NEW26 launches at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art

In a newly configured biennial format, The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) is celebrating seven emerging artists through their NEW exhibition series. Having taken a decade-long hiatus, NEW26 opened at ACCA on September 18 with the aim to acknowledge some of Australias most compelling artistic talent through site-specific commissions. This series originally debuted in 2003 featuring artists such as Destiny Deacon, Darren Sylvester and Fiona Connor who went on to achieve major recognition over the course of their respective careers.

Curators Dr Shelley McSpedden and Sophie Prince selected a range of artists working across Australia with the intention of bringing together distinct voices and varied practises that question and reshape critical thinking towards social, political and cultural issues. Through the culminaton of varied mediums, the artworks produced in NEW26 raise concerns about contextual issues such as identity, AI-specific technology, and the obstruction of culture in a contemporary context. The featured artists include Amanda Bell, Amanda Bennetts, Nicholas Currie, Naveed Farro, Caesar Florence-Howard, Diego Ramírez and EJ Son.

Walyalup/Fremantle-born artist Amanda Bennetts, winner of the Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize 2025 is highly regarded for her exploration of labour and illness grounded within a sculptural, performance based practise. Described by the artist as ‘a pillar between heaven and earth’, ‘Axis Mundi’ is a tall sculpture made of steel framing, cables and screens which aims to examine the overwhelming power of AI and increased presence of technological innovation.

Nicholas Currie (Mununjali/Kuku Yalanji) continues to captivate audiences through his own artistic practise and curatorial projects across Naarm/Melbourne. The collection of paintings and textile installations presented at NEW26 evokes a vulnerability through a unique sense of humour, examining Indigenous story-telling within a contemporary context, a feature that has become synonymous with Currie’s work.

Exploring the restraints and power of language, culture and community, artist Amanda Bell (Badamia Yamatji/Yued Noongar) pushes the boundaries of identity through her large-scale installations. ‘Feel it all. Then let it go’ emcomapsses footage taken on Wardandi Boodja Country, family slides, and archival sound. The moving-image piece includes a speech by painter Elizabeth Durack, analysing identity, culture and language.

Dr Shelley McSpedden and Sophie Prince said; “NEW26 presents the work of seven outstanding artists from around Australia, who are at the forefront of contemporary art practice. Through their work, this exhibition captures the pulse of creative practice now, bringing together distinct bodies of work that reflect, question, and reshape artistic and social preoccupations defining our time.”

NEW26 is on display at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Naarm/Melbourne until 22 November. Entry is free.

Image: NEW26 artists (left to right) Amanda Bell, Amanda Bennetts, Nicholas Currie, Naveed Farro, Caesar Florence-Howard, Diego Ramírez and EJ Son