The Australian Watercolour Institute’s 102nd annual exhibition opens at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney on 13 June, continuing a tradition that began more than a century ago. Titled ‘Moods, Moments, Memories’, the exhibition runs daily until 28 June at The Garden Gallery, showcasing watercolours by Australia’s leading professional watercolourists alongside international members.
For Sydney art lovers, the show offers a rare two-week window to see museum-quality watercolours in a heritage garden setting. Founded in 1923, the AWI is Australia’s oldest national society dedicated to the medium, and its annual exhibition has become a fixture on the city’s cultural calendar.
Members of the institute hail from Australia, England, Scotland, China, America and Malaysia, a geographic spread that lifts this exhibition beyond a purely local survey. Works range from traditional landscape studies to contemporary figurative and abstract pieces, reflecting the diversity of professional watercolour practice. The title signals an interest in transient light, atmosphere and personal reflection — qualities that suit watercolour’s celebrated spontaneity.
If you’re visiting the Royal Botanic Garden, The Garden Gallery is a short walk from the Art Gallery Road entrance. Combine a morning among the watercolours with an afternoon exploring the garden’s spring blooms. The AWI has not specified ticket details, so visitors should check the Botanic Gardens’ website before heading out.
The exhibition runs for only 16 days. Missing it means waiting a full year for the AWI’s next annual show. Watercolour enthusiasts who assume such exhibitions are common should note that this is the nation’s premier professional watercolour event, with works not typically seen in commercial galleries.
The 102nd edition follows last September’s 101st show in the same venue, reinforcing the AWI’s ongoing partnership with the Botanic Gardens. The international membership sets it apart from the many local art society shows that fill community halls — here, a Malaysian painter’s monsoon sketch might hang beside a Scottish landscape or a Sydney harbour study.
When the exhibition closes on 28 June, the works will return to private collections and studios across the world. For the institute, now in its 103rd year, the annual return to the Garden Gallery is a quiet insistence that watercolour remains a serious medium for serious painters.
Quick Facts
Australian Watercolour Institute
Founded in 1923, the Australian Watercolour Institute is Australia’s oldest and foremost national society of professional watercolourists. It comprises leading contemporary painters from Australia and overseas and holds an annual exhibition showcasing the diversity of the medium.
Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
One of the oldest botanic gardens in the world, located in the heart of Sydney adjacent to the Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay. It hosts a range of cultural events and exhibitions in its Garden Gallery throughout the year.