Skip to main content
Skip to footer Skip to Acknowledgement of Country
National Gallery of Australia
What's On Art & Artists Visit
Login
  1. Home
  2. About Us

About Us

photograph of exterior detail of the National Gallery building

Art gives us meaning. It tells the stories of where we have come from and imagines possible futures. Art matters.

Welcome to the National Gallery, Australia’s national visual arts institution dedicated to collecting, sharing and celebrating art from Australia and the world.

Home to the most valuable collection of art in Australia, the national collection comprises over 155,000 works of art, including the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Our significant collection represents the whole of Australian art, modern art worldwide, particularly from Europe and America, and art from across Asia and the Pacific. The collection includes some of the finest examples in Australia of French Impressionism, Dada and Surrealism, the Russian avant-garde, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art.

Our aim is to inspire all Australians. Central to our vision is elevating women artists and First Nations culture. Expansive collection displays are accompanied by a dynamic program of exhibitions, national tours and cultural events that celebrate creative practice and deepen lifelong learning, in person and online.

Based in the nation’s capital, the Gallery sits on the southern shore of Lake Burley Griffin, on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, and within Canberra’s Parliamentary Triangle. Our heritage listed building, designed by award winning architect Colin Madigan AO, is a beacon of experimental design and exemplary Brutalist architecture.

Admission to the Gallery, including the Sculpture Garden planted with native flora and James Turrell’s Skyspace, is free and accessible. Fees may apply for special exhibitions.

Art is for all of us. It allows us to see the world in ways that expand our minds, provoke our ideas, ignite our imaginations. At the National Gallery we strive for cultural experiences that surprise, that disrupt convention, that deepen our understanding of the human condition and the world we live in.

We believe that art can change lives.

  • Contacts

    A list of key and general staff contacts across the Gallery.

  • Venue Hire

    Group of people sitting at a long table with table decorations, and plates and wine glasses

    Our unique venues cater to events of all sizes and styles – weddings, gala dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, workshops, and private functions.

  • Media

    Group of people from the Media taking photos of five people in front of a Gallery wall

    The National Gallery's Media Centre brings together the latest news, listings alerts, invitations and more.

  • Jobs

    A group of five people in the centre of a gallery space hold a large sheet as they install a large hanging mobile from the ceiling

    We are a dynamic and rewarding workplace, offering a wide range of roles for people from all different backgrounds.

  • Feedback

    Photograph of building interior with concrete framing couple in distance

    We value all feedback and are working constantly to improve our services.

  • Governance

    A large metal sculpture of an Indigenous Australian fish trap is hanging from the ceiling in a large gallery foyer

    Find information about our governance, including annual reports and legislation.

  • Governance

    Council & Foundation

    a person in blurred motion is walking through a gallery space

    View the National Gallery's Council and Foundation Board members.

  • Policies & Plans

    the edge of a large concrete brutalist building against a blue sky with a giant spherical sculpture suspended in the air

    The functions, policies and plans of the National Gallery, the Commonwealth of Australia's national cultural institution for the visual arts.

Gender Equity Action Plan


Justene Williams, Victory over the sun, 2016, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2021 © Justene Williams

The National Gallery’s commitment to gender equity is core to the vision of the Gallery to inspire our nation through creativity, inclusivity, engagement and learning. Across Australia and the world, arts and cultural institutions are facing the lived realities of exclusions, inequities and histories that have shaped their collections, programs and foundational structures. We are now addressing the significant imbalances that exist.

More

The Building

Landscape photo of a largo white concrete building, late in the construction phase

Institutional Archive

The entrance to the national gallery with some sculptures visible

Related


2022

a woman is sitting on a deck at a table with a small sculpture in front of her

National Gallery media releases from 2021.

Visit

Photograph of woman sitting on black seat looking at artwork

The National Gallery is open from 10am to 5pm daily (closed Christmas Day). Free entry ticket is required.

The Kenneth E. Tyler Collection

Malcolm Morley (1931-2018)

Malcolm Morley and Kenneth Tyler using lithographic tusche in preparation for blue colour separation for ‘Pamela running before the wind with a Dutch lighthouse’

The Kenneth E. Tyler Collection team remembers the life and work of Michael Morley, a great friend and collaborator of Kenneth Tyler.

Student Program

Self-guided visit

Secondary school aged girl looking through through a mirrored box window as part of an installation.

Introduce your students to the National Gallery of Australia’s collection.

James Turrell's 'Within without'

Large sculptural work, pyramid shaped with greenery on the side of the structure.

Within without is a major Skyspace by American artist James Turrell, one of his largest and most complex to date.

Media Releases

The latest news and announcements from the National Gallery.

Go back to start of main content
Go to top of page

Yuuma, Gurruburri

The National Gallery acknowledges the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the Kamberri/Canberra region, and recognises their continuous connection to culture, community and Country.

  • National Gallery On Demand
  • Art & Artists
  • What's On
  • Visit
  • Membership
  • Donate
  • Jobs
  • About Us

Connect

+61 2 6240 6411
information@nga.gov.au
Get art in your inbox

Open every day

(except Christmas day)
10am – 5pm

Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country
Parkes Place East, Parkes ACT 2600

View Street Map
View Gallery Map


Contact us

National Gallery of Australia

Follow the National gallery of Australia on:

  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Website Privacy Website Disclaimer Website Copyright
Opening Acknowledgment of Country

The National Gallery acknowledges the First Peoples of this land and recognises their continuous connection to culture, community and Country

Learn More
birds-eye view photograph of bushland
    • View All
    • Today
    • Exhibitions
    • Access Programs
    • All Programs
    • On Demand
    • About the Collection
    • Sculpture Garden
    • Kenneth E. Tyler Collection
    • Provenance
    • Conservation
    • Copyright
    • Search the Collection
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Getting Here
    • Parking & Transport
    • Art Store
    • Dining
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Research Library & Archives
    • Admission tickets
    • Browse Stories
    • Browse Videos
    • Artonview Magazine
    • Podcasts
    • Audio Tours
    • Virtual Tours
    • Learning Programs
    • For People with Access Needs
    • For Teachers & Students
    • For Young People
    • For Kids & Families
    • For Adults
    • For Your Community
    • Art Cases
    • Educator Programs
    • Get Involved
    • Membership
    • Voluntary Guides
    • Partnerships
    • Support
    • Donate
  • First Nations
  • Access
  • Art Store
  • Media
  • Venue Hire
  • About Us