Exhibitions with a shared focus on water, highlight connections between human and natural systems, aligning with the cross-curriculum priority of Sustainability. Students can explore how artists express social and cultural relationships to water and experiment with visual conventions to represent movement and flow.
Learning Opportunities: World Water Day (22 March); World Meteorological Day (23 March); World Oceans Day (8 June); National Water Week (20-26 October)
Awakening Histories brings together First Nations and Southeast Asian artists to uncover the centuries-old histories of trade, migration and cultural exchange across the seas between northern Australia and South Sulawesi—long before European arrival. Students can trace the journeys of Makassan seafarers who travelled with the seasonal winds to the Kimberley, Arnhem Land and Garamilla (Darwin) in search of trepang (sea cucumber). Students can investigate how artists express connection to Country which encompasses seas, waterways, sky, plants, animals, stories and people.
Term: 1, Week 1-8 | Year level: 5-12 | Learning area: The Arts (Visual Arts), HASS (History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship)
Exhibition Details
Awakening Histories presented in association with Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne & Perth Festival
Artists: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Aziziah Diah Aprilya, Zaenal Beta, John Bulunbulun (Ganalbingu), Cian Dayrit, Gunybi Ganambarr (Naymil), Guan Wei, Colin Heenan-Purunatameri and Michelle Woody Minnapinni (Tiwi), Karrabing Film Collective, Abdi Karya/Sara, Jenna Lee (Larrakia, Wardaman and Karajarri), Dhambit Munuŋgurr (Djapu, Waṉḏawuy, Dhuwa), Ipeh Nur, Wilda Yanti Salam, Darrell Sibosado (Bard), Vickram Sombu, Bulthirrirri Wunuŋmurra (Dhaḻwaŋu), Yumutjin Wunuŋmurra, Mr N. Wunuŋmurra (Dhaḻwaŋu), Ms D. Yinupiŋu (Gumatj, Rrakpala) and others.
Location: Central Galleries
Dates: 6 February – 29 March 2026
Learning Resources
VIDEO: Awakening Histories Artist Interviews
Hear from three artists; Abdi Karya, Aziziah Diah Aprilya and Darrell Sibosado (Bard) on their work featured in Awakening Histories when shown at MUMA in 2025
The Awakening Histories poster illustrates stories and connections shared in the exhibition.
Under Waters by Wiradjuri–Scottish artist April Phillips and Friends with Computers is an interactive, multi-sensory installation and PICA’s inaugural boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission. Using light, sound and projection, the artwork invites students to reflect on relationships to water and oceans. They can explore the ways contemporary artists use new technologies to engage audiences and convey First Nations worldviews and human-ecology interdependence.
Term: 1, Week 3-8 | Year level: All | Learning area: The Arts (Visual Arts, Media Arts), Technologies (Digital Technologies), HASS (Geography), Science (Earth and Space Sciences)
Exhibition Details
Under Waters 2025 boorda yeyi Immersive Arts Commission
Artists: April Phillips and Friends with Computers (Pat Younis and Jordan East)
Location: Studio 2
Dates: 19 February – 29 March 2026
Learning Resources
PICA Art Talks: Friends With Computers
Merging art, science, technology and the natural world, Friends With Computers’ Under Waters is an interactive immersive installation that invites viewers to enter—and remain within—a pocket of deep time. Building a multi-sensory experience through projection, tracking technologies and poetic computation, the work presents a parallel universe that celebrates the metaphysical connection between oceans and stars, diving into a speculative past while travelling towards a celestial future.
Under Waters Glossary
This guide explains what kind of artwork Under Waters is and how it works. As you watch the PICA Art Talks video with the artists from Friends with Computers—April Phillips, Pat Younis and Jordan East—you can use this glossary to help understand words and ideas.
Soft Grates is a new sculptural installation by Jen Berean and James Carey, created for the 2026 Judy Wheeler Commission. Using sound and movement, the work responds directly to PICA’s site to reveal hidden water systems—from internal plumbing and water consumption in the building to city-wide water sources. Prompting students to consider sustainability and natural resource management, the work shows how site-specific art encourages audiences to critically reflect upon institutions and the systems and power structures they embody.
Term: 1 to 4 | Year level: 4-12 | Learning area: The Arts (Visual Arts, Media Arts), HASS (Geography), Technologies (Design), Science (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Exhibition Details
Soft Grates 2026 Judy Wheeler Commission supported by the Simpson Family
Artists: Jen Berean and James Carey
Location: Stairwell and First Floor Mezzanine
Dates: 6 February – 20 December 2026
