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New galleries and museums are opening in 2025 across global art hubs, with ambitious builds and innovative features, alongside notable theatres and public projects. Here is ArtsHub‘s list of things to mark on your calendars this year.
Galleries and museums
Potter Museum of Art reopens with 65,000 years of Australian Art
After extensive redevelopment, the University of Melbourne’s Potter Museum of Art will reopen to the public during Reconciliation Week on 30 May with the exhibition, 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art. With over 400 artworks, the show includes new commissions alongside public and private loans, curated by Associate Provost Professor Marcia Langton AO, Judith Ryan AM and Shanysa McConville in consultation with Indigenous custodians.
Location: Corner Swanston Street and Masson Road, Parkville Vic 3010
COMA turns coffee warehouse into gallery hub
COMA is wrapping up its previous gallery space in Chippendale and opening a brand new space in Marrickville on 31 January. Transforming a former coffee factory, COMA’s new flagship location spans 490 square metres and includes an exhibition space, private viewing rooms, on-site storage and merchandise space. The gallery will open with Waiting for Lavender, a solo exhibition of new works by Justin Williams, whom COMA will also present at the upcoming Felix Art Fair in Los Angeles. The exhibition taps into William’s familial memories and sense of belonging, and reflections prompted by the recent birth of his daughter, Lavender.
Location: 37 Chapel Street, Marrickville NSW 2204
Newcastle Art Gallery sets reopening date for 2024
Newcastle Art Gallery will welcome back visitors in late September this year, following the Gallery’s major redevelopment that began in 2022 and was originally anticipated to finish in late 2024. The project combines its existing 47-year-old structure with a new building, which will offer additional exhibition space and commercial opportunities. Local artist Shellie Smith and fabricator Julie Squires have been commissioned to create a major sculpture for the Gallery’s atrium, while artist Fayen d’Evie offers a sculptural solution to improve accessibility. Once reopened, Newcastle Art Gallery will have dedicated areas for its collection on the lower level, while the upper level will cater for a variety of travelling exhibitions, including international shows.
Location: 1 Laman Street, Cooks Hill NSW 2300
Powerhouse Castle Hill for public visitors and researchers
Powerhouse Castle Hill has welcomed visitors to access its collections and support researchers since opening in early 2024, while Powerhouse Parramatta is still under construction (the reopening is slated for 2025, but no date has been confirmed at time of writing). The Castle Hill storehouse features a new building, exhibition spaces, open storage and learning spaces with regular programming, open to the public on weekends.
Location: 2 Green Road, Castle Hill NSW 2154
Cultural and community venues
Yarrawonga Library, Events and Performance Precinct
This Moira Shire Council project includes the development of a new Library building and the redevelopment of the Yarrawonga Town Hall. A strategic opportunity was identified to create a civic and cultural hub in the town centre, engaging Kennedy Nolan Architects and N2SH Design Studio on the project. It’s set to open in 2025, with the date yet to be announced at time of writing. Construction has begun for the $11 million library.
Location: 42-46 Hume Street, Yarrawonga VIC 3730
Theatres and performance spaces
Foundry Theatre to stage musicals, comedy and immersive works
The Foundry Theatre is a new intimate live entertainment venue within the Sydney Lyric that will kick off its inaugural programming from February, starting with performer and songwriter, Tim Minchin. The 360-seater is a multipurpose space with dynamic lighting aimed at creating immersive experiences. Check out the 2025 program.
Location: 55 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont NSW 2009
Major international destinations
UCCA Clay a new feature for popular ceramic destination
A new branch of UCCA, UCCA Clay is situated in Yixing City – renowned as China’s ‘City of Ceramics’ – approximately two hours west of Shanghai. The 2400-square metre museum is designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. Some in Australia may be familiar with Kuma’s designs, which include The Exchange in Sydney’s Darling Square, and a collaborative project for the 2020 NGV Triennial. The inaugural exhibition, The Ways of Clay: Select Award-Winning Works from the International Ceramics Festival Mino of the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan – featuring 69 pieces by artists from 17 countries – is on view until 23 February, to be followed by a solo exhibition of Korean-American artist, Anicka Yi.
Location: Yixing ‘City of Ceramics’, China
Naoshima New Museum of Art designed by Tadao Ando
To welcome visitors in early 2025, the Naoshima New Museum of Art is a new addition in the Benesse Art Site Naoshima, which spreads across a close cluster of Japanese islands. Designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, the Museum will have four gallery spaces across three storeys, dedicated to presenting contemporary art from Japan and Asia. The inaugural exhibition features 11 artists, including Cai Guo-Qiang, Takashi Murakami, Do Ho Suh and more.
