The Museum of Contemporary of Art Australia (MCA) is excited to welcome visitors back to the Museum on Tuesday 12 October with a lineup of major local and international exhibitions to explore from October.
The MCA will reopen with two free exhibitions, Richard Bell: You Can Go Now and MCA Collection: Perspectives on place. A week later, on Wednesday 20 October, it will open its major ticketed summer show Doug Aitken: New Era, exclusive to Sydney and part of the 2021-2022 Sydney International Art Series.
“We are thrilled to have the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) reopen to the public in October and offer extraordinary exhibitions that will inspire and challenge people,” said MCA Director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE.
“The MCA is extending Australian artist Richard Bell’s exhibition You Can Go Now until Sunday 7 November to ensure New South Wales residents get the opportunity to view this important exhibition which closed only three weeks after opening due to the NSW lockdown.”
“Richard Bell is one of Australia’s most important contemporary artists and we are honoured to present the work of an artist who has significantly shifted the discourse locally, nationally and internationally of First Nations people.”
“Leading American contemporary artist Doug Aitken’s survey exhibition New Era is truly spectacular. Aitken’s multi-screen video works and large-scale installations envelop the viewer within a kaleidoscope of moving imagery and sound, offering the type of experience local and interstate visitors are craving after lockdown.”
“At the MCA they can enjoy such experiences in a Covid-safe way due to our rigorous safety protocols and because there is plenty of space to socially distance within the Museum.”
The largest solo exhibition by artist, activist and provocateur, Richard Bell: You Can Go Now, showcases the work of one of Australia’s most important contemporary artists. Curated by Clothilde Bullen, the exhibition brings together over 30 years of Bell’s practice from the early 1990s through to 2021.
The internationally renowned artist uses humour and satire to address important issues around representation, identity politics, nationalism and neo-Liberalism and the perceptions of Aboriginal art within a post-colonial history and framework.
Doug Aitken: New Era will be the first major international art exhibition to open in Sydney after the lifting of Covid lockdown restrictions. This is American artist Doug Aitken’s first major solo exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere.
Curated by Rachel Kent, this comprehensive survey exhibition spans 25 years of the artist’s career including works from the late 1990s to more recent large-scale installations.
Aitken is internationally recognised for his ambitious practice that incorporates objects, installations, photographs and vast, multi-screen environments that envelop viewers within a kaleidoscope of moving imagery and sound.
MCA Collection: Perspectives on place showcases the rich diversity of contemporary Australian art. Curated by Anneke Jaspers, it features over 60 works drawn from the MCA Collection that explore the social and physical aspects of place, as well as the global forces that shape how we inhabit the world.
From 12 October, MCA visitors will also be able to visit the MCA Store and enjoy food and drinks on the terrace of the MCA Cafe, soaking up Sydney Harbour views. While inside the Museum and Store, all visitors over 12 years must wear a mask, and capacity restrictions are in place to ensure the safety of all.
Keeping our staff and visitors safe is a priority for the MCA. We will reopen with rigorous COVID-19 safety protocols in place in line with the NSW Public Health Order. All visitors 16 years and over must present proof of full vaccination to our Hosts on entry.
For more information about the exhibitions and visitor entry requirements, visit: www.mca.com.au for details.
Image: Richard Bell, From Little Things, Big Things Grow, 2020. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. National Gallery of Australia, purchased 2021. Image courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane © the artist – photo by Charlie Hillhouse