Devotion – Sly Morikawa

Venue: China Heights
Location: Level 3 16-28 Foster St Surry Hills, NSW 2010
14 Aug - 13 Sep, 2026
Web: https://chinaheights.com/

Devotion is an ongoing series by Sly Morikawa documenting Sanja Matsuri, the annual Shinto festival held in Tokyo’s Asakusa district. First published as a photobook with Friend Editions (Jp) in 2024, the project captured the presence of yakuza families within the festival.

While the yakuza remain central to this new body of work, the series expands its focus to the rhythms and atmosphere of Sanja Matsuri itself: moments of anticipation and exhaustion, collective ritual, celebration, and quiet reflection.

Sly Morikawa is an artist and photographer whose sensitive, dreamlike photographs capture the intuitive interplay between intimacy and desire. Morikawa explores the dualities of the human experience—light and dark, calm and chaos, beauty and tension—by drawing on recurring themes of sex, subculture, and self. Through her depictions of the angelic and the unorthodox, she invites viewers to reflect on their own agency, whilst presenting a world in which one can suspend biases and taboos.

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May

Rehearsing the City exhibition

Melbourne: Until March 2027. Rehearsing the City presents archival photographs from Victoria’s government collections, alongside new work by contemporary street photographers.

99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne VIC, Australia Victorian Archives Centre and Gallery | 21 May, 2026 - 31 Mar, 2027

June

Mervyn Bishop: Close Up

Sydney: Until 7 Feb 2027. From his archive of more than 200,000 images, Close Up celebrates the historic moments and pivotal people he famously captured.

1 Shakespeare Place Sydney NSW 2000 State Library of NSW | 1 Jun, 2026 - 7 Feb, 2027

Through Muninjali eyes: photojournalist Wayne Coolwell

Brisbane: until 18 October 2026. Known affectionately as the ‘Cool Cat of journalism’ Wayne moved effortlessly among the greats, between the media and community, treating every encounter as part of his day’s work behind the lens.

Stanley Place, South Brisbane, QLD 4101 State Library of Queensland | 17 Jun - 18 Oct, 2026

July

Hydrangea Transitions

Melbourne: Until 30 September 2026. Melbourne photographer Stefanie Wendler-Canning is inviting visitors to see one of the garden's most familiar flowers from an entirely different perspective in her new exhibition.

148 Drummond Street, Oakleigh, Vic, 3166 Oakleigh Library | 27 Jul - 30 Sep, 2026

August

Brassaï – Secret Paris

Melbourne: Until 15 November 2026. This exhibition will present the most comprehensive survey of the work of the eminent Hungarian-born, French photographer Brassaï yet to be seen in Australia.

7 Templestowe Rd, Bulleen VIC 3105 Heide Museum of Modern Art | 8 Aug - 15 Nov, 2026

Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards 2026

Brisbane: Until 1 November 2026. The finalist exhibition of the 2026 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards brings together striking photographic works that capture the city’s spirit — from familiar streets and riverside scenes to the fleeting moments, routines and characters that make Brisbane feel like home.

Level 3, Brisbane City Hall King George Square, Brisbane 4000 Museum of Brisbane. Level 3, City Hall | 23 Aug - 1 Nov, 2026

Definitive Dupain – a photographic retrospective

Sydney: 24 August 2026 – 18 July 2027. Featuring almost 200 images and original prints personally selected by Dupain for magazine and book publishers, the exhibition reveals the extraordinary breadth of his work.

1 Shakespeare Place Sydney NSW 2000 State Library of NSW | 24 Aug, 2026 - 18 Jul, 2027

September

Andrew Chapman: The Green Bus

Melbourne: Until 19 February 2027. Spanning 55 years from 1971, Chapman’s visual journey began aboard the ‘Green Bus’ from Elsternwick to Melbourne’s city centre – chronicling the evolution of Australian life along the way.

110 Swanston Street, Melbourne City Gallery – Melbourne Town Hall | 8 Sep, 2026 - 19 Feb, 2027

October

No night is long enough for us to dream twice

Perth: Until 31 January 2027. The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) presents No night is long enough for us to dream twice, a major exhibition of contemporary photography and video, bringing together more than 100 works by seven living artists and one artist duo from across South West Asia, North Africa and its many diasporas.

Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar, Perth Cultural Centre, Boorloo/Perth WA 6000 The Art Gallery of Western Australia | 3 Oct, 2026 - 31 Jan, 2027