- The 53rd Sydney Biennale cost $13 million in 2026.
- Mixed reviews and harsh criticism have begun to plague the festival.
- White Bay Power Station has saved the day as the venue to house the Rememory exhibition.
Ok, when I say I loved it, I admit I had arrived armed with very low expectations. I had read the top online reviews and knew that the whopping $13 million price tag was under fire for the art being… well, underwhelming. But, I’d never stepped foot inside the White Bay Power Station before, nor had I attended the Sydney Biennale in all of its 53-year history as one of Australia’s key cultural annual festival events, So I figured i’d give it a crack.
They definitely nailed the venue. While some critics have said on record the Power Station dwarfs the exhibits, I would have to disagree. As you enter this gob-smackingly imposing warehouse structure, it transports you into a universe that blurs the lines between what’s real and intended and what’s not. Industrial power plant relics sit alongside oversized aluminium artworks, and if it wasn’t for the tiny plaques and small roped-off sections for foot traffic, you’d be questioning what’s part of the Biennale and what’s part of the power station.
The one part that is impossible to miss is the small description of each exhibition piece that says “commissioned by the Biennale”… which to me, explained where the controversial price tag could be attributed.
And yet, there were several moments when I found myself gazing at a fire hydrant, or a power pump, wondering if it was part of the exhibition or not… and if not, why not, as many of these relics within the space were more eye-catching than the installations themselves.
But, I did say I loved it! I just never said I loved the art. While I genuinely admired a handful of the commissioned works, including a giant white tree trunk made from muslin cotton drapes and screen-printed images projected onto these cotton sheets, for the most part the exhibition felt lacking. Perhaps the fact that we arrived at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon was part of that, the majority of people were exiting the building, not because they were disappointed, but because it was closing at 5pm. Really? And we are trying to boost Sydney’s night-time economy?!
And while the festival boasts a vibrant, immersive program, the so-called food markets alongside the power station consisted of a couple of small food trucks that looked about as sad as the poor staff member stuck in the upstairs exhibition space with nothing to do all day but read a book and explain to visitors that the toilets were in fact functioning toilets and not simply an installation area to wander into and observe.
But on the upside, there was something rather moving about the entire experience. It wasn’t by any means dull, as some critics have inferred. It was other-worldly, quirky, and well worth the effort. The fact that this main exhibition was housed in such a remarkable space made the event twice as memorable. If these artworks had simply been displayed in a modern gallery setting, the impact and mystery would have been lost. Speaking of which, perhaps the highlight for me was as we were leaving (no, hold your horses, there’s more to this sentence) and a magical double-decker vintage green bus pulled into the power station, complete with lights and bells and everything fairytale… almost a little Hogwarts-esque.
People started boarding the mystery bus which added to my overall intrigue. Was it part of the Biennale, was it designed to match the power station, was it even real? No matter what, if the ultimate intention of art is to transport the viewer to a different perspective, then the 53rd Sydney Biennale has, one way or another, intentionally or not, achieved this purpose. And I was impressed.
Click here for The official guide to The Sydney Biennale.
