Just open: 10 of the best new museums and galleries

The Sir John Monash Centre, a new $100-million museum that pays homage to the almost 300,000 Australian soldiers who fought on the Western Front in World War I, is due to open on Anzac Day next year. The complex is being built mostly underground just outside the township of Villers-Bretoneux, the site of terrible losses of Australian lives in northern France during World War I. Organisers hope it will help to raise public awareness of the sacrifice of soldiers on the Western Front to the same level as Gallipoli. sjmc.gov.au/the-centre/about-the-centre/

VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM OF DESIGN, DUNDEE

When you think of Scottish cities, Dundee is not a name that springs to mind. The city was designated the European City of Design in 2014 and next year London's Victoria and Albert Museum will open its exciting new design annex there. Sitting on the quayside, the V&A Dundee will look like two giant ships run aground … by design, of course. And will highlight innovative design through the years from the Mackintosh coat to the Apple Mac (well, maybe not the latter). vandadundee.org/

DESIGN SOCIETY, SHENZHEN, CHINA

The V&A has already spread its designer wings to participate in a new gallery and cultural space in Shenzhen in China. Part of the Design Society building opening in Sea World in October, the V&A will have its own gallery, focusing on modern design and will host two major touring exhibitions over the next two years. designsociety.cn/en

JARDINS MAJORELLE, MARRAKECH

There will be two more good reasons to visit the beautiful Jardins Majorelle in Marrakech, Morocco, from later this year. The Museum of Islam is being renovated to include a museum of Berber art and another dedicated to fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (an annex of his museum in Paris). jardinmajorelle.com/

WHITNEY MUSEUM, NEW YORK

Not exactly new, but recently rehoused after nearly 50 years on Madison Avenue, the Whitney Museum has taken up permanent residence in a purpose-built gallery designed by starchitect Renzo Piano. The new building has more than 7000 square metres of exhibition space and is mandatory after that other NYC must-see, TheMet.whitney.org/

ZEITZ MUSEUM, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, which opened this month in Cape Town, is the largest art gallery to open in Africa for more than 100 years. However, all the work on display will have been created this century, including the personal collection of business magnate and cultural philanthropist Jochen Zeitz. zeitzmocaa.museum/

MACAN, JAKARTA, INDONESIA

Closer to home, Indonesia will get its first major international modern art gallery when MACAN (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara) opens in November at Kebon Jeruk, west Jakarta. Housed on one floor of an upmarket shopping mall, the museum has recently staged a ticket-only public preview. facebook.com/MuseumMACAN/

WARMUN ARTS CENTRE, NORTH-EAST WA

Not exactly new – although it's probably new to you – the Warmun Arts Centre in the former Turkey Creek has been rebuilt and is recovering well from the devastating floods of 2011 that saw priceless works of art recovered from trees in the weeks after the deluge. Now rebuilt on higher ground, the centre is home to one of the highest concentrations of leading Indigenous artists in Australia, from a community that has developed its own highly distinctive style. warmunart.com.au/

QUAKE CITY, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

Another tale of recovery, the Quake City annex of Canterbury Museum reopened in the city centre on September 14. The exhibition, at the corner of Durham Street North and Armagh Street, tells personal stories of heroism and heartache while explaining the science of what happened in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Exhibits include the spire of the devastated Christchurch Cathedral and the railway station clocks that stopped at 1.51pm on February 22, 2011. canterburymuseum.com/whats-on/quake-city/