White Rabbit Gallery

A decent free art gallery, though "free" is hard to find on the website. Their current exhibition isn't my cup of tea, but I'm glad others enjoy it. Went with friends yesterday. The staff are nice. The gallery is pretty small and spans over a few floors. There is only one lift, so be prepared to be patient. The bathrooms are unisex, which is normally alright, but they have multiple stalls. At one point, I was alone in the bathroom with a man, so that was a bit shocking. The gift shop is decently-sized and features books of the past exhibitions, which I really liked. I wish all art galleries did that! Overall, it was ok. I wouldn't come back, but I encourage at least one visit to check it out. Barely any parking around (you are in Chippendale, after all), so I recommend coming from Central via public transport.

The White Rabbit Gallery is a beautiful place to come check out. Upon entrance, you can feel the modern atmosphere. The items in the gift shop are cute, unique and interesting. The food has a limited range, with unique teas and a small range of dumplings. The gallery itself changes with items, so the photos I have provided may not be the same if you were to go there. The artworks there are usually very unique and have interesting subject matters. I loved the art displayed here. I had a lot of fun here and would definitely recommend visiting.

Beautifully curated space with very interesting and unique works of art. The store is full of lovely and quirky things.

We enjoyed an impromptu guided tour at 11am on a Saturday. The art was so varied - the was something for everyone. We are so lucky to have the free private gallery. Prepare to pay for timed Street parking a potentially walk a couple of blocks. Lovely gift store and café. No food in the gallery.

Great little gallery with some fun and quirky exhibits. We visited with our kids and all enjoyed it. 3 levels but not too big, around an hour was perfect for us. Would come back again

The White Rabbit Gallery has recently become one of my favourite art places to visit in Sydney. It was recent, largely because the Gallery hides in plain sight on the fringe of the Sydney CBD. I must have travelled on Parramatta Road, Broadway between the CBD and the Inner West suburbs hundreds, if not thousands, of times without being aware that the White Rabbit Gallery is merely 300 paces south down Chippendale Way (becoming Balfour Street); starting those paces between the DUO Building and the smaller of the two Central Park towers with external vertical gardens. (Walk past the old Kent Brewery - Tooth's - Chippendale Green - and Balfour Street Park). However, also contributing to the White Rabbit Gallery only being a recent favourite place to visit was the belief, from some "sights to see" touristy publications, that the White Rabbit Gallery was a commercial gallery for contemporary Chinese art albeit with a large number of (different) works continuously on display. Hopelessly wrong. This is not a commercial gallery, but a gallery for an important permanent and accumulating specialised art collection that is free for the public to view. What strikes you immediately upon visiting the White Rabbit Gallery is how wonderfully laid out it all is, to the advantage of the artwork and the enjoyment (of the artwork) by the visitors. Efficient, glass sided, lifts carry you to the three floors of exhibition space, with wide stairs for the more energetic between the ground floor and levels 1 and 2. (Tip: catch the lift to level 3, enjoy what is on display there; catch the lift back to level 2; if able, proceed by the stairs downwards thereafter). The artwork on display is just a small part, in changing themed exhibitions every six months, of the Chinese contemporary art collection of Judith Neilson. The White Rabbit Gallery displays artwork produced from the year 2000 onwards; and I understand it is the largest accumulating collection of such Chinese contemporary art in the world. For each themed exhibition, the spaces within the gallery undergo remarkable changes, to best suit the artworks chosen from the full collection. Apart perhaps from the video installation screening rooms on level 2 (VIS 2), it can be hard to recognise the interior layout of the Gallery from one exhibition to another. Architect Alec Tzannes created a remarkable design that has served the artwork and visitors so well since 2009. This does mean that apart from VIS 2 there is no bench seats from which to view the artwork, but for the tired they are (still) provided near the lifts on each floor. Incidentally, the air-conditioning is superb; multiple toilets clean and modern. Until the White Rabbit Gallery I would not have thought that contemporary Chinese art would have taken and held my interest as it has here. Themed exhibitions help, as does the display space, and as does the Gallery attendants who are numerous, approachable and extremely knowledgeable about the works on display and the history of the collection behind the Gallery. Their ready assistance and information is the best I have experienced at any gallery in Sydney. In the end of course, the quality of the artwork is completely winning; the technical ability on display in all the artwork is notable, and from there you have the beautiful, clever, funny, challenging, confusing, surprising and shocking in paintings, sculpture, video installations, mixed media and virtual reality. The gift shop is fine, and there are White Rabbit Gallery specific items including shirts, totes, books, exhibition booklets and postcards. The exhibition booklets do not contain the commentary notes on the walls adjoining the artworks, but this can be accessed by a QR code in the booklets. An idea for a weekend afternoon is to start with a visit to the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney, then walking east 15 minutes to the White Rabbit Gallery across Victoria Park and then along Parramatta Road Broadway - returning by bus to the Uni (where there is more car parking in the streets surrounding).

