The Facts
On September 11, 2026, the Art Gallery of New South Wales announced Near at Hand: Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial 2026, the sixth edition of Australia's leading curated exhibition devoted to contemporary drawing. Curated by assistant curator Scott Elliot, the show opens September 12, 2026, and runs through March 7, 2027, with free entry. It features 11 artists from across Australia, including Stephen Benwell, Tom Blake, Andrew Browne, Emily Ferretti, Rosemary Lee, Mary MacDougall, Julian Martin, Jennifer Mills with Darcy Luker, Ryan Nazzari, Louise Weaver and Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu. Highlights include Yunupiŋu's drawings of his Arnhem Land homeland paired with video projections, Ferretti's installation of 473 drawings, and MacDougall's 350-piece ceramic installation.
The Signal
The biennial's thematic focus on intimate mark-making positions drawing as a medium capable of both personal expression and material experimentation. For collectors, the inclusion of several artists showing at a public institution for the first time signals emerging names to watch, while the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation's continued support underscores sustained institutional commitment to drawing as a collecting category.
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- Artists: Stephen Benwell, Tom Blake, Andrew Browne, Emily Ferretti, Rosemary Lee, Mary MacDougall, Julian Martin, Jennifer Mills, Darcy Luker, Ryan Nazzari, Louise Weaver, Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu
- People: Scott Elliot, Francis Plagne
- Museums: Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Locations: Sydney
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