We should be milking Canberra's reputation in the art world as a venue for major exhibitions

But judging by the summer offerings at some of Canberra's cultural institutions, the future is already here, the aspiration realised.

A major exhibition of works by Matisse and Picasso, drawn from collections around the world, is about to open at the National Gallery of Australia.

At time of writing, crates that have flown across oceans, carrying the familiar priceless works, are being unpacked and hung.

It's hardly the first time the gallery has handled works of such magnitude; it still holds the record for Australia's most popular exhibition, 2010's Masterpieces from Paris, from the Musee d'Orsay, and has hosted several equally significant shows in the decade since.

When Masterpieces opened, the director of Musee d'Orsay was moved to tears, seeing the works in a new and fabulous light for the first time.

And it seems that light is still shining; next year, the gallery will open another show of famous masterpieces, including the most famous drawcard of all, Van Gogh's Sunflowers.

And, across the lake, the National Museum will open an entirely different exhibition, of Greek antiquities.

In keeping with the Olympic theme of 2020, Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes will feature 170 objects exploring the theme of competition through sports, politics, drama, music and warfare.

It's the fourth in a series of British exhibitions that have travelled to Canberra, following Rome: City and Empire last year, A History of the World in 100 Objects in 2016 and Encounters: Revealing Stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Objects from the British Museum in 2015.

These objects will be experiencing the fabulous new light of Canberra - and indeed the Southern Hemisphere - for the first time.

In announcing the show's arrival in 12 months' time, museum director Mathew Trinca made the point that, what with reality that Sunflowers and the ancient Greeks would be on offer simultaneously, it was high time Canberra began seeing itself as an established destination, for both art and tourists.

"This is part of us being absolutely confident about this city's claims to be a great cultural destination," he said.

"We bring these kinds of works together with the gallery and other museums and institutions in this city that now offer the public an unrivalled cultural experience, year in year out.

"This is about us having great confidence in this city and a great belief that the cultural life of Canberra is our big selling point as a tourist destination, particularly over the summer.

"The city needs to believe that, it really needs to not be in any way retiring in advancing the fact that it is now the cultural destination in the nation."

In other words, if world-class museums and galleries in Europe and America have already recognised Canberra as a destination worth sending its precious works to, why can't we do the same?

Canberra is well on its way to becoming a major cultural destination, and not only in the summer. The momentum is there to light the city up all year round. It would help if we had a government more fully committed to promoting arts and culture, and spending money on keeping the light aglow.