Curator announced for 2026 Adelaide Biennial

The Art Gallery of South Australia said the Adelaide Biennial role attracted applications from across Australia and members of the judging panel were unanimous in their support of Buttrose, who “invites risk and experimentation”.

“We feel a genuine sense of excitement with the curatorial vision for the Biennial proposed by Ellie Buttrose,” the panel said in a statement.

“The panel was impressed with Buttrose’s careful observation of, and deep feeling for, a diversity of artists’ nuanced and complex understandings of our contemporary world, and believe strongly that Buttrose’s brand of curatorial leadership and collaboration will bring before us an especially thought-provoking and relevant Biennial exhibition and range of integrally associated programs.”

Brisbane-based Buttrose is curator of contemporary Australian art at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). She earned accolades earlier this year for her curation of Kamilaroi and Bigambul artist Archie Moore’s Venice Biennale installation kith and kin ­– a sprawling hand-drawn family tree spanning 65,000 years that was presented in the Australian Pavilion and won the prestigious Golden Lion for Best National Participation.

The Adelaide Biennial has been presented since 1990 and is described as the longest-running survey of contemporary Australian art. The 2026 exhibition will be presented from February 27 until June 7 as part of the 2026 Adelaide Festival, with Buttrose saying she is excited and honoured to be selected as its curator.

“The Biennial is unique in the Australian arts calendar in terms of its curatorial ambitions and I look forward to contributing to its rich history through my collaborations with artists, arts writers and historians, and the AGSA team,” she said.

The 2024 Adelaide Biennial, which closed last month, was curated by José Da Silva with the theme Inner Sanctum and featured works by 24 artists and writers.

Seven of the works in Inner Sanctum were acquired for AGSA’s collection, including South Australian artist Jessica Loughlin’s site-specific installation Solari, which was presented in a structure designed by the late Khai Liew. Other acquired works were Heather B Swann’s Kore and Things there is no one to tell, Lillian O’Neil’s The place we dissolve, Clara Adolphs’ Waterfall, Jacobus Capone’s Forewarning (Act 4: Demarcation) and Peter Maloney’s Gone tomorrow.

Art Gallery of South Australia acting director Emma Fey said the Adelaide Biennial had continuously expanded its audience and offered a “dynamic platform” for artists during its 30-year history. She added that Buttrose’s “wealth of experience and nuanced curatorial practice promises to deliver a captivating exhibition and attract new audiences”.

Fey was part of the 2026 Biennial selection panel, alongside outgoing AGSA director Rhana Devenport, outgoing assistant director Lisa Slade, Adelaide Festival artistic director Ruth Mackenzie and Geelong Gallery director and CEO Jason Smith.