This July, Australia’s galleries and art institutions are brimming with bold ideas, fresh voices, and powerful reflections on identity, culture and place.

From intimate works by emerging artists to expansive international exhibitions, the art on display captures a rich cross-section of creative expression across the country. Whether it’s Japanese elegance at NGV, First Nations storytelling in Naarm, or boundary-pushing digital and sculptural practices in Sydney, Brisbane and beyond, there’s something to ignite every curiosity.

As always, our guide highlights some of the most exciting exhibitions on now – from major museums to independent spaces – offering a vibrant journey through Australia’s cultural landscape this winter.

Kimono – until 5 October 2025

Featuring rare and hand-crafted kimono from the Edo period to today, this is a brand-new, NGV-curated exhibition that explores the timeless elegance and enduring appeal of this iconic Japanese garment. Celebrated throughout the world for its meticulous craftsmanship and sophisticated sense of style, the kimono has had an indelible influence on global art, design and fashion culture since Japan opened its borders to the world in the mid-nineteenth century.

Stronger Families, Stronger Communities: Healing the Past for the Future – until 9 February 2026

This grass-roots exhibition shines a light on the deeply personal, creative journeys of nine proud Naarm-based First Nations men. Featuring a 28-metre-long mural, each art piece featured in the exhibition emerged from therapeutic workshops designed to give participants alternative tools for reflection and self-expression.

Une vie romantique – until 12 July 2025

The exhibition by French-Australian artist and interior architect Lea Thompson explores landscape, fashion-like layering, and visual softness through abstract paintings and a handmade book of original works on paper.

FOOLS PARADISE – until 19 July 2025

The fourth solo exhibition by acclaimed artist Daniel Domig showcases his latest series of 21 new paintings, delving into themes of ecological crisis, human relationships with houseplants, growth, earth and roots. Domig’s works are large-format, colour-intensive and dynamic, and at the centre of his subjects are often human bodies, which allow the viewer to begin a game of ideally a free dialogue with the pictures.

in a part of your mind, I am you – until 24 August 2025

Showcases the breadth of Tom Polo’s distinct style, developed over 15 years, this exhibition features a new large-scale painting commission, and a series of intimate never-before-seen works on paper and canvas developed during the artist's recent residency in New York. The exhibition will also include a survey of existing works, punctuated by artworks by renowned international artists Tracey Emin, Ugo Rondinone, and Urs Fischer, selected by the artist for their capacity to communicate the unmappable regions of our minds.

Each Apparition, Searches for an Eye – until 12 July 2025

A series of 100 photo-portraits of soldiers from Stanislava Pinchuk’s deployment to witness combat training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine as the Official War Artist of Australia. Instructed to obscure all identifying features to elude enemy facial-recognition software, the artist manually manipulated the film negatives to blur the faces of her subjects.

Amongst the clouds (digital materialities in the 21st century) – until 20 July 2025

Profiling Australian and international artists (like Liu Chuang, China, Nina Davies, Canada/UK, Archana Hande, India, and more...) who explore the ways in which digital realms are determinedly tied to the physical world. As the distinction between the digital and the material world becomes increasingly blurred, how we think about art, society and technology is radically shifting and evolving.

maḻatja-maḻatja (those who come after) – until 5 October 2025

This exhibition from renowned Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands artist Betty Kuntiwa Pumani will encompass a major new three-part painting, created especially for Bundanon. Presented alongside major loans from public and private collections, Pumani’s paintings reveal a shimmering landscape of red earth, bright blue waterholes and stippled white tobacco flowers.

Walking Distance – until 8 July 2025

Painter Julia Sirianni explores what it means to be close to the places that matter to her. It's discovering locations that become part of my story – from inside jokes to funny memories to scenes she's fallen in love with.

marru | the unseen visible – until 3 Aug 2025

Danie Mellor’s multidisciplinary art practice explores Australia’s shared history through the lens of his Ngadjon-jii, Mamu and Anglo-Celtic ancestry and ongoing connection to Country in the Atherton Tablelands and rainforests of far north Queensland. This exhibition brings together works examining memory and remembrance; the relationship between First Nations people, culture and Country; and the environmental and social impact of colonial history.

Ensemble – until 12 July 2025

Keith Burt's third solo exhibition with the gallery – and his first dedicated entirely to his sculptural practice – featuring works created from wax, clay, plaster, and bronze that reflect his shift from observational painting to an intuitive, process-driven approach to making art.

WALYTJA WIRU / Beautiful Family – until 5 July 2025

Vibrant new works by Anangu artists Carol and Cassaria Young - aunty and niece working with Ninuku Arts in Kalka Community. Painting across generations, their bold, bright works reflect kinship, Country, and community, carrying shared stories of ancestral knowledge and community life.

Tiny Territory  – ongoing

Invertebrates in the Top End are the most numerous and important ecosystem engineers, service providers and waste managers. They are rarely noticed or revered – Tiny Territory makes large and wondrous the small, colourful and alien-like invertebrates of the Northern Territory.

50 years of Donald Judd's Untitled, 1974–75 – until 17 Aug 2025

The influential artist, designer, architect and art critic, Donald Judd (1928–1994) was one of America’s leading postwar artists when he designed the large site-specific concrete sculpture Untitled for the rear of the Gallery in 1974. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of its unveiling. Revered by some, subjected to protests by others, it has been a significant presence on the back lawn of the Gallery over five decades.

The West Australian Pulse 2025 – until 31 August 2025

Celebrating 33 years and features 61 works by 2024 Year 12 Visual Arts graduates from 37 schools across WA, these selected works provide a window into young people’s private, social and artistic concerns. It is an inspiring, rewarding and insightful look at the world through the minds of our most talented young artists.

Hatched: National Graduate Show 2025 – until 5 October 2025

Presenting artworks by outstanding graduates from across the country, this exhibition showcases the next generation of Australia’s contemporary creative voices. This year, Hatched will be presented for the first time in an offsite venue in Perth’s CBD from 2 August to 5 October, and will feature the works of 23 artists from 20 tertiary art schools who were nominated by their lecturers and selected by a panel.