The Dobell Drawing Art Biennial 2026

Working across a diverse range of materials, the Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial is considered Australia’s leading exhibition showcasing contemporary drawing. Held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, this will be the sixth edition of the biennial with support from the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation.

Each edition is curated to a different theme, with the aim to highlight a diverse range of drawing practices from artists at varying points in their artistic career. Titled Near at Hand, this year’s edition aims to showcase the intimate act of drawing – the physical markings an artist imprints upon a page and how that informs the piece and the person. Eleven artists across Australia will be exhibiting including; Stephen Benwell, Tom Blake, Andrew Browne, Emily Ferretti, Rosemary Lee, Mary MacDougall, Julian Martin, Jennifer Mills with Darcy Luker, Ryan Nazzari, Louise Weaver and Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu.

Each artist interprets the theme through the lens of their own practice, so the exhibition combines a variety of experimental materiality, video projections, landscape and figurative portrayals. Exhibiting artist Rosemary Lee won the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize in 2025. The extraordinary detail of the winning artwork, 24-1 (2024), showcases demolition and reconstruction in Sydney suburbs. This meticulous craftsmanship has been continued in the Near at Hand exhibition with her artworks titled Shrub (2026) and Old man’s beard (2026). The artist finds beauty in the mundane, over-looked aspects of everyday life.

Near at Hand: Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial is on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 12 September 2026 – 7 March 2027. Free entry.