2025 Public Art Flourishes Worldwide with Indigenous and International Commissions

In 2025, there was a significant rise in public art projects around the globe, particularly in Australia and New Zealand. In Brisbane, the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art revealed The Big Hose (2022–25), a 119-meter-long garden hose sculpture by First Nations artist Tony Albert and Sydney's Nell, which playfully nods to Kuril, the Indigenous Story Place of the water rat. Sydney Harbour debuted Thomas J Price's Ancient Feelings (2025), a striking bronze head of a Black woman, commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Also in October, the Art Gallery of New South Wales launched Lee Ufan's Relatum – dialogue (2025), part of his ongoing minimalist series. Furthermore, Auckland's gallery featured Māori artist Ammon Ngakuru’s Three Scenes (2025), reflecting on colonial industrial history.