200th anniversary exhibitions

About

In this milestone year, our dynamic program reflects on the evolution of this much-loved library and its extraordinary collections — revealing stories that will surprise, delight and make you think.

See what two centuries of collecting looks like in the Amaze Gallery. This major exhibition brings together some of the Library's most valuable and internationally significant objects alongside surprising, lesser-known gems. It reveals the breadth and interconnected nature of the collection, pairing items that speak to one another or deepen our understanding of familiar stories.

Find engaging and interactive digital experiences across the buildings, exploring the history of the Library, the collection, and the people who shaped it.

A self-curated digital timeline, in the galleries, features more than 250 stories, revealing passionate characters, bold architectural visions, remarkable collecting feats and even the occasional brazen crime.

New interpretations of key colonial works in the Paintings Galleries invite you to see familiar subjects through a fresh lens. Newly acquired works foreground First Nations voices, perspectives and experiences. View striking portraits of proud First Nations women Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO and Dr Lynette Riley AO, alongside paintings by First Nations artists Fay Clayton Moseley and Robert Campbell Jr — presented in this space for the first time.