Plan your day in Sydney during WorldPride 2023

Want to make a day of seeing exhibitions for Sydney World Pride? We’ve created a short guide of galleries and art spaces near ‘Queertography’ in Paddington Reservoir Gardens. 

Sydney World Pride has an amazing roster of art, film, and theatre events. Check out their website for more information.  

Queertography  

• Paddington Reservoir Gardens 
• 17 Feb – 5 Mar  
• Head On presents Queertography, a outdoor photography exhibition celebrating LGBTQIA+ experiences, life, joy, and love featuring 6 photographers. 
• Queertography is wheelchair-accessible. 
• Content Warnings: Full-frontal nudity, sexual themes 

Maunsell Wickes Exhibition 

• Maunsell Wickes Gallery 
• 17 Feb – 5 Mar  
• A large exhibition of William Yang photography alongside many other artists. 
• 6 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

The Party  

• UNSW Galleries 
• 14 Jan – 23 Apr  
• The Party celebrates LGBTQIA+ nightlife and party scene in Sydney from 1973-2002. The exhibition features documentation from parties and venues featuring work by Australian artists, writers, and designers. 
• The Party is wheelchair accessible 
• Recommended for visitors aged 15 years and above. 
• 7 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

Ross Watson Exhibition 

• Comber Street Studios 
• 23 Feb – 5 Mar 
• This must-see exhibition is a short walk from Queertography. Internationally acclaimed artist, Ross Watson brings work from his Dioramas series depicting men in dreamlike settings alongside classic imagery.  
• Content warning: Full-frontal nudity 
• 8 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

Dylan Mooney: Still here and thriving 

• N. Smith Gallery 
• 8 Feb – 4 Mar  
• In Dylan Mooney’s series Still here and thriving, he focuses on love in the queer community. The five large format portraits illustrate issues affecting Mooney’s lived experiences as a proud queer Indigenous man.  
• The Gallery has three small entrance steps. Not fully wheelchair accessible. 
• 9 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens  

Daniel McDonald: Nexus  

• Flinders Street Gallery 
• 11 Feb – 4 Mar 
• Daniel McDonald, a First Nations LGBTQIA+ Deaf artist, fuses traditional painting styles with modern iconography, colours, and concepts.  
• Wheelchair access can be arranged by contacting the Gallery 
• 13 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

Linger, Dash, Talk  

• Cement Fondu 
• 17 Feb – 23 Apr 
• Linger, Dash, Talk centres queer and First Nations identified artists and seeks to explore visibility, erasure and public-scrutiny through language, gossip, and dialogue that queer and Indigenous artists’ use.  
• The Gallery is wheelchair accessible. 
• 12 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens  

No Use Crying Over Ripped Lace  

• .M Contemporary 
• 23 Feb – 4 Mar 
• Award winning artist Todd Fuller depicts the real life story of three Sydney drag stars interfere in a gay-bashing potentially saving the life of the man involved.  
• Content warning: some violence 
• 13 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

Braving Time: Queer Art in Contemporary Australia  

• NAS Galleries @ The National Art School 
• 3 Feb – 18 Mar 
• Braving Time celebrates the diverse voices of LGBTQIA+ people in Australian society. The exhibition explores queerness and what it means to be queer in contemporary Australia today.
• The Gallery is wheelchair accessible. 
• Recommended for age 16 years and up 
• 15 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

Artist, Muse, Lover, Hunter 

• Tap Art Gallery 
• 20 Feb – 5 Mar  
• The art of Martin Davies spanning the past two decades.  
• Gallery is not wheelchair accessible. 
• Content warnings: some nudity 
• 18 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

Unravelling Queerly  

• Australian Design Centre 
• 7 Feb – 22 Mar 
• Using techniques such as weaving, crochet, embroidery, quilting and sewing, all which have a rich history with LGBTQIA+ artists, the exhibited work explores personal and cultural narratives and a dialogue on contemporary queerness.  
• Gallery is wheelchair accessible 
• 22 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens  

Art Pride: International Group Show  

• Galerry Oz 
• 17 Feb – 3 Mar 
• ‘Art Pride’ is an international group show exhibiting 10 international artists. The work on canvas promotes ‘inclusion and respect for diversity.’  
• 23 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

Anita Bryant Monuments

• The Cross Arts Project 
• 4 Feb – 25 Feb 
• ‘Anita Bryant Monuments’ responds to the legacy of mass-media and anti-gay propaganda put out by Anita Bryant, American singer, beauty pageant queen, orange juice ambassador and a famous American anti-gay rights activist of the late 60s and 70s.  
• Ground floor is wheelchair accessible 
• 25 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

The waking dream photographs by Luke Hardy

• Stanley street gallery
• 17 Feb – 25 Feb
• An exhibition of sensual photographs by Luke Hardy: a meditation on dreaming, evanescence and illusory connection.
• Gallery hours: Wednesday to Saturday (Tuesdays by appointment: 02 9368 4412) Wednesdays to Saturdays 11am to 6pm
• 25 minute walk from Paddington Reservoir Gardens