Visited the White Rabbit Gallery to see the 笑死我了 XSWL Exhibition. The Main door was locked but an attendant opened it - as it was a big heavy door I was more than happy that I didn't have to open it myself. The Exhibition was on all four floors with a lift or stairs to access. There was an option to listen to a guided tour in English or Mandarin by scanning a QR code at the entrance, alternatively there were plaques describing each exhibit in detail in English only. Staff were available to ask questions of and also (I guess) to ensure the artworks were kept safe and for crowd control if needed. Nice clean and spacious building, friendly staff. Hidden gem in the city (for me at least!) Good day out. Only about 10 minutes walk from Central Station. I look forward to the next exhibition. Did I mention it was Free? 😊

Fantastic gallery! Do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s free as well! Also, the gift shop is really well curated, not your typical museum gift shop junk.

White Rabbit Gallery, located in the Chippendale, is a multi-level art gallery showcasing contemporary Chinese art. There is also a gift shop telling unique items and a teahouse on the main floor. Admission is free and they have free daily tours which may highlight several artworks and the artists behind them. We had stumbled upon White Rabbit Gallery while trying to find things to do in Sydney. We stopped by White Rabbit Gallery on a Sat morning. We ended up doing the free tour (about 30 min long) once we arrived as staff had mentioned this to us when we arrived. Staff explained to us the gallery and the types of artwork that they had on display, noting that the exhibits change every few months. She took us around several artworks and told us about the story behind the works and the artists, which was pretty interesting. The art itself was pretty cool - quite unique. Each artist we saw had a statement and a story behind why they decided to create such works. We definitely enjoyed our time at White Rabbit Gallery and would highly recommend if it you are in Sydney!

Nice art gallery. Staff is friendly and helpful. Just weird that for the third floor, you have to take the elevator and can't use the stairs.

The White Rabbit Gallery features some of the most creative contemporary art from Asia. It's located in a wonderful, diverse neighborhood close to University of Technology Sydney in Chippendale. Even if they aren't holding a special exhibition, you should still pop in for a visit if you are in the area and then head over to Spice Alley for laksa (yum).

This is a really cool and free art gallery showcasing Chinese contemporary art. There's a shop at the entrance where I was surprised to find that they didn't sell White Rabbit Creamy Candy, although they do have a cool white rabbit hand puppet. They also have packs of postcards from their previous exhibits as well as catalog and exhibit collection books. If you like what you find in their adjoining teahouse, their store also has pre-packaged loose leaf teas available for sale. When we got to the top level, we were advised by a staff member about possible NSFW stuff that might make as uncomfortable. There was a gory video right after that, so we were glad he warned us. (Hint: It involves being cut with no anesthesia, exhibition complete with video and photos.) My personal favorite in the gallery was the series of photographs where the artist took photos of his parents throughout different stages in their life. I'm not sure what the current theme was, but a lot of the stuff was heavy on the consumerism and capitalism of modern Chinese life, which I found pretty relevant. Chinese culture has always placed an importance on name and in the 21st century, it seems like that has translated to an importance on name brands/prestige.

