What's On

Mitch Cairns: Artist's Mouth

From 1 May to 11 July 2026, the National Art School Gallery will present Mitch Cairns: Artist's Mouth, a major survey exhibition of work by Sydney-based painter and Archibald Prize winner Mitch Cairns, celebrating his twenty-year artistic career since graduating from the National Art School (NAS) in 2006. It features some 48 works, mostly from institutional and private collections, including a still life made as a graduating student and his 2017 Archibald Prize–winning portrait of partner and fellow artist Agatha Gothe-Snape. Also marking the 20th anniversary of NAS Gallery, this is the largest and most comprehensive show of his work to date. 

A joint project by NAS Gallery and Meanjin/Brisbane’s Institute of Modern Art (IMA), it will be shown at IMA from 10 October to 20 December 2026. 

Curated by NAS Gallery Curator Lucy Latella and IMA Director Robert Leonard, Artist’s Mouth traces Cairns’ evolution, reflecting his ongoing engagement with the poetics of daily life and his artistic heroes. 

Cairns’ work has been exhibited at major institutions across Australia, with his recent solo exhibitions Restless Legs (2025) at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Wollongong Art Gallery. His works are held in national collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Murdoch University Art Collection and Monash University Museum of Art, as well as private collections in Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the United States.

Event details

Venue: National Art School, 156 Forbes St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Bookings: FREE
Start Date: Friday 01 May 2026

Find more events in Sydney»

Disclaimer: Australian Stage takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided in event listings. You are advised to confirm performance dates/times with the company and/or venue before purchasing tickets.

Most read Sydney reviews

Dancing at Lughnasa | New Theatre
A gifted embroider of words, Friel combines soft lyricism and hard meaning in his play, a tragical comical historical pastoral on a spree and spoiling for a spirited spar.
The First Murder | Pinchgut Opera
In the care of Pinchgut Opera’s director, Erin Helyard, this music, formulaic as it indeed is in some respects, sprang off the page into an experience rich in emotions.
Izzard: The Tragedy of Hamlet
To Shakespeare’s text be true is the obvious goal here, and writer, director and actor have each scored.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Redfern Lane Productions
Unabashedly and unapologetically entertaining, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels delights in its hoax hokum, a whimsical hustle of musical comedy bustle.
Continuity | New Theatre
On the set of a big-budget Hollywood eco-thriller, the clock is ticking for an on time and under budget wrap.

Most read reviews

Hamlet | Sh!tfaced Shakespeare
This is not your dear old Grandmother’s Hamlet, it is your drunk Uncle’s, who remembers every Monty Python episode by heart.
Dancing at Lughnasa | New Theatre
A gifted embroider of words, Friel combines soft lyricism and hard meaning in his play, a tragical comical historical pastoral on a spree and spoiling for a spirited spar.
Retrograde | Melbourne Theatre Company
The script is based on a true story, although this dramatisation can feel somewhat contrived, with important assertions not interrogated, and credibility stretched as a result.
The Glass Menagerie | Melbourne Theatre Company
This Glass Menagerie is top shelf, and while blessed with an extraordinary cast and the highest of production values, it will not meet with everyone’s measure of how this play should be staged.
The First Murder | Pinchgut Opera
In the care of Pinchgut Opera’s director, Erin Helyard, this music, formulaic as it indeed is in some respects, sprang off the page into an experience rich in emotions.