Sydney Contemporary 2025
Australia’s premier art fair Sydney Contemporary, presented with MA Financial Group, returns to Carriageworks in Eveleigh from September 11 – 14 for its biggest edition yet, with a new focus on contemporary photography.
Explore an exceptional line-up of local and international galleries organised across four sectors – Galleries, Future, Works On Paper and the inaugural Photo Sydney – as well as exciting, curated programs showcasing ambitious installations, insightful talks and captivating performances.
This year, the historic venue of Carriageworks will play host to over 100 galleries and more than 500 artists from Australia and New Zealand, as well as international exhibitors from the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Korea and Indonesia, connecting artists and galleries with both new and seasoned art collectors. “This year’s Sydney Contemporary is our biggest and most ambitious edition yet,” says Zoe Paulsen, Sydney Contemporary fair director. “With more exhibitors, more artists and new initiatives like Photo Sydney, 2025 promises to be a landmark year.”
Welcoming visitors to the venue is a new major, site-specific installation by New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana, presented by Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert. Thousands of shimmering discs will adorn the entrance to Carriageworks, catching the wind and light like a living tapestry. This work references a waharoa – the traditional Māori gateway in front of a marae – and a pare, or door lintel, that serves as a boundary marker, separating the outside world from the sacred space within.
The debut of Photo Sydney is dedicated to spotlighting the richness and diversity of the medium and aims to celebrate both established and emerging photographers.
This is a fantastic introduction to the breadth and depth of work on show at this year’s fair. Stand-outs include Performance Contemporary curated by director of UNSW Galleries José Da Silva, which will see Dr Christian Thompson performing Recital, presented by Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin – a work that builds on 25 years of engagement with recorded sound and the revival of his family’s endangered Bidjara language. A day-long endurance piece Kelekele Mo’ui (Living Soil), presented by Michael Lett Gallery, will see artist Kalisolaite ‘Uhila buried up to his neck in a pile of soil to explore the relationship between land, labour and life.
For Installation Contemporary, also curated by Da Silva, nine large-scale installations will turn Carriageworks’ halls into an immersive art space. Jonny Niesche’s new atmospheric work with 1301SW / STARKWHITE encompasses low-frequency sound and vibration exploring the spirituality of abstraction, while Zac Langdon-Pole presents Memory Garden with STATION, a suite of five 1:1 marble replicas of iconic sculptures with their human figures removed. Aboriginal artist collective Tennant Creek Brio shakes things up with UAP: Unidentified (Ab)original Phenomenon with Cassandra Bird, an assemblage of found objects that takes the form of an Australian gothic guardian angel or “petrochemical effigy”.
Other booth highlights include exciting presentations from established returning galleries … alongside up-and-comers.
The debut of Photo Sydney is dedicated to spotlighting the richness and diversity of the medium and aims to celebrate both established and emerging photographers. “This new sector is a direct response to the many collectors who’ve visited the fair over the years, asking to see a wider representation of photographic work,” said Sydney Contemporary founder and co-owner Tim Etchells.
Other booth highlights include exciting presentations from established returning galleries such as Ames Yavuz, COMA, Gow Langsford, Hugo Michell Gallery, MARS Gallery, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and Sullivan+Strumpf, alongside up-and-comers such as Animal House Fine Arts, Velvet Lobster, Jennings Kerr and Nasha Gallery. Justin Miller Art presents a major painting by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, whose $3.35 million work was the star attraction of last year’s fair, as well as a previously unseen 1974 self-portrait by Brett Whiteley. An unusual showing is Michael Lett’s solo exhibition ‘Geopets’ by Mike Hewson – a series of sculptures that are sold in a grocery store model, priced by weight and packaged in a custom tote bag that buyers can take home.
A dynamic talks series – curated by Micheal Do, curator of contemporary art at the Sydney Opera House and Stephen Todd, design editor of Australian Financial Review – features artists and industry leaders dissecting topics at the intersection of art, design and architecture. It kicks off with Do’s segment From the Love Seat: Reflections, where artist couples discuss living, loving and making art together, moderated by Benjamin Law. My Brat Summer features up-and-coming curators Tim Riley Walsh, Coby Ann Edgar, Elias Redstone and Toby Chapman alongside artist Jazz Money, while True Believers sees art veterans discussing belief and burnout in the art world.
In Todd’s design-focused talks, When Art Meets Commerce: The Power of Cross-Industry Collaboration sees gallerists and artists discussing how to forge meaningful relationships between industry professionals. In Designing Spaces for an Artful Life, designers, architects and art consultants talk about art’s impact in commercial spaces, while Design Made to Collect: The Art of the Object dives into the increasingly lucrative field of collectible design.
“Do your homework, start conversations and don’t be afraid to ask the price.”
For younger audiences, Kid Contemporary is hosted by artist Glenn Barkley, who presents ‘Positive! Affirmation! Workshop!’, a playful hands-on creative space where young visitors can create necklaces, badges and stickers with punchy, motivational slogans like “You’re the greatest!” and “There are no losers in contemporary art!”.
Last year’s fair saw 25,000 visitors and reported over $17.5 million in sales – and the 2025 edition is expecting to meet similar figures. Sue Cato, an avid art collector and member of the Advisory Council of Sydney Contemporary since its inception in 2013, offers some sage advice for those new to tackling the event: “Do your homework, start conversations and don’t be afraid to ask the price.”
