The MCA exhibits contemporary art from Australia and the rest of the world. The museum building stands on a site which was originally the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. The museum's art-deco building is a former Maritime Services Board Building. Thanks to John Power, an Australian artist who bequeathed his estate to the University of Sydney for the establishment of the museum and the donation of the building to the government by the Maritime Service Board the museum became a reality and was officially opened to the public in 2012. The museum's Mordant Wing is a more recent addition and adds a more modern look to the art-deco main building.

The museum strives to challenge the public with constantly changing, often controversial and always original contemporary art. The permanent collection consists of more than 4,000 works in a wide range of media. You can see paintings, sculptures, photography, prints, light instillations, videos, process-based art, instructional works and performing visual arts. The museum has a large number of works by Aboriginal artists and artists from the Torres Strait Islands. In addition to the permanent museum collection there are several other collections including a collection of Aboriginal art, Aboriginal bark paintings and the Loti & Victor Smorgon Collection of Contemporary Australian Art.

The museum has two eateries, the MCA Café on the 4^th floor which has indoor and outdoor dining overlooking the harbor and the MCA restaurant on the ground floor which looks out at Circular Quay. The museum offers regular lectures, tours and performance events. Entrance to the museum is free!