In a year-long exploration of belief and ways of knowing, Australia’s leading university art museum, Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA, has announced its 2026 exhibition program.
Across four major exhibitions, leading Australian and international artists will probe mysticism, ancestral traditions, ritual, mythology and collective belief systems as vital frameworks for navigating contemporary life.
Opening in February with the major group exhibition Knowing Otherwise, the program continues with the first Australian survey of London-based Indonesian Aotearoan/New Zealander artist Sriwhana Spong; a two-person exhibition of Filipino-Australian artist Justin Talplacido Shoulder and Minahasan artist Natasha Tontey; and the first major solo exhibition of the Pitcha Makin Fellas, based on Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung land (Ballarat). Each exhibition offers audiences unique encounters with the unseen, the esoteric and the deeply embodied, while reimagining knowledge, belonging and connection.
“At a time when people across the world are questioning what they believe in and how they connect, MUMA’s 2026 exhibition program explores how artists channel spiritual and ancestral traditions into creative practices of resistance, renewal, and care,” said Dr Rebecca Coates, Director of MUMA.
“These exhibitions invite audiences to reflect on the unseen forces that shape our lives – be they spiritual, cultural, or communal – and to reimagine art’s role as a means to experience, learn and share in times of uncertainty.”
“Universities are, at their core, about ideas, new knowledge and learning. Through MUMA’s program, we extend this pursuit into the cultural sphere, offering exhibitions that foster critical reflection, dialogue, and connection across diverse communities,” said Coates.
Knowing Otherwise
7 February – 2 April 2026
A major group exhibition foregrounding ancestral, spiritual and embodied forms of knowledge in response to eroding trust in dominant Western systems. Featuring artists including Paola Balla (Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara), Vali Myers, Rosaleen Norton, Gail Mabo (Meriam), and Karina Utomo, the exhibition reclaims heterodox traditions – from mysticism and Indigenous storytelling to ritual and the occult—as acts of resistance and transformation. Curators: Stephanie Berlangieri, Amanda Haskard and Francis E. Parker
Sriwhana Spong: HA HA HA
24 April – 28 June 2026
The first Australian survey of London-based Indonesian–Aotearoa/New Zealand artist Sriwhana Spong, spanning two decades of practice. With new commissions alongside key works in film, sculpture, textiles and performance, the exhibition meditates on mysticism, migration and forms of belief, drawing from Balinese cosmologies, medieval female mystics and embodied ritual. Sriwhana Spong: HA HA HA is presented in partnership with Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Wellington and is supported by the Henry Moore Foundation and Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa. Curators: Pip Wallis and Melanie Oliver
Justin Talplacido Shoulder and Natasha Tontey
17 July – 19 September 2026
A dynamic two-person exhibition bringing together the phantasmagoric works of Filipino-Australian artist Justin Talplacido Shoulder and Minahasan artist Natasha Tontey. Through performance, film, and installation, both artists reimagine ancestral mythologies and speculative futures, presenting spirituality as a process of collective healing, communal storytelling and resistance across the Asia-Pacific region. Curators: Amanda Haskard and Pip Wallis
Pitcha Makin Fellas
9 October – 5 December 2026
The first major solo exhibition of First Nations collective the Pitcha Makin Fellas, celebrating their legacy of humour, resistance and community connection. Known for their bold stamp paintings, breastplates, projections, and books, the Fellas’ work powerfully challenges racism, colonialism, and social injustice, while honouring Country and caring for community. Curators: Amanda Haskard with the Pitcha Makin Fellas
For more information about Monash University Museum of Art’s 2026 exhibition program, visit: www.monash.edu for details.
Image: Natasha Tontey, Garden Amidst the Flame (still), 2022, HD film, 27 min. Courtesy of the artist.