Art Etched in Rememory  

Steeped in intrigue, the festival defines this year’s theme as, “A means of revisiting, reconstructing, and reclaiming histories that have been erased or repressed, Rememory signifies the intersection of memory and history, where recollection becomes an act of reassembling fragments of the past—whether personal, familial, or collective.”  

And, with its now over 50 years of existence, Sydney’s Biennale has plenty of memory and history to recollect. Let’s reassemble the fragments and explore this multifaceted, multiday, multivenue event, one of a kind for our city, the country and the world.  

Culture Transcending Borders 

Occurring every other year since 1973, this prestigious festival of the visual arts is the largest of its kind in Australia, with global reach and influence. 83 artists, collaborators and collectives from 37 countries will participate this year, as curated by Hoor Al Qasimi.  

2026’s Biennale takes African-American writer Toni Morrison’s concept of rememory as the point of departure: ‘Rememory as in recollecting and remembering as in reassembling the members of the body, the family, the population of the past.’  

Beyond the visuals, Biennale’s Art After Dark series expands the festival into the territories of food and music. The lineup features local acts like Marcus Whale, Mara and Body Type, as well as many more immersive, genre-defying performances from close to home and far afield.    

Sydney’s is the 3rd oldest Biennale in the world, after Venice and São Paulo, and the longest-running in the Asia-Pacific region, with biennales numbering over 300 globally. The Australian iteration of the festival was founded by Franco Belgiorno-Nettis, an Italian-Australian patron of the arts and industrialist. So it’s fitting that this year sees the festival brought to life in another, unique industrial space – a nod to its origins.  

A Spectacular Venue 

With a reputation for taking over epic locations like Cockatoo Island, The Botanic Gardens, The Opera House, Barangaroo’s The Cutaway and The Finger Wharves, this year the flagship venue is Whitebay Power Station. It’s an appropriate choice for the theme, a space echoing with history where memory haunts the winding expanse.  

Postcolonial implications are rich and meticulously unpacked within this year’s theme and in general by Sydney Biennale. So discussions of White Bay should begin with the original custodians, the Wanngal People. At the edge of the Balmain peninsula the first inhabitants would have camped within the rock shelters of the bay and fished within its plentiful waters. 

Following European settlement, the Power Station was completed in 1917 to service the needs of Eora’s transportation network, going on to become the city’s longest serving coal-fired power station. It stopped production on Christmas Day in 1983, a decade after Sydney’s first Biennale took place.  

Much of the original structure remains, over a century since the doors opened, nearly a half century since they closed. Heritage Listed, White Bay Power Station is conserved as an enduring relic of the area’s working-class past. Today, the industrial artefact is reimagined as a space for arts and culture through Sydney Biennale 2026. The festival has not jettisoned the past, however, even if the original coal-centric function of this facility is no longer. 

From the Margins to the Centre 

To quote the organisation directly, “The 25th edition of the Biennale connects the delicate space between remembering and forgetting. By engaging with Rememory, artists will highlight marginalised narratives, share untold stories, and inspire audiences to rethink how memory shapes identity, belonging, and the creation and celebration of new communities and connections.” 

The Grifter Brewing Co. is thrilled to be part of such an important event for local and international art, culture and community. More than that, we feel privileged to take part in history, one that interweaves an artistic institution, a global movement, iconic local spaces and diverse voices. 

Visit the Biennale homepage for more info and the program for what’s on in 2026. And join our mailing list in the form below to stay updated on our future activities.