Installation view of Julie Dowling, Nana Everlasting, 2001, Shepparton Art Museum, 2023. Photo: Shepparton Art Museum.
Shepparton Art Museum’s pull is only growing stronger in 2026.
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The museum has unveiled its exhibition program for the year, featuring a major First Nations exhibition alongside two national blockbusters: Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso from Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and the Archibald Prize 2026.
Opening on Saturday, February 14, Nyini Woka (My Place) will anchor the program with a powerful exploration of place, belonging and living culture on Yorta Yorta Country.
The exhibition blends significant works from the Carrillo and Ziyin Gantner Collection of Australian Indigenous Art — a major ongoing cultural gift to SAM — and recent works by contemporary Yorta Yorta artists.
Co-curated by SAM curator of Indigenous Belinda Briggs and Kaiela Arts curator Chloe Jones, Nyini Woka creates a dialogue between broader First Nations perspectives and Yorta Yorta stories of woka (Country) and nanyak (ways of being, seeing, doing and knowing).
Nyini Woka (My Place) exhibition curators Chloe Jones and Belinda Briggs. Photo: Shepparton Art Museum.
“The exhibition invites everyone to recognise themselves within these stories and to reflect on how we care for place, for one another, and for the responsibilities we carry together,” Ms Jones said.
“It asks a simple but timeless question: what does it mean to find your place, and to hold it with others?”
Exhibiting artists include Albert Namatjira (Western Arrernte), Vincent Namatjira (Western Arrernte), Lyn Thorpe (Yorta Yorta) and Cynthia Hardie (Yorta Yorta), with works spanning bark painting, photography and ceramics.
The exhibition will be on display at SAM’s Lin Onus Gallery.
Beyond Nyini Woka, visitors can expect a diverse range of exhibitions and site-specific installations throughout the year.
SAM’s Level 2 will showcase intricately coiled ceramic vessels by Kialla-based artist Aleisa Miksad, alongside abstract two- and three-dimensional works by Angela Brennan.
On Level 4’s Furphy Family Art Wall, Raafat Ishak will present a geometric wall painting responding to the building’s architecture and local history.
Meanwhile, artist Tully Moore will transform the Ryan Family Children’s Gallery into a colourful, World Cup-inspired activity centre celebrating Shepparton’s multicultural soccer heritage ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The Hugh D.T. Williamson Community Gallery will host On the Move by 2026 SAM Selects artist Fran O’Neill, followed later in the year by the annual SAM Open community exhibition.
SAM artistic director Danny Lacy said the program would position the museum as a cultural destination.
“SAM will be a destination for all seeking the vibrant arts and culture that Australia prides itself on,” he said.
“Throughout the year, visitors will experience moments of awe, personal significance and creative innovation across all five levels of the art museum.”
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