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Chau Chak Wing Museum

Exhibitions

Ancient and contemporary cultures explored through artworks, artefacts and diverse perspectives

18 ongoing and temporary exhibitions explore expansive themes across our collections. Entry is free to all exhibitions and booking is not required.

Poinciana regis, unknown Pacific location, c. 1935. Archaeology department Lantern Slide, Macleay Collections, HP2008.1.141

Pacific Views

Stunning historical photographs of the Pacific Islands are brought to life through the contemporary voices, songs and poetry of Pacific peoples.

Sarah Goffman: Applied Arts

An immersive installation of intricate ‘objet d’art’ museum replicas alchemically created from waste materials, 'Applied Arts' is Contemporary Art Project #2 in the Chau Chak Wing Museum's Penelope Gallery.

Gululu dhuwala djalkiri: welcome to the Yolŋu foundations

For Yolŋu people, knowledge is shared and demonstrated through their art. Paintings and sculptures embody their spiritual, philosophical and legal foundations.

Roman Spectres

Ghostly faces and names recorded in stone are reanimated through stories of life in the vibrant cities of the Roman world.

Object/Art/Specimen

An interdisciplinary exhibition introducing the Chau Chak Wing Museum collections through six evocative themes.

The Egyptian Galleries

Two exhibitions, The Mummy Room and Pharaonic Obsessions, reveal new ideas about life in ancient Egypt and explore our fascination with the land of the Pharaohs.

Ambassadors

Meet the 'Ambassadors', cultural materials gathered to speak the ancient knowledge of this country. An ongoing First Nations display.

Auspicious: motifs in Chinese art

Discover how auspiciousness permeates Chinese culture and daily life.

Natural Selections: animal worlds

The most intriguing bird, mammal, insect, fish and shell specimens from the Macleay Collections.

Coastline

Artists have always been captivated by the ocean. In 'Coastline', over 40 artists take on this monumental theme.

Impressions of Greece

Ancient Greek artefacts meet the landscapes of modern Greece captured by William J Woodhouse.

Mediterranean Identities

Homer named the Mediterranean ‘wine-dark sea’, its dangers disguised by its beauty.

The Human Calculator

JW Power was an Australian artist whose geometry-inspired paintings saw him join the avant-garde scene in 1930s Paris.

Crossroads

Working across clay, stone and metal, Cypriot artists developed rich creative traditions making Cyprus one of the cultural powerhouses of antiquity.

a trio of butterflies

Animal gods

When taxonomists began to name the thousands of plant and animal species, they drew on Classical myths and legends for inspiration.

Instrumental

A showcase of the scientific instruments which transformed our ability to do complex calculations, from the 19th century to the beginning of modern computing.

Ancient Cultures of the Middle East

From Ice Age villages to the Islamic world, encounter some of the earliest cities, writing, and religion.