MCA puts its work above law

WHEN the Museum of Contemporary Art's new wing opens, it won't have been without a brush with the law.

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WHEN the Museum of Contemporary Art's new $53 million harbourfront wing opens in Sydney in March, it won't have been without a brush with the law.

"The MCA did a land swap with the police station in The Rocks," MCA director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor says.

"As part of the project, we built a corridor for the police station for their prisoner run."

The corridor, concealed beneath the semi-completed Mordant Wing, is used by police paddywagons to "escort prisoners discreetly" to the station. It's just one of the many quirks in what Macgregor describes as an "extraordinary building".

Macgregor, with the project's architect Sam Marshall, yesterday led journalists through the site, saying work would be completed by March 31 next year. "We are on budget and on time," she says.

She revealed the gallery's 2012 program, which will open with Marking Time, an international exhibition curated by Rachel Kent. Macgregor says a highlight of next year's program will be the first show in the gallery's new wing, by artists Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro. The program will also include the 18th Biennale of Sydney, a survey by Australian artist Ken Whisson and a provocative exhibition curated by Wiradjuri artist Brook Andrew.

The MCA addition, named after philanthropist Simon Mordant, who donated $15m, will more than double the size of the museum, providing almost 1000sq m of new gallery space.

The new wing will house three galleries, a rooftop sculpture terrace and cafe, and the National Centre for Creative Learning, which will feature a national database for schools and the Bella program for children with special needs.