NGV Triennial will see Boston Dynamics robot dogs set up studio in the National Gallery of Victoria over summer

A trio of finger-painting robotic dogs will share star billing with conceptual artist Yoko Ono, iconic fashion house Schiaparelli and British art heavyweight Tracey Emin in the third iteration of NGV Triennial, the National Gallery of Victoria's behemoth exhibition of contemporary international art and design, opening in December. The line-up of artists, spanning more than 30 countries, is eclectic: Big names such as UK satirist David Shrigley sit alongside emerging artists; British art world heavyweights Tracey Emin and Yinka Shonibare rub shoulders with drag luminary Raja Gemini and instafamous creators such as Australian performer Smac McCreanor; textile artists and painters mix it up with animators and product designers. "That false distinction between art, craft and design is something that we want to challenge throughout the Triennial," says Myles Russell-Cook, NGV's senior curator of Australian and First Nations art. "There's quite a lot in the show around plants, trees, and the more-than-human world view," says Ewan McEoin, NGV's senior curator of contemporary art, design and architecture.