Art Gallery of NSW’s $344m building extension finally named more than a year after it opened

Newer building named Naala Badu, meaning ‘seeing waters’ in the Dharug language, while older building named Naala Nura, or ‘seeing country’

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More than a year after it opened to the public, the $344m gallery and contemporary extension to the Art Gallery of New South Wales has finally been named.

The gallery, which has been colloquially known as the Sydney Modern or the northern building since it opened in December 2022, has been named Naala Badu, meaning “seeing waters” in the language of the Dharug people. The building looks out on to Sydney Harbour.

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