Revealing how materials, selfhood and society are tested - and transformed - under pressure.
Image: Brian Fuata, born Aotearoa New Zealand 1978, Errantucation (mist opportunities), 2021 / Performance improvisations commissioned for ‘The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT10). QAGOMA, Brisbane, 2021. © the artist. Courtesy of the artist and Sumer. Photograph by C Callistemon, QAGOMA.
The 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Yield Strength, curated by Ellie Buttrose, will be presented as part of the 2026 Adelaide Festival.
Yield Strength reveals how materials, selfhood and society are tested - and transformed - under pressure. Twenty-four artists push their media to build visual complexity, or contort them to convey the curious side of existence. Remaining attentive to aesthetic details and receptive to the intricacies of life, the exhibition fosters intimacy through layered viewing experiences across the Art Gallery of South Australia, Samstag Museum of Art and Adelaide Botanic Garden.
It features new works by Robert Andrew, Nathan Beard, Lauren Burrow, Francis Carmody, Mark Maurangi Carrol, Milminyina Dhamarrandji, Matthew Teapot Djipurrtjun, George Egerton-Warburton, Prudence Flint, Brian Fuata, d harding, Matthew Harris, Helen Johnson, Kirtika Kain, Jennifer Mathews, Archie Moore, Josina Pumani, Julie Nangala Robertson, Erika Scott, Joel Sherwood Spring, Charlie Sofo, John Spiteri, Isadora Vaughan and Emmaline Zanelli.
The Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art remains the pre-eminent and longest-standing survey of contemporary Australian art. As a vital component of the Adelaide Festival since 1990, the 19th Adelaide Biennial builds on its reputation and commitment to supporting and celebrating innovative and ambitious practices.