This wasn’t intentional, but I’ve done a LOT of free things in Sydney this week.

In regards to average hostel prices ($30-ish per night) and the cost of eating out, it’s somewhat of an expensive city — but from the walkable neighborhoods to the Botanical Gardens and the art museums, Sydney makes up for it in free activities.

I spend a morning wandering around the Art Gallery of New South Whales. This is conveniently located IN the Botanical Gardens — I didn’t visit when I was here before because the weather was nice and I planned to save the museum for a rainy day. Turns out it doesn’t actually rain during my time in Sydney (lucky me!) so I return on my final day in town.

I am so thankful that most museums kindly allow visitors to use cameras without flash. This gallery is one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen and I thoroughly enjoy taking photos as I walk around.

I especially like this painting and its unique frame — The Sea Hath Its Pearls, by William Henry Margetson (1897).

And I admire this painting — Milford Sound, New Zealand, by Eugene von Guerard (1879). It reminds me of my own trip to this special place a few months ago.

This museum has some contemporary pieces as well:

The painting on the left below is by Albert Tucker — Faun Attached By Parrot 3 (1968). I dig it.

This clown room is just creepy! The installation is called “if there were anywhere but desert. wednesday,” by Ugo Rondinone (2000). There’s another clown mannequin out of sight in the corner. Weird audio (dialogue) plays as you walk into the room; I think I lasted less than 15 seconds before snapping this photo and turning around.

Okay…

While the Art Gallery of New South Whales gives the initial impression of being a traditional art museum, it’s actually quite balanced with avant garde pieces and installations. Its wide selection of art makes for an engrossing few hours.

I pass by the Opera House one last time as I make my way towards the Museum of Contemporary Art for part two of my museum day.

And I grab a quick (and tasty) lunch at an Italian restaurant in The Rocks:

I pause by a bakery storefront to snap a photo of these creative Kermit-inspired cupcakes:

Since I’ve already seen so much art today, I breeze through the Museum of Contemporary Art in under 90 minutes. There’s a lot to see and I begin to wish I’d split up the museums over two days. Either way, I’m glad to squeeze in a visit before I leave Sydney.

Artist Wangechi Mutu created two similar installations each featuring upside-down wine bottles slowly dripping liquid. The one below left (Exhuming Gluttony: Another Requiem // 2006) is set in a hunter’s lair but the presence of a boardroom table calls to mind corporate greed. The one below right (My Dirty Little Heaven // 2010) is the artist’s response to the Rwandan massacre of 1994.

I especially enjoy this exhibit of Jeff Wall photography, a Canadian artist who I was not previously familiar with. Here’s a description from the MCA website:

One aspect is small-scale, thoughtful observations of things such as a clipped branch or washcloth that show Wall’s attentiveness to what he calls the ‘obscure, unswept corners of everyday life’. The second aspect is the more technically complex and constructed images. These pictures, usually enlarged to life scale, are inspired by scenes of modern life, cinematic conventions, artistic genres in painting as well as photography, and literature.

Check out some of his images below.

Not a bad view for a museum cafeteria:

And I’m a sucker for museum gift shops. I don’t purchase anything but it’s fun to poke around.

Thank you, Sydney, for making your museums free to the public. And for allowing cameras inside.