19 Mar 2025
Museums of History NSW announces a new art installation at the Hyde Park Barracks in 2025.
Museums of History NSW is delighted to announce a dramatic new art installation by renowned multidisciplinary artist Hiromi Tango at the Hyde Park Barracks from 11 April 2025.
Hope is a dynamic digital projection artwork that uses the facade of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed site as its canvas, absorbing the stories within and connecting them with people today. The work responds to the history of the Barracks as a place that provided refuge for people who found themselves in vulnerable situations.
The artwork appears nightly, when the building becomes a powerful beacon featuring the filmed faces of people reflecting on the rich history of the Barracks and its significant archaeological collection. The artwork is enriched by an audio and visual collage that provides context and inspiration as people share their deeply personal stories of hope.
Central to Hiromi Tango’s Hope installation is Hope Garden, a series of creative workshops held throughout January that will engage with diverse communities. Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of Hope Garden – bringing together people from all walks of life, including those whose voices and perspectives are less often heard, to create small hope flower artworks using colourful, upcycled materials while sharing personal reflections on the universal theme of hope. The flowers will be incorporated into an installation that will grow throughout the artwork display period.
‘History is a complex and often volatile journey’, said artist Hiromi Tango, ‘but during my lifetime I have seen histories evolve as previously silenced narratives come to the fore. My practice explores personal narratives and experiences of place.’
Hiromi Tango (born 1976) is a Japanese–Australian artist who immigrated to Australia in 1998 from Shikoku island, Japan. She has been a resident of Bundjalung Country, Tweed Heads, in northern NSW, since 2014.
For two decades, Tango’s practice has explored the intersection between art and science, with a particular focus on health and mental wellbeing. Her work, which draws from her own experiences with neurodivergence and anxiety, includes installations and performances that delve into the embodied self, our emotional connections with others and the therapeutic potential of art. Collaborating with scientists, health professionals and research institutions, Tango investigates how different elements of the art-making process can enhance wellbeing.
The Hyde Park Barracks is one of the most significant convict sites in the world. Around 100,000 people passed through its gates during the 19th century, from male convicts to female immigrants and women seeking refuge. Today, the building is considered one of the best-preserved examples of 19th-century institutions anywhere in the world.
Hope, art installation
- WHERE: Hyde Park Barracks, Macquarie Street, Sydney
- WHEN: 11 April – 21 June 2025
- INFORMATION: mhnsw.au
See what's coming up in March and April, plus school holiday programs:
- Free entry: Hyde Park Barracks, Museums of Sydney, Vaucluse House, Elizabeth Farm + Rouse Hill Estate throughout school holidays.
- Bird Watching with Sydney Bird Club, Sunday 30 March, 10.30am - noon, 1pm - 2.30pm
- Sin City: Sydney Crime Stories - Sunday 30 March, 10.30am - 12.30pm | Visit real crime scenes from the past and hear the stories behind the crimes.
- Sonic Spaces at Hyde Park Barracks, Eric Avery - Friday 4 April, 6.30pm - 7.30pm + 8.30pm - 9.30pm | An intimate musical performance in one of Sydney's most unique venues - The Hammock Room.
- Seeing Sydney, Knowing Country exhibition at the Museum of Sydney from 17 April - explores how Sydney’s landscapes – its harbour, waterways, bushlands and urban spaces – have evolved and been perceived over time. Drawing on material from the Museums of History NSW and Beat Knoblauch collections, it examines how colonists in NSW documented and administered these landscapes, reflecting their ambitions during the colonisation process.
- Elizabeth Farm, History Kids school holiday program, Wednesday 23 April, 10.30am - 11.30am + 1.00pm - 2.00pm
- Vaucluse House, History Kids school holiday program, Thursday 24 April, 10.30am - 11.30am + 1.00pm - 2.00pm
- Soldier Settlement in NSW - online talk, Thursday 24 April, 10.30am - 11.30am