Overview
- The Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills reopened to the public after a two-year closure for a conservation-led renovation managed by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
- Architects replaced the roof and added a lift, accessible toilets, a research library and a soundproof, temperature-controlled plant room to meet contemporary museum standards.
- Conservators treated Whiteley’s brushes, paints, personal items and even paint splatters as part of the collection and carefully protected and reinstated them so the studio reads as he left it.
- The reopening is anchored by the exhibition Brett Whiteley: Coming Home, which reunites about 80 works from the gallery and studio collection including the 16-metre painting Alchemy and a program of talks and events.
- Project leaders say the work balances stabilising 19th- and 20th-century fabric with preserving the studio’s lived feel, a model that expands public access and research while keeping the site’s material authenticity.