During our stay in Sydney, Mr. Selfish and I visited two museums – the Art Gallery of New South Wales (NSW) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. While we enjoyed ourselves at both museums, the reason for our enjoyment differed between the two museums.

The Art Gallery of NSW

The Art Gallery of NSW is located in Sydney’s central business district. The Art Gallery has four different levels with each level having a very eclectic collection. Mr. Selfish and I truly enjoyed viewing all of the different collections here.

We enjoyed the collections from the Australian artists, as well as the Aboriginal artists.

The Art Gallery also has impressive collections of European and Asian art.

But we had the most fun with the modern art collection. One piece was an interactive labyrinth through which you had to fumble in the dark. It wasn’t nearly as epic as the Peristal Singum labyrinth in Berlin but it was interesting for an art gallery to have.

Mr. Selfish and I found the Art Gallery to be a perfect size art museum with quite a diverse collection of art from different time periods and locations. Overall, the Art Gallery was quite fun.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

On the other hand, we didn’t find the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, which is located in the Rocks, to be as well curated a museum. Unlike the Art Gallery, this museum seemed rather pretentious. I found some of the modern art to be too in your face about how controversial it was trying to be.

Of course, a pretentious museum doesn’t deter me and Mr. Selfish from enjoying the museum. Rather, we enjoy making fun of the museum.

Unless you have absolutely nothing else to do in Sydney, I wouldn’t recommend the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Just go to the Art Gallery. Not only is its modern art collection much better, but its Australian, European, and Asian art collections are worthwhile as well.