Powerhouse Parramatta opens Saturday with five shows and a festival
· BehindLines newsroom
Powerhouse Parramatta, a new state museum in western Sydney, opens to the public on Saturday 7 November 2026. According to the New South Wales government, it is the first state cultural institution in that part of the city.
What visitors will find
The project costs A$915 million, including A$75 million from philanthropy, says the official release. The first five exhibitions bring together more than 3,000 objects, over 1,600 of them from the Powerhouse collection. Task Eternal, the first, explores design, innovation and the dream of flight, with a historic Qantas Avro 504K biplane. The Mall traces the story of the shopping centre across two floors, with more than 560 museum objects and over 280 loans and community stories, including architect Victor Gruen's archive, shown for the first time, and Steve Jobs's Levi's 501 jeans. Entry to the museum and most exhibitions is free; the news agency AAP reports that Task Eternal costs A$30 for adults.
A 23-day festival
Time Out Sydney outlines an opening festival from 7 to 29 November, with 179 events of which about 65% are free, and free exhibition entry for under-16s. The museum will open every day: 10am to 5pm Monday to Wednesday, and until 9pm Thursday to Sunday. The Jannawi Dance Clan will open the festival; designer Marc Newson speaks on 7 November and former NASA administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. on the 8th (A$15 for adults). Artist Es Devlin presents Come Home Again, an installation about threatened species of the region.
A contested backdrop
According to AAP, the opening weekend is sold out, with 20,000 visitors expected. The government hopes for two million visitors in the first year; NSW Government Architect Abbie Galvin expects between one and 1.5 million. The agency also reports that heritage consultant Kylie Winkworth, a former Powerhouse Museum trustee, criticises the project. Board chair David Borger says the board acted properly.