Western Sydney’s first state cultural institution, the highly anticipated Powerhouse Parramatta, has announced it will open to the public later this year on Saturday 7 November 2026.

The Mall is the first of five opening exhibitions to be revealed, with the following exhibitions to be outlined in the coming weeks. It will examine the history, evolution and cultural significance of the shopping mall, one of the most influential and ubiquitous forms of architecture in 20th and 21st centuries.

Exploring the legacy of shopping malls (and Sydney’s role in this)

The modern shopping mall emerged across the US, Europe and Australia in the 1950s, with the very first Westfield opening in Western Sydney in 1959. This makes it a fitting topic for the new museum, celebrating and interrogating the architectural form near the birthplace of one of the industry’s pioneering brands.

A design, research and curatorial partnership with acclaimed global architecture, design and research studio OMA/AMO, The Mall will explore the relationship between people, product and place. Spanning two storeys, it will unfold across five distinct architectural volumes: Arcade, Desire, Transaction, Ideal City and Forum, interrogating the role of these privately-owned public spaces that seem to pause time with a controlled climate and perpetual light.

“Over the past two years, OMA/AMO has worked closely with Powerhouse to develop The Mall, tracing the evolution and significance of the architectural typology,” says David Gianotten, managing partner and architect at OMA/AMO. “We hope it will spark new conversations about the role of the mall in shaping the social and cultural life of our cities, and its potential to foster new forms of collective experience.”  

The exhibition brings together over 850 objects: 560 from the Powerhouse Collection alongside over 280 loans, including pieces from the archive of Victor Gruen, brought to Australia for the first time with support from Gruen Associates in Los Angeles, and archival pieces from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum.

Australian and global innovation in retail across architecture, design, technology, engineering and fashion will be on display throughout The Mall, while 18 new multidisciplinary commissions by Australian and international designers, architects and artists will question the legacy of the mall, revealing the effects of consumption, the afterlives of retail development and the utopian imaginaries that continue to shape commercial space. Three major digital commissions will interpret the mall through the lens of digital world-building, including Dancer in the Mirror Field by multidisciplinary Korean artist Ayoung Kim – commissioned in partnership with M+.

Powering the future of Sydney’s cultural landscape

Located on the banks of the Parramatta River, the new Powerhouse museum will be a major new landmark for Australia and a global cultural destination for Western Sydney. Its opening marks the most significant cultural infrastructure project since the Sydney Opera House opened in 1973. Upon opening, the museum will hold more than 3000 objects, including over 1600 from the Powerhouse Collection. It will comprehensively showcase Australian and global innovations of science, technology, engineering and design.

“Powerhouse Parramatta is a museum built for the future, where local knowledge meets global perspectives,” says Lisa Havilah, Powerhouse chief executive. “We are thrilled to be opening our doors this November with five world-class exhibitions and a program that is as bold and diverse as the communities it serves.”

Top image: Drone image of Powerhouse Parramatta. Photo: Supplied by Powerhouse Parramatta.