This Week in the Can
Posted on
This Week in The Can is your essential guide to what’s happening in Canberra. From theatre to sport, food and wine to music, and much much more!
HAVE AN EVENT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE LISTED? SUBMIT IT HERE BY COB WEDNESDAY PRIOR TO MONDAY PUBLICATION.
WHAT NOT TO MISS
AW Style Masterclass with Fiona Keary
Discover the trends that are right for you based on your style personality!
In this workshop Fiona Keary is going to help you define your style personality, then show you the trends that are perfect for you based on your results. Trends that truly reflect you and your personality = timeless style. They’ll become ‘go-to’ pieces that you’ll wear season to season.
Tickets include a complimentary glass of champagne and gift bag.
A delicious grazing platter of cheese, meats, fruit & nuts will also be provided. Tickets are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Happening Saturday 26 May from 11 am – 12 pm at Canberra Centre (near R. M Williams), Bunda Street, Civic.
See Eventbrite for more information.
Reconciliation in The Park
A line-up of local talent will join Melbourne duo The Merindas as performers at the second annual Reconciliation in the Park event for the ACT’s Reconciliation Day public holiday on Monday 27 May 2019.
Teenagers Grace Obst and Jye Hopkins and the Woden Valley Youth Choir – singing in local Indigenous language – will perform alongside The Merindas, best known for their appearance in the Australian movie, The Sapphires. The duo will bring a fusion of Indigenous, electro-tribal pop sounds to the stage.
Also appearing on stage is popular Indigenous children’s entertainer Johnny Huckle and dancers from Kulture Break and the Wiradjuri Echoes plus The Chesterfield Band.
The free event – being held between 10.30am and 2.30pm in Glebe Park – encourages Canberrans to engage in meaningful conversations to develop a deeper understanding of our national story and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
In addition to the stage activities, Canberrans will be able to join in a number of activities including Indigenous art, craft and language and leaving a message of reconciliation at the Reflection Forest.
To help navigate the park and take in all the activities on offer, the King Brown Walking Trail has been developed, with maps available at Glebe Park on the day.
A number of ACT sporting groups including the Canberra Raiders, Brumbies, Cricket ACT, Volleyball ACT, Netball ACT and the Warriors Basketball Club will have players and onsite activations.
In addition, there will be community stallholders in marquees around the park as well as food and coffee vans to fuel those attending the event.
Cost: Free
Happening Monday 27 May 10:30 am to 2:30 pm at Glebe Park, Civic.
For more information go to events.act.gov.au/reconciliationday.
Mad Hatter’s High Tea at Pialligo Estate
Don’t be late for a very important date!
Pialligo Estate has a wonderous Mad Hatter’s High Tea planned for you and you won’t want to miss a minute. Bring your friends with you down the rabbit hole on an adventure with Champagne and Chocolate!
Their utterly mad team will make you smile with their curiouser and curiouser array of sweets and treats.
You could have a table for two or ten! It’s time to visit Wonderland at Pialligo Estate.
Choose a two-hour High Tea starting at 11 am or at 1 pm. Enjoy a glass of Champagne upon arrival, our Mad Hatter’s High Tea spread and of course a Tea or Coffee. More Champagne, wine, tea, coffee or other beverages can be purchased on the day
Happening Sunday 26 May at the Pialligo Estate Glasshouse, 18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo.
See the website for bookings and more information.
Aubrey’s Charity Fashion Show For Variety – The Children’s Charity
What are you doing this Saturday? What are you doing next Tuesday?
Going to the hottest fashion event of the year – sounds way cooler than watching Netflix. Come see an amazing fashion show at the Howling Moon! But wait there’s more – all proceeds of the shows will go directly to charity.
Aubrey Chayson is an ANU student that worked at Paris Fashion Week and helped style Beyonce, Anne Hathaway and Paris Hilton. Aubrey Chayson The Label designs are made with 100% ethical labour and 100% silk.
Aubrey champions ethical labour, sustainability and beautiful ergonomic design – and is launching her debut collection on May 25 and half her second collection on May 28. Unapologetically feminine is the ethos behind her clothes. There will be 40 models and a dance performance, an exclusive fashion film preview, as well as a lecture about sustainability.
