Photography: Real and Imagined

MAN RAY: KIKI WITH AFRICAN MASK 1926 (supplied)
MAN RAY: KIKI WITH AFRICAN MASK 1926 (supplied)

Photography: Real & Imagined (13 October 2023 – 4 Feb 2024) is the largest survey of the NGV's Photography collection in the institution’s history and features more than 270 photographs from the past 125 years to present day.

The exhibition will present some of the most iconic photographs ever captured, alongside recent acquisitions that have not been presented beforewith work by leading Australian and international photographers including Man Ray, Cindy Sherman, Wolfgang Tillmans, Gilbert & George and Nan Goldin, and Australian photographers Max Dupain, Olive Cotton, Mervyn Bishop, Polly Borland and Darren Sylvester.

The NGV photography collection holds more than 14,000 works and is the second largest collection area in the NGV, accounting for 16% of the entire collection. Four years in the making, this landmark exhibition interrogates the proposition that a photograph can be grounded in the real world, recording, documenting and reflecting the world around us; or be the product of imagination, storytelling and illusion; and on occasion they can be both.

You can read more about the upcoming exhibition on the NGV website.

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

August

Sydney: The exhibition delves into the State Library of NSW's vast collection of two million images, showcasing 400 photos – many displayed for the first time.

Sydney: The exhibition brings together close to 100 of the artist’s most important works dating from the 1970s through to the present day.

Sydney: The photographs in Max Dupain: Student Life were taken at the University of Sydney in the early 1950s, a period of rapid change marked by the politics of the Cold War.

Sydney: First exhibited at the Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh) in 2023, ZAHALKAWORLD – an artist’s archive brings together key bodies of work from Zahalka’s renowned photographic practice.

September

Canberra: This collection-in-focus display highlights William Yang’s photography of Sydney Mardi Gras festivals between 1981 and 2003.

Melbourne: The William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize 2024 features more than 70 images including digital and analogue photography, large-scale installations and daguerreotypes.

October

Melbourne: Come celebrate the thought-provoking work of 10 talented members of the Club's Conceptual Photography Group. Their collective exhibition, "Interesting Times," showcases a wide range of unique and diverse artistic perspectives through the medium of conceptual photography.

Brisbane: Mikaela spent time looking through Graham’s archive of negatives, though it was his social documentary images that she constantly returned to, especially as there were so many compelling photographs that had never been printed.

November

Brisbane: The Photo Fair #2 is a community event to sell, swap, and showcase photographic works. Whether you’re a photographer looking to sell or swap your images this fair is designed for you.