From 3–16 August 2026, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) in partnership with ACON present a new C3West project, Bonnie Huang: Dare to Dream, at Westfield Parramatta on Level 4, opposite Timezone.
Bonnie Huang: Dare to Dream is MCA Australia’s 26th C3West project. Since 2007, C3West has brought artists and communities together to create art that directly responds to local concerns in Greater Sydney. It partners with local organisations and businesses to identify areas of need, developing artist-led projects that are genuinely collaborative and socially engaged.
Bonnie Huang: Dare to Dream brings together culturally and linguistically diverse LGBTQ+ residents of Western Sydney in an art project that celebrates, advocates for and increases the visibility of this community.
This latest C3West partnership project is presented at Westfield Parramatta. As a major hub of community gathering and activity in the heart of Western Sydney, Westfield Parramatta offers a special opportunity for diverse audiences to encounter contemporary art and ideas that reflect community identities in an everyday setting. The C3West program has previously delivered projects inside shopping destinations with great success, including Angelica Mesiti’s The Begin-Again (2011) and Lara Thoms’ Ultimate Vision – Monuments to Us (2012–2013), both of which used the court spaces and rooftop carpark of Westfield Hurstville.
For Dare to Dream, Bonnie Huang has created an installation of videos, sculptures and text-based artworks considering how LGBTQ+ identities are formed on both an individual and collective level. The development of this artwork has involved extensive conversations and creative development with culturally and linguistically diverse LGBTQ+ community members in Parramatta, Granville, Bankstown, Liverpool and Mount Druitt.
Huang’s installation draws on the aesthetics of neighbourhood shopfronts common to Western Sydney. The artist has envisaged a symbolic oasis within the everyday setting of a shopping centre, a place of abundance as well as refuge and escape. Featuring sculptures created by more than 70 community participants, the installation ‘speaks to a search for tangible third spaces for people from LGBTQ+ communities to congregate, play and celebrate within Western Sydney’, Huang says.
Artist Bonnie Huang said: ‘The work stems from this sense of searching that was consistent across all my conversations with community. The physical installation demonstrates how an oasis can be built from a collection of objects, relations between people and their nostalgias, akin to how people create devotional spaces of personal significance in their own rooms, backyards and local neighbourhoods.’
Delivered in partnership with ACON, Bonnie Huang: Dare to Dream has emerged from MCA Australia and ACON’s mutual commitment to LGBTQ+ artists and communities. ACON plays a vital leadership role in evidence-based research, initiatives and outcomes for LGBTQ+ people across health, advocacy and culture. Dare to Dream has been co-curated by representatives from ACON Westie, ACON’s platform dedicated to all things LGBTQ+ in Western Sydney, showcasing stories, cultures, events and support from the area.
Pedro de Almeida, Senior Curator, C3West, MCA Australia said: ‘It’s been a privilege to work alongside artist Bonnie Huang and project partner ACON as we’ve engaged with a cohort of more than 70 community members in Western Sydney. I’m particularly struck by how generous people have been in sharing their experiences and celebrating their identities, aspirations and dreams with the artist and project team. The opportunity to showcase this artwork at Westfield Parramatta affirms advocacy for the visibility and celebration of LGBTQ+ communities in Western Sydney.’
Amy Clark, Director of Community Programs at ACON Health said: ‘True wellness begins with connection and belonging. For many multicultural LGBTQ+ people in Greater Western Sydney, it can be challenging to find opportunities to connect with their community in a manner that celebrates all the diverse parts of their identity. This project is deeply meaningful to us because it actively creates those spaces, fostering community and visibility where it matters most. We hope Dare to Dream strengthens bonds within our diverse communities and reminds everyone that they are seen, valued and never alone.’
Leanne Tompkins, Centre Manager, Westfield Parramatta said: ‘As a destination at the heart of Western Sydney, we are committed to creating a place where our community feels welcome, represented and connected. Through partnerships like this with the MCA, we celebrate the experiences and identities of diverse LGBTQ+ communities across Western Sydney and provide a platform to share their stories. We are proud to present this exhibition, reflecting the rich diversity in our region and championing inclusion, visibility and belonging within our community.’
MCA Australia’s C3West initiative is a program principally supported by Program Patron Harvey Norman.
Dare to Dream is additionally supported by Parramatta Artists Studios, who has collaborated with the artist and project partners to further the artistic and community engagement scope of the project. An associated Dare to Dream Youth Workshops learning and engagement program has been generously supported by the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation.
