An artist, art lover, collector and curator walked into a bar. Over a glass or two of Yalumba chardonnay, they caught up on life, work and the latest and greatest in contemporary art.
The backdrop to their discussion was Sydney Contemporary, Australasia’s premier art fair. Run over four days (11 - 14 September 2025), the fair transformed Sydney’s Carriageworks, a historical railway workshop, into a maze of installations, exhibitions, talk spaces, lounges and cafes.
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| Entrance to Sydney Contemporary at Carriageworks. |
As visitors meandered through the 100+ galleries represented, they were awarded with a diverse selection of contemporary art from more than 500 Australian and international artists.
New to Sydney Contemporary, Photo Sydney exhibited leading contemporary photography. Among those showcased, Olsen Gallery’s George Byrne stood out for his pastel dreamscapes of LA.
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| George Byrne's works at Sydney Contemporary. From left to right: Exit Vision 2019, Liquor Store Yucca Valley 2024, Mural Wall Venice 2024. |
Other personal highlights across the fair included David Sequeira’s lithographs made with Australian Print Workshop’s senior printer, Martin King, and Margaret Ackland‘s larger than life watercolour works of still life subjects.
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| David Sequeira's works at Sydney Contemporary. From top to bottom: Not your own 2024, Just try 2024, Would I be 2024. |
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| Margaret Ackland's work at Sydney Contemporary. Silver Spoons 2025. |
While the in person fair has drawn to a close, available works exhibited across the four days can still be purchased online from participating gallery websites.
Artists, art lovers, collectors and curators are in luck. With a lineup of other art fairs such as Sydney Made in October and the Affordable Art Fair in November, they can meet again, maybe over a glass or two.