nature Time People – Daily 10am – 4pm 

This collection explores Asian art across geography, time, religion and culture. Structured by theme, the 174 works on display include Indian paintings and textiles, Chinese funerary goods, Indonesian ancestor figures and Japanese woodblock prints. 

Australian War Memorial – Opening 1 July 

  • Laughter: A Powerful Ally – 05 Nov 19 – 01 Nov 20 

In times of adversity, people often look to humour to keep up their spirits. This exhibition tells the story of comedy performance spanning the First World War through to recent conflicts. 

.

New South Wales: 

Art Gallery of New South Wales – Now Open 

  • Shadow Catchers – Daily 10am – 4:30pm 

This exhibition investigates the way shadows, body doubles and mirrors haunt our understanding of photography and the moving image 

Australian National Maritime Museum – Now Open 

  • Wildlife Photographer of the Year – 22 Jun 20 – 28 Jan 21 

Be blown away by the powerful wildlife photography on loan from the Natural History of Museum in London. These photographs capture unique moments that “focuses our attention on the beauty and fragility of the natural world.” 

Museum of Sydney – Opening 2 July 

  • A Thousand Words – 2 Jul 20 – 18 Oct 20 

Explore 100 of the most compelling photographic images from the rich collections of Sydney Living Museums and the State Archives and Records Authority of NSW, created between the 1880s and the 1980s. 

.

Queensland: 

The Queensland Art Gallery – Open Now 

  • Mavis Ngallametta – 21 Mar 20 – 07 Feb 21 

This exhibition surveys a decade of Mavis Ngallametta’s intricate and animated paintings. An elder of the Putch clan and a cultural leader of the Wik and Kugu people of Aurukun, she was one of the most well-regarded senior community-based artists in Australia. 

Museum of Brisbane – Opening 17 July 

  • Easton Pearson Archive – Daily 

Featuring more than 3,300 signature garments of internationally acclaimed fashion house Easton Pearson, as well as accessories, original sketches, look books, ephemera and runway footage. 

SparkLab – Opening 25 June 

  • Science Bar – Hourly 9:45am – 3:45am 

Get up close with live science experiments and demonstrations where the audience get to ask questions, predict outcomes and direct part of the investigation.  

.

Northern Territory: 

Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory – Now Open 

  • The moment eternal: Nyapanyapa Yunupiŋu – 23 May 20 – 25 Oct 20 

The exhibition features a large-scale multimedia work from Nyapanyapa Yunupiŋu who has created significant paintings, drawings, sculptures and screen-based works from the remote community of Yirrkala. 

Araluen Arts Centre – Now Open 

  • The Alice Prize – 17 Apr 20 – 03 Aug 20 

Presented by the Alice Springs Art Foundation, The Alice Prize brings artworks by some of the most exciting and renowned contemporary artists in Australia with a prize of $30,000. 

.

Western Australia: 

Art Gallery WA – Now Open 

  • Tom Malone Prize 2020 – 14 Mar 20 – 31 Aug 20 

The Tom Malone Prize is a highly respected national event within the Australian glass arts community. Explore fifteen shortlisted works from the nation’s glass artists with a winner receiving $15,000.  

The Nostalgia Box – Now Open 

  • Video Game Consoles – Ongoing 

Learn about the history of video games and enjoy a display of over 100 video game consoles that will definitely take you down memory lane. 

WA Maritime Museum – Now Open 

  • Ancient Rome: Epic Innovators and Engineers – 6 Jun 20 – 11 Oct 20 

A a family-friendly exhibition featuring machines that carved the great Roman Empire. 

.

South Australia: 

South Australian Museum – Now Open 

  • Dogs: a story of our best friend – Until 2 Aug 20 

Explore everything about dogs! The history of dogs from a scientific/cultural perspective, their skeletal structure, dogs in pop culture, breeds and so much more. 

Art Gallery SA – Now Open 

  • The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters – Until 2 Aug 20 

This exhibition provides an historical context by exploring the representation of monsters in European printmaking from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. 

Migration Museum – Now Open 

  • British Migrants: Instant Australians? – 22 Feb 20 – 31 Aug 20 

This exhibition, developed by Museums Victoria, explores the personal experiences and historical and contemporary impacts of British migrants in the post-war decades.