What a place!... 4 levels of contemporary art from China. Amazing. There is something special about Chinese contemporary art. Recently Ai Weiwei has hit the headlines due to Lego refusing to let him buy their product to use in an installation. This demonstrated to me how important art is in China as a form of protest and critique of the political environment there. When we visited there were pieces that really made me stop and think about Chinese culture and what people are experiencing there. Not all was political though and the other pieces were breathtaking in their own right. A must see in Sydney for art lovers.

UPDATE:The latest show, Paradise Bitch, is one of their best yet, with fewer, larger installations. Don't miss it before it closes in early 2016! White Rabbit is an amazing private gallery. Across four floors of a converted warehouse space in Chippendale, not far from Central Station, the Chinese art works of a Judith Neilsen, a private collector and philanthropist, are displayed. And it's completely free. With new shows displayed twice yearly, every time I visit there's some amazing, fascinating new works to intrigue and delight. Many of the works are the result of immense effort, with many the college projects of new and upcoming artists, snapped up on regular visits to China. (Make sure you check in advance on the website that it's open, as it closes for nearly a month to change over shows.) And afterwards, there's a delightful tea house downstairs, from whose ceiling dangles antique bird cages. Choose from one of many Chinese teas to try, along with a plate of simple nibbles. Or at lunch time there's also homemade dumplings available, which make a good snack to share. Certainly worth 5 stars! Note: In regards to children visiting, there's usually at least some works that are not suitable for children. I would recommend taking children to experience most of the works, but looking out for signs and asking one of the many guides stationed around the floors for what to avoid.

WHITE Rabbit Gallery is Kerr and Judith Nielson's gift to the people of Sydney. This private (and free) gallery, tucked in a quiet corner of Chippendale, harbours a collection of contemporary Chinese art in a renovated four-storey warehouse that the Nielsons have collected over the years. The gallery features rotating exhibitions of post-2000 Chinese art from the Nielson collection - drawings, photographs, sculptures, paintings, video and multimedia works. It is one of the world's largest and most significant collections of contemporary Chinese art, and exhibitions run for five months before the gallery closes for a couple of weeks to bring in replacement works. The gallery has staff on every floor to inform visitors of the individual pieces and also has a book club and informal talks on Chinese culture and history every so often. The space is also home to the White Rabbit Gallery Teahouse. The teahouse is to the left of the entrance and is popular not only with gallery visitors but with those who have a taste for Chinese and Taiwanese fine teas. Dozens of old Chinese bird cages hang from the ceiling, the stark white-washed walls decorated with a few old Chinese posters and 1940s Shanghai songs play in the background. Solid timber tables are neatly lined in rows, some decorated with long and narrow red silk runners. To one side is the long bar for tea and food prep. There is a limited food menu - dumplings and some other savouries - but it isn't the food that is the attraction here (apart from the art) - it's the tea menu. There is a selection of 13 teas. Some noteworthy mentions: Jin Xuan (Taiwan oolong); Yin Zhen (Chinese silver needle); Zhu Ye Qing (bamboo leaf green tea); and the Tie Guan Yin (the Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong). Teas are either $4, $4.50 or $5 per pot and as with all high-quality teas these can be steeped up to four to five times. White Rabbit had many jewels worth exploring.

Sydney, you're so lucky to have this! Have you been here yet? No? Well, shame on you. This gallery is in all honesty amongst the best I have been to; and I have been to a few around the world. Yes, it is small. But it is all about the quality of work. White Rabbit showcases contemporary art coming from Asia. A lot of this art is not allowed to be shown in Asian Countries as they are banned or controversial. The exhibition we went to see was called "Paradi$e Bitch" and featured some really wonderful art over three stories. One piece in particular that was banned for nudity was an electronic frame with a beautiful picture of a woman in traditional styled clothing who slowly undressed herself. Sounds raunchy I now, but it was really quite beautiful and cheeky. Another piece that took my attention was a film clip by Chen Tianzhuo of a pair of gangsta dwarves rapping and fighting over a girl. The music filled the hall. Behind there was a separate art space of a nightclub by Chen Wei called 'Drunken Dance Hall'. It looked like the party was definitely over and the lighting revealed empty booths powdered with cocaine dust, and a dance floor all but covered in shattered beer bottles, crowned by a fallen disco ball. Fairy Tales In Red Times a wall of six hand coloured photographic portraits of children. The imagery was taken of children from a local deaf and blind school and did depict tones of Mao. Rosey cheeks, bright blue hase in the background and almost holy looking children. They really brought out the beauty of the children and depicted the influence of the time Moa ruled. Finally, there was a room at the back (I've forgotten the name of the piece) that was dark and featured an array of green lasers. Almost set up like they have in the movies as security for a bank vault. Immediately upon entering you find yourself interacting and trying to step over and avoid the lights. Way too much fun! After enquiring, I have found out that the gallery changes it's exhibition every 6 months. I would travel to Sydney just to see the next exhibit alone. Very well done, great helpful and friendly staff. Fantastic use of space and a gem in Sydney!

