Arabic version: عرض داروين المرتبط بروائع فرنسية

According to ABC News, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is in confidential talks with Paris’s Musée d’Orsay and other French lenders about bringing international-standard exhibitions to Darwin. MAGNT director Adam Worrall said the prospective program depends on the institution securing certainty over the new State Square venue through the current expression of interest process.

The purpose-built State Square gallery is under construction in Darwin’s central business district. MAGNT, which had been offered the gallery under the previous Labor government, is now one of the organisations seeking to operate it after the Country Liberal Party government launched a competitive tender process last year over concerns about costs to taxpayers.

Mr Worrall said MAGNT was in active negotiations with leading museums and galleries. He said a successful MAGNT proposal for the State Square precinct could bring an exhibition calendar intended to increase energy, visitation and vibrancy in the Northern Territory’s cultural and economic landscape. The Musée d’Orsay is known for impressionist and post-impressionist works by artists including Monet, Renoir and van Gogh.

The NT government had previously said it would decide the building’s future by mid-2026, but the process remains unresolved. A government spokesperson said a cross-agency task force was overseeing a fair and competitive two-stage expression of interest process, with proposals being assessed on their merits. Tourism Top End, which operates a nearby visitor centre, has also submitted an expression of interest.

Shadow Arts Minister Chansey Paech called on the government to hand over the building for its intended gallery use, saying it was designed to attract tourists and showcase First Nations culture and cultures from around the world. The government spokesperson said construction of the building was due to be finalised by the end of October.