Go, See, Experience: MECCA’s Guide to What’s On in Spring

Know My Name: Kee, Jackson and Delaunay and Know My Name: Global 
National Gallery of Australia 
Canberra, ACT 
Free
Kee, Jackson and Delaunay until 1 November 2026 and Global until December 2026 

Know My Name is the National Gallery of Australia’s landmark initiative to celebrate women artists whose contributions have too often been overlooked. Spanning multiple exhibitions across the gallery, it reconsiders art history through a global and Australian lens, bringing together pioneering figures who have reshaped contemporary art, design and culture.

First up, visit Know My Name: Kee, Jackson and Delaunay, where Australian fashion trailblazers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson are brought into conversation with pioneering French-Ukrainian artist Sonia Delaunay. Celebrating fearless colour, pattern and creativity across fashion, textiles and art, it's a vibrant reminder of the enduring influence these visionary women have had on design.

Then be sure to visit Know My Name: Global, the National Gallery of Australia’s expansive celebration of women artists who have reshaped contemporary art since the 1960s. Highlights include Judy Chicago’s radiant Rainbow Pickett and Jenny Holzer’s iconic Inflammatory Essays – her politically charged text installation that still feels as important today as when it first appeared on New York streets in the 1970s.

Hero image credit: Jenny Kee, De Patchy, 1976, inspired by Sonia Delaunay's De Patchy. Image credit: Jenny Kee Personal Archive.

Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM: Nyuyuntja – stoking of the fire, keeping the fire alive
JamFactory
Adelaide and Barossa Valley, SA
Free
Adelaide until 13 September 2026 and Barossa Valley from 24 October 2026 – 31 January 2027

We advise that this text contains the name and images of Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM (1947 – 2025), shared with her family's permission and in keeping with her wishes, so that her work for art, Aṉangu and culture continues to be remembered.

Nyuyuntja – stoking of the fire, keeping the fire alive celebrates the life and work of Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM (1947 – 2025). As an Aṉangu elder and “deep culture woman”, Mrs Tapaya was one of the most accomplished artists associated with Australia's longest running and highly acclaimed Aboriginal Art Centre, Ernabella Arts.  

This exhibition showcases a selection of artworks made in the final years of Mrs Tapaya's life, highlighting her confidence and astounding skill as an artist and a storyteller, alongside the purpose and passion inherent to her practice. Nyuyuntja features works across ceramics, batik, painting and tjanpi weaving and will be on show in the Adelaide location before moving to the Barossa Valley.

Hatched: National Graduate Show 2026
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts
Perth, WA
Free
Until 4 October 2026  

Want a glimpse of the future of Australian contemporary art? Head to Hatched: National Graduate Show 2026, a beloved annual exhibition that brings together some of Australia’s most exciting new talent at the beginning of their careers. Now in its 35th year, Hatched is the only national survey exhibition of recent art-school graduates, showcasing works across painting, sculpture, installation, photography, moving image and more. Many alumni have gone on to become significant figures in Australian and international art, making this a rare opportunity to discover new voices before the rest of the world catches up.

Robyn Kahukiwa: My Ancestors Are Always With Me
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Sydney, NSW
Free and from $20
15 October 2026 – 7 February 2027

If you're in Sydney this spring or summer, make time for Robyn Kahukiwa: My Ancestors Are Always With Me at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney. It’s the first major Australian exhibition of the late Aotearoa (New Zealand) painter, whose bold, luminous works centre Māori women as ancestors, warriors and guardians while exploring identity, land and sovereignty. Powerful, deeply moving and one of the season’s essential exhibitions.

kith and kin
Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art
Brisbane, QLD
Free
Until 18 October 2026  

At MECCA we usually focus our storytelling on female-identifying artists but for Archie Moore we’ll make an exception. This is a chance to see his powerful installation kith and kin that made history as the first Australian work to win the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2024 Venice Biennale. A vast hand-drawn family tree spanning 65,000 years, it’s an unforgettable meditation on First Nations history, memory and belonging.

Frieze Sculpture 2026
Regents Park, London (United Kingdom)
Free
16 September 2026 – 1 November 2026

If you’re into art you may know of Frieze Art Fairs, the international art fair with outposts in London, Los Angeles, New York, Seoul and Abu Dhabi. Some of the best commercial galleries from around the world exhibit their latest acquisitions here. If you’re in London during Frieze Week in October, it’s worth a ticket to see the latest in Contemporary Art at Frieze London, as well as Frieze Masters, where you might see some of the most recognisable names in art for sale. Shopping for a Louise Bourgeois artwork? You’ll probably get one here. Is that a Hockney? I’ll take two.

And while the art is a spectacle itself, the people-watching is on another level. Avant-garde couture catwalk looks are worn in real life, and unlike Fashion Week, they're bought, not borrowed. Luckily you don't need to be a billionaire art collector – or even have a ticket – to experience Frieze. For six weeks, you can wander through the Frieze Sculpture park in Regent’s Park for free. Regent’s Park in autumn couldn’t be more magical, and sculptures by 11 international artists including Catriona Robertson and Carolina Aguirre transform the park into an open-air gallery.