All proceeds of the fashion show will go directly to Variety, the children’s charity. Live music will be generously sponsored by the amazing DJ Mr Michael (Michael Liu) and venue by the wonderful Kurt Hartmann at the Howling Moon.
All clothes for the show have been made with 100% silk and 100% ethical labour; and in keeping with the label’s vision for sustainability, tickets are electronic.
Secure your tickets now before they sell out! Early bird tickets are running low. Support children who are gravely ill, sick or disabled, support ethical labour, support a liveable earth and support young local talent today.
Early bird tickets are $15.
Happening Saturday 25 May from 2.30 pm – 4.30 pm at The Howling Moon, 150 Northbourne Avenue, Braddon.
See demandchange.com.au and Facebook for more information.
Side by Side Chamber Orchestra
Musicians from the Canberra Symphony Orchestra will again join School of Music staff and students in 2019 to form the Side by Side Chamber Orchestra. Under the baton of distinguished conductor Max McBride, the Orchestra’s autumn concert will present a program of beloved chamber repertoire.
The Orchestra will be joined by guest soloist Andrew Blanch to open the concert with a rendition of Antonio Vivaldi’s Guitar Concerto. Next, the magnificence of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto k. 453 will be on full display with School of Music student pianist, Mia Huang. The concert will conclude with Joseph Haydn’s spectacular 99th symphony, the seventh of his monumental London Symphonies.
Tickets are $10-20. Book now for an evening of musical brilliance, celebrating the collaboration of Canberra’s leading musical institutions.
Happening Friday 24 May from 7.30 – 8.45 pm at Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music, William Herbert Place, Acton.
See Eventbrite for more information.
Pialligo Estate: Travel to the Rioja Wine Region
Be a part of this intimate dinner with winemaker Thomas Puyaubert and talk to Tom about his passion for the Rioja wine region and his amazing wines.
Originally from France, he founded Bodegas Exopto in 2003 to create quality wines crafted from old vines sourced from around the town of Abalos in the high-altitude Rioja Alta.
Exopto has been producing different wines within the historical context of La Rioja which includes wines with more colour and freshness, better fruit expression and a finer contribution from the oak.
Bodegas Exopto demonstrates the perfection of a complex balance between modernity and tradition. The various parcels of vineyards are aged between 30 and 90 years and the winery’s tanks are made of oak and concrete, traditional and fine quality materials that allow the wine to express itself and develop a great complexity of aromas and flavours.
Not only will you get to try Exopto’s range in wines, but you will also enjoy them paired with a 5-course meal by Pialligo Estate Executive Chef, Darren Perryman.
Cost: $135 per person. Includes a 5-course Spanish style meal with matching wines from Bodegas Expoto.
Happening Wednesday 22 May from 6.30 pm at Pialligo Estate, 18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo.
See the website for more information.
Over the Rainbow: The other world seen by animals
Did you know that many birds, insects, reptiles and aquatic animals perceive colour in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum – literally ‘over the rainbow’?
Join Dr Charles W Clark as he demonstrates invisible light using household objects and examples from school science fairs and discusses how ultraviolet influences the science of physics, astronomy and climate change.
Dr Clark is the theoretical atomic and molecular physicist at the Joint Quantum Institute at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland.
Free, bookings essential.
Happening Sunday 26 May from 2–3 pm at Visions Theatre, National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton.
See the website for more information.
Ignite your journey with the Festival: “Young women: Take the lead!”
Empowerment should start early in a career.
Festival: ‘Young Women Take The Lead’ will provide a holistic approach to women’s leadership, offering the inspiration to open new avenues and see other perspectives.
This day is an opportunity for you to think, understand, engage and challenge pre-conceived notions surrounding women. Young women should have the opportunity to receive practical guidance that can assist them.
That’s why the aim of the conference is to provide a perspective on women’s leadership in Australia through testimony and debate by experts of different backgrounds.
The Festival wants this event to also be an experience for the audience and raise awareness about the under-representation of women in the arts. Various performances by female artists will occur throughout the day, linking to the theme of gender equality.
