Australia’s most dramatic exhibition space is completely transformed, as artist Mike Hewson brings his unique and boundary-testing brand of social sculpture to the Nelson Packer Tank.
Renowned for award-winning public projects that are at once artworks, play areas, and places to be, Hewson is reimagining the Tank as a combined park, playground, construction site, and commons – an anarchic and generous sculptural neighbourhood where visitors can meet, dwell, play, make, perform, explore and more.
Developed in the artist’s dynamic Sydney workshop and constructed from thousands of salvaged objects and materials, Hewson’s project is an experiment in participation, a spirited act of reclamation and regeneration, a radical rework of the legacies of modern sculpture, and a provocation about what a truly welcoming art museum might look like. For Hewson, whose sculptural practice was catalysed by the experience of the Christchurch earthquakes, the artist is a host who welcomes guests to use the artwork as their own – ‘the key’s under the mat, make yourself at home’.
Free to all and made for all ages, this one-of-a-kind project is accompanied by a multilayered and playful publication revealing the many people, objects and ideas that have come together to create Mike Hewson: The Key’s Under the Mat.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales gratefully acknowledges the support of the following donors: major exhibition patrons Anna Dudek and Brad Banducci, and major exhibition patron Alenka Tindale.
Event Details:
Dates: Opens 4 October 2025 - end date not provided
Location: Art Gallery of New South Wales - Naala Badu, our north building - Lower level 4, Nelson Packer Tank
Cost: Free, no bookings required