Australia’s first Art Grand Tour unites three biennials in a city-hopping trail

Australia’s three biennials – Biennale of Sydney, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, and newcomer PHOTO International Festival of Photography, Melbourne – have joined forces to create the country’s first Art Grand Tour across Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, teaming up with major art events to collectively present the work of over 400 artists. 

Australia's first Art Grand Tour

The Art Grand Tour is a build-your-own art adventure that will see locals and visitors moving between the three cities. It kicked off at the end of February 2024, with the Melbourne Art Fair presenting solo shows and artist commissions from 60 of the region’s leading galleries and Indigenous art centres, and is followed by PHOTO 2024 International Festival of Photography on 1 March. 

Dedicated to contemporary practice, the photography biennial is marking its third edition. Addressing the theme The Future Is Shaped by Those Who Can See It, PHOTO 2024 features a trail of 100 free exhibitions and large-scale outdoor installations across Melbourne with artists including Ryan McGinley, Cao Fei, Omar Victor Diop, Carmen Winant and Edward Burtynsky. This year, PHOTO also celebrates three icons, Nan Goldin, Malick Sidibé and Rennie Ellis.

In Melbourne, the Art Grand Tour incorporated new commissions and works by 120 artists for NGV Triennial (opened in December and running until 7 April 2024) – with Yoko Ono, Elmgreen & Dragset and Tracey Emin amongst others – as well as MPavilion 10 by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando, an architectural commission of concrete minimalist perfection in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens.

In South Australia, the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art opens concurrently on 1 March. Curated by José Da Silva and titled Inner Sanctum, the biennial showcases 24 artists and poets across exhibitions, performances and talks that explore our engagement with the world and each other. The Adelaide Biennial is part of the Adelaide Festival. Curated by artistic director Ruth Mackenzie CBE, and chief executive Kath M Mainland CBE, 2024’s Adelaide Festival features 64 events including Australian Premieres by Marina Abramović, Laurie Andersen and Víkingur Ólafsson. 

The Biennale of Sydney opens to the public on 9 March and its 50th anniversary year is led by artistic directors Cosmin Costinaș and Inti Guerrero. Under the theme Ten Thousand Suns, dynamic artworks, large-scale installations and site-specific projects by 88 artists and collectives from 47 countries will be presented across a number of landmark galleries including, for the first time, at the recently restored White Bay Power Station. In association with the biennale, the Sydney Opera House will be illuminated every night after sunset with artwork projected onto its sails. 

Visitors to Sydney will also be able to see the exhibition ‘Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day?’, the artist’s largest survey to date in Australia and the first monographic exhibition staged in the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA-designed building, Sydney Modern. 

Rhana Devenport, director, Art Gallery of South Australia, is one arts leader planning to visit all three cities. ‘It’s a rare opportunity to experience these exemplary gatherings of art that push boundaries, and alter your perceptions, and create new memories,’ she says. With international curators and collectors jetting into Australia for this art extravaganza, the Art Grand Tour marks a distinct turning point for the country’s relationship with the global arts community.

Biennale of Sydney, multiple venues, 9 March  – 10 June 2024
Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, 1 March – 2 June 2024
The Melbourne Art Fair ran from 22 – 25 February 2024
NGV Triennial, NGV International, until 7 April 2024