White Rabbit is an art gallery showcasing a private collection of largely modern asian art that rotates fairly regularly. The collection had some very impressive artworks when we were there, ranging over three floors. There's a shop at the entrance, but more importantly there's a swanky tea joint! Get some extensively documented teas of all varieties, snack on some sweets or dumplings, and look at some nutty artworks.

This place is amazing. A friend insisted I come here and I am so thankful. As others have noted, this gallery showcases the private collection of one woman. The collection is amazing and what is shown in the gallery is a small fraction of what she owns. She regularly travels to China and Taiwan and buys art -- and sometimes commissions work especially for the gallery. Then she created a beautiful gallery in an area with pricey rent and opens it to the public for free. I was blown away by each and every piece in the Commune show. There are two shows a year (supposedly they don't do more because they want to have enough time for all the school groups to come through before they change it up). I was also very impressed by the guides, who are probably more properly termed docents. These young helpful people are not just there to make sure you don't touch the artwork, but they can answer all your question about the work. Be sure to take the time to ask them about the pieces! There are a few things at the store, but nothing really tempted me. I hear the cafe has good dumplings, but I didn't take the time to visit it -- at least not yet. GO HERE!

An amazing kept Sydney art secret (kind of). Always an amazing exhibit full of 3 levels of Chinese contemporary artwork.

Incredibly unprofessional staff. After spending money in the tea and gift shops, I was about to enter the main area of the gallery when I was stopped by a very rude security guard who immediately became confrontational and aggressive for absolutely no reason. When I asked to speak to his manager, he insisted that he didn't have one, twice, before a woman walked up, who he then claimed was his manager. I don't know whether this was true, but at lease she was willing to have a rational conversation. Despite having had a reasonable interaction with her, I decided my experience had been poisoned enough that I was no longer interested in visiting the gallery and would prefer to spend my time elsewhere. Be advised, their rules are arbitrary, poorly communicated, and their staff is unpleasant at best. I'm disappointed to have spent money and wasted time here, with the multitude of museums and galleries in Sydney, choose wisely.

Everyone here is really friendly! This is the place to go for a heartier breakfast/ lunch. Friday arvos have great live music!

White Rabbit is a great gallery which is located close to the Central Park shopping complex and the Kensington Street Precinct, including Spice Alley, so it provides a good opportunity to combine a day of cool art, good food and shopping. The exhibition space is set over four levels. The exhibitions last a few months before changing over, so you can go a few times a year and see something different each time. We saw Heavy Artillery, which included some massive statutes that aligned in the form of a Buddhist deity, a replica of a Soviet-Chinese tank made entirely from hand-stitched leather, and a video of a guy crawling on the floor of a warehouse with dirt in his mouth! There is a tea house on the ground floor too.

Really liked the exhibit -- nice that it's free and the food prices aren't bad either. Great place!

A cool Asian inspired gallery with a good collection of modern art. The Chinese tea house is also a highlight - delicious dumplings and dips, and a nice variety of leaf teas.

I can't believe this amazing gallery only has one review. I think it is one of the highlights of Sydney. Phenomenal, captivating, unique, cutting edge contemporary Chinese art. Is this gallery Sydney's best ?? I think so.We take all our friends for a visit and a fabulous cup of tea afterwards. MUST MUST GO.