The 7 upcoming exhibitions you can't miss at the Chau Chak Wing Museum
With seven new worlds waiting to be discovered, get ready to delight your senses, be surprised, and learn something new about history, culture, and art.
Not sure which one to visit first? Have a read of our rundown:
1. Colour takes over the museum
Consuelo Cavaniglia: seeing through you, 2024, hand blown glass, acrylic; scientific instruments from the collection, courtesy of the artist and STATION. Photo by: David James.
In a Museum first, Consuelo Cavaniglia uses the entire Museum to create a magical space for you to get lost in. By playing with colour, reflections, shadows, apertures and perceptual shifts, this art installation will challenge what you see in front of you and mesmerise your senses.
Swing by the Penelope Gallery to see Cavaniglia’s original artwork alongside the Museum’s most timeless treasures.
Consuelo Cavaniglia
seeing through you
Opens 29 June
2. Honey, we shrunk the learning tools!
Objects in the CCWM Collection. Photo by: David James.
Have you ever imagined an eye as large as your forearm? Or wondered what massive buildings would look like if they could sit on top of your coffee table?
Size is just an illusion in Micro:Macro, an exhibition featuring models which have helped students learn since the late 19th century.
Explore the evolution of teaching tools from papier-mâché to 3D printing!
Micro:Macro
models of insight and inspiration
Opens 19 July
3. Telegrams, student floats and leather bookbags
Max Dupain, silver gelatin print, gift of Diana Dupain, 1947-1951, reproduced courtesy of Chau Chak Wing Museum.
Take a trip back to life as a student in the 50s with this collection of photographs captured by Australia’s most famous modernist photographer, Max Dupain.
Dupain’s body of work offers a window into the 1950s, documenting post-war times, student life on campus, and iconic University of Sydney buildings you know and love.
Student Life
Max Dupain at the University of Sydney
Opens 9 August
4. A day in the life.... of the science of life
Objects in the CCWM Collection. Photo by: David James.
Kymographs, sphygmographs, myographs; what are they, and how did they revolutionise the science of life?
For over a century, physiology – the study of how the body supports life – has been a cornerstone of the University. In the fourth edition of this fascinating series, we unveil the gizmos and gadgets that helped Sydney's physiologists and students crack life's codes.
Instrumental
Physiology
Opens 9 August
5. Art that jumps off the pages of history
Cyrus Tang, ‘The Modern World Encyclopedia’, 2017. Courtesy of the artist and Arc One Gallery, Melbourne. Image credit: Cyrus Tang.
Whoever said the past is a mystery hasn’t seen our next exhibit in the China Gallery yet.
Hand-crafted by five Australian artists from different Chinese migrant communities, this celebration of culture has it all. From paintings to sculptures, installations, videos and prints – the artists have embraced historical artefacts to create something new.
The trace is not a presence ...
Opens 24 August
6. Sydney’s very own potters’ quarter
‘Kerameikos: the potters’ quarter’ artists: Idil Abdullahi, Monica Rani Rudhar, Juz Kitson, Kirsten Coelho, Janet Fieldhouse, Vipoo Srivilasa, Glenn Barkley at the Chau Chak Wing Museum. Photo by: Ben Allison.
What happens when you invite seven ceramic artists to a week-long residency at the Museum? You get your very own potters’ quarter and an abundance of incredible art!
Themed after Kerameikos, a local hub for ceramic artists in ancient Athens, our invited artists have crafted their iconic pieces inspired by beloved Museum collections.
Kerameikos
the potters' quarter
Opens 24 August
7. A sesquicentennial of bringing students together
John Young, May Day March, 1974. Donated by the University of Sydney Union 2019.
150 years is a big milestone, so the Museum has paired up with the USU to celebrate!
Since 1913, the USU has showcased European art, contemporary Indigenous pieces, and Australian modernism on their walls. Now, see a dazzling selection of the collection in one exhibition at the Chau Chak Wing Museum.
