The National 2019 Exhibition Challenges Australian Art Narratives Across Sydney Venues

The National 2019: New Australian Art, a biennial showcase organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Carriageworks, and Art Gallery of New South Wales, is open until June 23 and July 21. Curators Clothilde Bullen, Anna Davis, Daniel Mudie Cunningham, and Isobel Parker Philip focus on the lack of representation for local and Indigenous artists while critiquing Australia’s colonial history. Featured pieces include Kamantaku Tjukurpa wiya by Kunmanara (Mumu Mike) Williams, Heala by Hannah Brontë, The Australian Ugliness by Eugenia Lim, Exhaled Weight by Mira Gojak, death mask sculptures by Andrew Hazelwinkel, Irhal by Rushdi Anwar, and Sikiram | Büng | Scrum by Eric Bridgeman. The exhibition seeks to present alternative narratives in art history and reevaluate traditional Australian art perspectives.