A major new exhibition exploring Australia’s creative relationship with the frozen continent is now open at RMIT Gallery and Design Hub Gallery. Creative Antarctica: Australian Artists and Writers in the Far South brings together more than a century of work from artists and writers who have helped shape how Antarctica is imagined, documented and understood.
Spanning historical archives to contemporary, site responsive projects developed during time on the ice, the exhibition expands the Antarctic story far beyond exploration and science.
Featured figures include Frank Hurley, Douglas Mawson, Sidney Nolan and Lin Onus, alongside leading contemporary voices such as Janet Laurence, Alison Lester and Leila Jeffreys. Together, their works offer a cultural record of Antarctica that is sensory, reflective and deeply human.
Contributing artist Polly Stanton, who recently returned from an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship, describes the experience as unlike any other creative opportunity.
“There’s truly nothing that compares to the fellowship. It exists in a category of its own, much like Antarctica itself,” Stanton said.
“Antarctica has a way of transforming everyone who spends time there, regardless of their background or creative discipline. It strips away the non-essential and leaves you with something fundamental about your work, about yourself and about your place in the world.”
Lead Curator Philip Samartzis said the exhibition highlights the critical role artists and writers play in expanding how Antarctica is understood.
“Antarctica has long been framed through the language of heroism and science. What this exhibition reveals is another history — one shaped by artists and writers who have listened, observed and translated the continent in ways that are sensory, reflective and deeply human.
“Creative practice doesn’t sit alongside Antarctic research; it changes how we understand it,” Samartzis said.
The exhibition runs until 2 May 2026. Entry is free. More information here.
