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In the Studio: The Sydney Modern Project

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The Sydney Modern Project

14/02/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - In the Studio, The Sydney Modern Project

The challenges of building a 21st Century art museum, that’s quintessentially Sydney

Sydney is better known for its picture perfect harbour, than for its arts institutions. So what are the challenges of building an arts museum that’s distinctively Sydney?

Sydney’s main public art museum, the Art Gallery of NSW, recently completed Sydney Modern, a massive expansion project ten years in the making. Almost doubling the existing exhibition space, the new building was designed by the Pritzker Architecture Prize winning Japanese firm SANAA. 
 
Positioned within verdant parkland, yet a mere stone’s throw from the city centre, the new gallery is a series of interconnected glass–encased pavilions that seem to cascade down an incline towards Sydney Harbour. With its landscaped terraces and courtyards, the new gallery almost merges with its surroundings, inviting visitors to experience art as part of the environment. 

Join Masako Fukui as she follows the final stages of this construction project, and talks to some of the key people who have contributed to the creative vision, including the Director of the Art Gallery of NSW, Dr Michael Brand, the architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, as well as artisans, artists and the structural engineer on the project. 
 
Presenter/Producer: Masako Fukui
Exec Producer: Rebecca Armstrong for the BBC World Service

Image: Dr Michael Brand (Credit: Janie Barrett/Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images) in front of an aerial view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s new SANAA-designed building (Credit: Iwan Baan)

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