Galleries and museums lead the way with a range of cultural treats

The 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020), titled NIRIN (a Wiradjuri word meaning “edge”), is an artist- and First Nations-led exhibition of contemporary art inspired by seven themes: Dhaagun (‘earth’: sovereignty and working together); BagarayBang (‘healing’); Yirawy-Dhuray (‘yam-connection’: food); Gurray (‘transformation’); Muriguwal Giiland (‘different stories’); NgawalGuyungan (‘powerful ideas’: the power of objects); and Bila (‘river’: environment). Artists from Nepal, Georgia, Afghanistan, Sudan and Ecuador will participate. The Biennale which will be shown across six sites, including the MCA until September 6.

XU ZHEN®: ETERNITY VS EVOLUTION is the first major solo exhibition in Australia of the work of Xu Chen, one of China’s most significant artists and activists, in Australia. His recent work centres on sculptural installations, video and performances that challenge cultural assumptions, question social taboos and comment on the idea of art as a commodity. The show includes the performance work In Just a Blink of an Eye 2005/2020, which features four performers ‘frozen’ in the act of falling over, as well as European Thousand-Armed Classical Sculpture 2014 and other monumental sculptures. National Gallery of Australia, until September 13. The Art Gallery of WA Modern’s collection includes works from 1920 to 1969 that reflect key developments in the history of Australian and international art during a time of great social, political and artistic change. The move away from representative forms and towards abstract and conceptual art mirrored the turmoil of the times. The collection includes works by such Australian artists as Charles Blackman, Grace Cossington Smith, Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker, Arthur Boyd and Judy Cassab, alongside key international artists such as Walter Sickert. The photographic exhibition The Burning World uses urban and natural landscapes to look at human settlements and their consequences through the work of Hoda Afshar, Peta Clancy, Rosemary Laing and Michael Cook. Bendigo Art Gallery, August 8 to November 8.

To mark the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s 1770 passage along the east coast of Australia. the National Museum of Australia’s exhibition Endeavour Voyage: The Untold Stories of Cook and the First Australians looks at this seafaring feat through the eyes of those onboard the Endeavour as well as those who observed it from the shore. Visitors can imagine the moment when the land’s occupants encountered Cook and his crew in an exhibition that honours both a great voyage of scientific and geographic exploration as well as the rich culture of those who encountered the new arrivals. Curators collaborated with east coast Indigenous communities whose ancestors witnessed Cook’s passage. Via an immersive digital experience, the show invites people to experience the gravity and emotions of these momentous historical events. Until September13.