Location: Naoshima, Japan
The Frick Collection reopens following renovations
The Frick Collection, known for its holdings of Old Master paintings, European sculpture and decorative arts, will reopen in April 2025 following renovations of its historic Fifth Avenue home in New York City. It will unveil revitalised historic spaces and a new suite of galleries on the mansion’s second floor (open to the public for the first time), alongside a special commission by sculptor and ceramicist, Vladimir Kanevsky. The Frick Art Research Library and its refurbished Reading Room will reopen concurrently with the museum.
Location: New York City, US
Museum of West African Art to host inaugural exhibition
The Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) is not a space in the traditional sense, but instead, a campus of buildings and outdoor performance spaces that spans six hectares in Benin City, Nigeria. It opened in November 2024, but will present its first exhibition in May this year. The institution facilitates education, research and creativity, with a vision to reclaim and strengthen the legacy of West African art.
Location: Benin City, Nigeria
V&A East Storehouse and David Bowie Centre welcomes visitors
London’s V&A will open the first of its two new sites in 2025, V&A East Storehouse, on 31 May. Designed by architectural practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the location will be home to more than half a million works and offer the public a chance to see behind the scene of a working museum. V&A East Storehouse’s David Bowie Centre will open on 13 September, featuring an archive of 90,000 pieces from the late singer and artist’s estate.
Location: London, UK
Fenix, a museum for migration stories through art
Fenix, set to open on 16 May, is the world’s first museum dedicated to telling stories of global migration through art. It will feature works by over 100 artists and documentary photography by 130 photographers from across the world, alongside a roofed 2000-square metre space for collaborative public programming. Fenix is situated in Katendrecth, one of Europe’s first Chinatowns, dating back to the early 20th century. The building is characterised by a spiral staircase at its centre, named Tornado, complete with a 360-degree view of the Rotterdam skyline.
Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Artist Refik Anadol to launch first AI arts museum, Dataland
Artist Refik Anadol will open what is said to be the world’s first museum of Artificial Intelligence (AI) arts in Los Angeles this year. Anadol says, “Los Angeles is the perfect city to launch Dataland, a forward-thinking, revolutionary museum in support of the fields to which I have dedicated my career: art, science, technology and AI research.”
Location: Los Angeles, US
Foundation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain to move into new home
Foundation Cartier will relocate to face the Louvre in Paris with a new building designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel and open to the public by the end of 2025. The site features 8500 square metres of public spaces, 6500 square metres of exhibition space and a façade that opens out onto the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Rue de Rivoli and Place du Palais-Royal. Works drawn from its collection, comprising almost 4000 pieces by international contemporary artists, will be displayed in the new space.
Location: Paris, France
Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi on track for completion 2025
Completion of the Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi is pending, with National History Museum Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum set to join the existing Louvre Abu Dhabi and Manarat Al Saadiyat in welcoming visitors in 2025. The Saadiyat Cultural District has been in the making for almost two decades, and is positioned as a place of cultural dialogue to attract local, regional and international creatives, thinkers and visitors. Opening dates for the remaining museums are yet to be announced.
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Almaty Museum of Arts slated for opening
Opening in Kazakhstan this summer (May to September in Central Asia) is Central Asia’s first contemporary museum, Almaty Museum of Arts, founded by automotive magnate Nurlan Smağulov. The private museum will house over 700 pieces by artists from the region and beyond, while its architecture is distinguished by its slanted walls – one side facing the city, the other the Alatau mountain range. The slant has been created as part of the Museum’s brand identity by Amsterdam-based Studio Thonik. Opening exhibitions include Almagul Menlibayeva: I Understand Everything and Qonaqtar. An Exhibition from the Collection of the Almaty Museum of Arts.
Location: Almaty, Kazakhstan
New Museum to wrap up three-year expansion
New York’s New Museum underwent a major expansion project in 2022, and is set to reopen later this year with a new structure integrated with the Museum’s existing SANAA-designed building. The new seven-storey, 5500-square metre building will double its exhibition spaces alongside a public plaza to host art installations, performances and gatherings. The expansion is designed by OMA/Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas.
Location: New York City, US
Studio Museum receives first-ever purpose-built infrastructure
Established in 1968, Studio Museum in Harlem has been advocating for and presenting the work of black artists for nearly six decades. It’s first purpose-built home has been seven years in the making, and will feature a 7600-square metre building with enhanced space for exhibitions, educational opportunities, local community use, and more than double its signature artist-in-residence program. Designed by Adjaye Associates in collaboration with Cooper Robertson, Studio Museum will welcome visitors in the northern hemisphere autumn (September). The inaugural exhibition will feature Queens-based sculptor, Tom Lloyd.
Location: New York City, US
