The MCA celebrates its 20 millionth visitor
12 april,2024
Today the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) welcomed its 20 millionth visitor. This significant milestone marks the enduring impact and cultural significance of MCA Australia since its inception.
MCA Australia opened its doors in 1991, through a bequest by Australian artist John Power to make contemporary art accessible to all Australians, attracting an estimated 100,000 visitors. Over the past 33 years it has firmly established itself as the leading platform for contemporary art in Australia and beyond, and a much-loved cultural destination for Australian and international audiences alike.
The Museum celebrated its major milestone with the MCA Board, advisory groups, staff, artists, supporters, and NSW Minister for the Arts, The Honourable John Graham MLC, coming together to welcome the 20 millionth visitor into the Museum. Guests enjoyed a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony on Tallawoladah Lawn, then lined the Museum’s foyer stairwell in a celebratory procession alongside a performance by contemporary artists and drummers Tina Havelock Stevens and Chloe Kim.
MCA Australia Director Suzanne Cotter, Chair Lorraine Tarabay and the NSW Minister for the Arts, The Honourable John Graham MLC, then presented the visitor, Alana Hunt an artist from Sydney, with a life membership to the Museum.
The NSW Minister for the Arts, John Graham, said, ‘Since its establishment in 1991, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia has been at the forefront of contemporary art in Australia, bringing leading international artists to our city, and showcasing our finest and most exciting contemporary artists to the world.
MCA Australia has and continues to be an innovative leader, prioritising Indigenous art and facilitating important networks across the city.
Through its commitment to artists and their work, as well as to diversity, accessibility and community engagement, the Museum has become a cornerstone of Sydney’s cultural identity, enriching our community and contributing to the tourism sector.’
MCA Australia Director, Suzanne Cotter said, ‘Every visitor to the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia is special to us. Our 20 millionth visitor marks a very important milestone. The passion of our diverse and ever-growing audiences has been key to the Museum’s success. Welcoming our 20 millionth visitor is an extraordinary opportunity to reflect on the place of MCA Australia at the heart of cultural life in Sydney and Australia, and beyond.
MCA Australia is the only public museum in the country dedicated to contemporary art. Located on Sydney Harbour at Tallawoladah, a home to stories, art and culture for over 65,000 years, we connect the widest possible public to the art of now through our Collection, exhibitions, events, creative learning and access programs.
Our 20 millionth visitor is a testament to the unwavering dedication of MCA Australia staff and volunteers, the visionary support of patrons and sponsors, the contribution of our government partners, including Create NSW, Destination NSW and Creative Australia, and of course, our visitors themselves.’
The Museum continues to be one of Sydney’s most visited attractions by local and international audiences. In 2023, MCA Australia returned to pre-pandemic visitor levels.
MCA Australia milestone highlights include:
- In 2000, thanks to the support of Telstra, MCA Australia introduced free entry to the Museum.
- In 2012, the opening of MCA Australia’s Mordant Wing increased the Museum’s total size by almost 50%, increasing gallery space. The extension also made space for the National Centre for Creative Learning (NCCL), the first creative education centre of its kind in Australia dedicated to connecting people to contemporary art and transforming lives through creative learning.
- In 2015, MCA Australia launched the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, setting out the first quantifiable targets for a major cultural institution in Australia.
- In 2015, MCA Australia was the first Australian Museum to partner with Tate in London to create the ground-breaking International Joint Acquisition Programme (2015 – 2022), thanks to a gift from the Qantas foundation, raising the international profile of Australian contemporary art. This program has now acquired 35 artworks by 24 Australian contemporary artists into both Museum’s Collections.
- In 2019 MCA Australia welcomed over 1 million visitors a year, making it the most visited museum entirely devoted to contemporary art in the world (as reported by The Art Newspaper in April 2019), ahead of peers in New York, London and Beijing.
As a museum for living artists, MCA Australia has been a vital platform to launch the careers of contemporary Australian artists. The Museum holds the only public collection in Australia dedicated to the work of living artists, with over 4,700 artworks, a third of which are by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. It has presented over 40 major surveys by Australian artists including Tracey Moffatt, Richard Bell, Jenny Watson, Patricia Piccinini, Ricky Maynard, Fiona Foley, Lindy Lee and John Mawurndjul. Since 1992, Primavera: Young Australian Artists has showcased the works of over 250 emerging Australian artists and curators, under the age of 35 years. Beyond the Museum walls, C3West, MCA Australia’s longstanding social impact program in Western Sydney has presented 23 art projects, commissioned 37 Australian artists, and engaged over 56,000 Western Sydney community members.
Internationally, MCA Australia has also raised the profile of Australian Contemporary art, with an estimated 1.4 million visitors outside Australia experiencing an MCA international touring exhibition since September 1992.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts and Culture are at the core of MCA Australia activity. The Museum is committed to being a leader in the care and custodianships of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. The art of First Peoples represents around one third of the Museum’s Collection and the Museum is guided by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory group (initiated in 2003), a cultural policy and is one of very few institutions in Australia to have a Director of First Nations Art and Cultures, with 6% of MCA staff identifying as First Peoples of Australia.
Currently on display is a major new survey by Australian artist Nicholas Mangan: A World Undone, the 24th Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns, the MCA Collection: Artists in Focus, a wall commission by Kudjla/Gangalu artist Daniel Boyd – Untitled, 2014, as well as Yuwaalaraay wirringgaa artist Lucy Simpsons, Bella Room commission Holding Ground (2023) and Kamilaroi artist, Reko Rennie’s new commission, Remember Us (2023) on the Loti Smorgon Sculpture Terrace.
In 2024 MCA Australia presents new works by Australian feminist artist, Julie Rrap: Past Continuous, a new iteration of the MCA Collection: Artist in Focus, two new C3 West projects with one of the projects led by Aotearoa New Zealand/Samoan artist Greg Semu in Mount Druitt, 8–30 June 2024, two national touring exhibitions, Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise and a regional Primavera tour, followed in Spring with Primavera 2024: Young Australian Artists. MCA Australia brings three international exhibitions to Sydney this year, Time Machine the largest exhibition to date by acclaimed Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, Once Again…(Statues Never Die) (2022) a powerful multi-screen film installation by British artist Isaac Julien and the soon to be announced Sydney Summer exhibition.
MCA Australia’s access and learning programs continue to deliver an array of award-winning programs including: bangawarra Art Yarns: For older and Elder mob to support the wellbeing of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their families, and communities living with or at risk of dementia; Art Play for families; our Access programs designed for children and young people with disability and access requirements; djurali: Creative pathways workshops for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young adults aged 14–18 to learn about pathways into creative and cultural industries, and creative learning programs for primary and secondary school students and teachers.
As an independent, not-for-profit organisation, MCA Australia raises over 80% of its revenue each year through donations and commercial activities to deliver its artistic and engagement programs.
For more information on MCA Australia, please visit www.mca.com.au
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Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia)
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) presents, collects and engages with the art of our time. Guided by the principles of belonging, connection and influence, we aim to be the defining platform for contemporary art and ideas in Australia and beyond. Located on Sydney Harbour at Tallawoladah, a home to stories, art and culture for over 65,000 years, we connect the widest possible public to contemporary art through exhibitions, events, creative learning and access programs. Our evolving Collection of over 4,700 artworks is the only public collection in Australia dedicated to the work of living artists, with over a third represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. As an independent, not-for-profit organisation, MCA Australia raises over 80% of its revenue each year through donations and commercial activities to deliver its artistic and engagement programs. www.mca.com.au
