A free Japanese-language guided tour of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s ‘Avatar: Forms of Vishnu’ exhibition commenced on 19 July, opening the 200-work, 1,500-year survey of Hindu art to Japanese speakers without an interpreter.
The one-hour tours meet every Sunday at 11am through 23 August, are free with an exhibition entry ticket and require no booking. Weekend admission costs $35 for adults, with concessions available and free entry for children under 12.
The initiative lands as Japanese visitor numbers to NSW climbed 24.8 per cent to 151,800 in the year to December 2024, contributing 4.7 million visitor nights — a 42.7 per cent increase. Sydney ranks among the top Australian destinations for Japanese travellers alongside Cairns and the Gold Coast. The gallery already runs popular Japanese-language highlights tours of its permanent collection on Sundays; this is the first time a major temporary exhibition has received the same supported access.
Curated with input from Dr Chaitanya Sambrani of the ANU, ‘Avatar: Forms of Vishnu’ is the first Australian exhibition dedicated solely to the Hindu deity and his 10 avatars, including Rama, Krishna and the Buddha. Works on display span the 6th to 21st centuries, with loans from the National Museum New Delhi, Museum Rietberg Zurich and the Ashmolean Museum Oxford alongside Australian institutions. Daily English tours run at noon, with an additional session on Wednesday evenings.
Visitors can pair the Sunday tour with the nearby Archibald Prize exhibition, with discounts for multi-exhibition tickets. The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is a short walk away, and the Naala Badu building’s lower level 2 is accessible by lift, with large-print labels and audio guides provided.
Related to This Story
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Major public art museum in Sydney founded in 1871, housing extensive Australian, European, Asian and contemporary collections. Operates the Naala Badu building opened in 2022 and runs extensive public programs including multilingual tours.
Public transport is the best option given limited Domain parking. St James and Martin Place train stations are a five- to 10-minute walk, and buses stop along Art Gallery Road and Elizabeth Street. Those who arrive a little early can wait near the exhibition entrance on lower level 2 and browse the gallery’s permanent collection before the tour.
Among the contemporary works in the exhibition is an installation by Nalini Malani. Her video and shadow-play pieces draw on Hindu mythology to examine cycles of violence and renewal, a 21st-century echo of Vishnu’s timeless avatars.