Ellie Buttrose named as curator of 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art

Following Australia’s outstanding success at this year’s Venice Biennale, Ellie Buttrose has been named as curator of the 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art.

For the first time ever, under Buttrose’s curation, Australia won the prestigious Golden Lion award for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale.

The Australia Pavilion has been transformed into a dramatic installation by Kamilaroi and Bigambul artist Archie Moore titled kith and kin - a sprawling hand-drawn family tree extending back 65,000 years and memorial to First Nations peoples who have died in police custody.

Of her appointment, Buttrose shared 'I am honoured to be selected as the Curator of the 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art. The Biennial is unique in the Australian arts calendar in term 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.’

The Adelaide Biennial has historically been a vehicle through which AGSA grows its holdings of contemporary art. Seven works of art from the 2024 Adelaide Biennial: Inner Sanctum have been acquired for the AGSA collection including two works by Heather B. Swann, Kore 2024 and Things there is no one to tell, 2024, Lillian O’Neil’s The place we dissolve, 2023, Clara Adolphs, Waterfall, 2024, Jacobus Capone’s Forewarning (Act 4: Demarcation), 2022, Peter Maloney’s, Gone tomorrow, 2002, and Jessica Loughlin in collaboration with the late designer Khai Liew’s site specific installation Solari 2024.

Since 1990, conceived as part of the Adelaide Festival, the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art has created career-defining opportunities for close to 500 artists, and been experienced by more than 1.8 million visitors.

The 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art will be presented from 27th February – 7th June as part of the 2026 Adelaide Festival.