MCA announces artists for Primavera 2025

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) has revealed the artist line-up for Primavera 2025: Young Australian Artists, featuring Francis Carmody (VIC/NSW), Alexandra Peters (VIC), Augusta Vinall Richardson (VIC), Keemon Williams (QLD) and Emmaline Zanelli (SA).

Held annually since 1992, Primavera presents the work of early-career artists living and working in Australia, aged 35 years and under. Curated by MCA Curator Tim Riley Walsh, the exhibition will explore how emerging artists are responding to the rapid convergence of society, industry and technology. Opening 5 September 2025 and running through to 8 March 2026, Primavera 2025 reflects on the cultural, emotional and political entanglements between human and machine.

This year’s selected artists span diverse practices – from Francis Carmody’s speculative storytelling and cross-disciplinary collaboration, to Emmaline Zanelli’s surreal multidisciplinary works exploring labour and youth culture. Alexandra Peters brings an installation-based approach to expanded painting, while Augusta Vinall Richardson works with industrial materials and processes to create abstract sculptures. Keemon Williams, a Koa, Kuku Yalanji, Meriam Mir and South Sea Islander artist, draws on humour, memory and the visual language of production to explore queer and First Nations experiences in the shadow of colonisation.

Now in its 34th year, Primavera remains an important platform for spotlighting emerging voices. “The selected artists … reflect the innovation and sheer talent of the emerging contemporary Australian art world,” said curator Riley Walsh. “…These five artists help broaden our world view and begin to unravel the complexity of the current era.”

Primavera has launched the careers of many leading artists including Mikala Dwyer, Shaun Gladwell and Taloi Havini. This year’s edition promises to continue that legacy with a forward-looking investigation of how art can respond to – and reimagine – life alongside machines.

Visit the MCA website for more information.