Discussants include:
- Melanie Kontze (Co-founder Silverstone Edge)
- Genevieve Jacobs (Group Editor, Region Media Group)
- Michelle Dixon (CEO and Partner, Maddocks)
- Trish Clancy (Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group)
- David Fricker (Director-General, National Archives of Australia and Vice-President of the UNESCO Memory of the World International Advisory Committee)
- Rosanne Brand (Partner, PwC Australia)
- Caitrine Dunn (Partner, PwC Australia)
- Morgan Marshall (ACT Young Woman of the Year 2019)
- The Hon. Kate Lundy (Former Senator for the ACT, and Former Minister for Multicultural Affairs)
- Dr Marie-Louise Ayres (Director-General of the National Library Australia)
- Ashleigh Streeter-Jones (Gender Advocate and ACT Woman of the Year 2018)
- Mark Kenny (Erstwhile national affairs editor: SMH, The Age, Canberra Times)
Happening Tuesday 21 May from 9 am – 6 pm at the Drama Theatre, Kambri, ANU Campus, Acton.
See Facebook for more information.
River of Art Festival – the art is flowing
Conversations with renowned Australian artists, a fabulous burlesque show, a Japanese drumming workshop and an exhibition of exquisite woodwork – these are just a handful of the 120 events which next month’s River of Art Festival will have on offer.
Running from 17 – 27 May, this south coast festival celebrates art in all its forms from Durras in the north to Bermagui in the south.
Wendy Sharpe, one of Australia’s most awarded and accomplished artists, will officially open the festival and the ‘River of Dreams’ exhibition at the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre (the BAS) in Moruya on Friday 17 May.
The festival will feature an Art Trail with 30 Open Studios where you can meet artists in their own spaces and see or purchase their work. A further 30 artists have partnered with local businesses to be part of Art on Parade, showcasing their work in shop-fronts.
A highlight of the festival will be the burlesque and cabaret show, Kinema Kabaret, on Saturday 18 May. There will also be another 17 or so musical events throughout the Festival including the Busking Championships in Narooma.
Artists in Conversation is a new event this year giving festival-goers an opportunity to hear artists talk about their work over a delicious food. Archibald prize winner, Wendy Sharpe, will be in Conversation at The River restaurant, Moruya on Sunday, 19 May. Graham Fransella, a four-time winner of the Wynne watercolour prize will be in Conversation at the Sandbar, Batemans Bay, on Saturday, 25 May.
Happening 17 – 27 May across various locations on the South Coast.
The full festival program and booking details for each of the events can be found on the River of Art Festival website.
THE DRESSMAKER COSTUME EXHIBITION
From 1950s Dungatar to 2019 Canberra, the original costumes from the hit film The Dressmaker will be on display at the NFSA from 18 April 2019.
Audiences will be able to go ‘behind the seams’ of a diverse range of elegant vintage fashion worn by Hollywood stars and home-grown acting talents including Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Sarah Snook, Judy Davis, Rebecca Gibney and more.
The exhibition, designed by Marion Boyce, features a spectacular range of haute couture worn by the film’s stars.
The Dressmaker Costume Exhibition celebrates the artistry of the film’s sumptuous designs, as well as the transformational power of fashion.
Showing from Thursday 18 April until Sunday 18 August from 10 am – 4 pm at the National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton.
See nfsa.gov.au for more information.
The Historical Expression of Chinese Art: Calligraphy and Painting from the National Museum of China
Calligraphy and painting are two treasures of traditional Chinese culture. For thousands of years artists have produced works that have sustained the practice of China’s most revered art and provided cultural nourishment for the Chinese people.
This Australian-first exhibition explores the breadth and tradition of Chinese calligraphy and painting through artworks from the National Museum of China’s collection. See exquisite paintings by three Chinese modern artists — Xie Yun, Xiao Lang and Wang Naizhuang —and an extraordinary 20-metre-long replica 18th-century scroll documenting Emperor Qianlong’s 1751 tour to the southern provinces.
A mesmerising and immersive animation brings the story of the scroll and its historical figures to life in intricate three-dimensional detail.
The National Museum of Australia’s Harvest of Endurance pictorial scroll, painted in the traditional gong bi style and representing two centuries of Chinese contact with, and migration to, Australia forms a companion element of the exhibition, with eight of its 50 metres on display.
This exhibition is part of a cultural exchange with the National Museum of China.
Free entry.
Showing until 28 July 2019 at the National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton.
See nma.gov.au/chinese-art for more information.
Friday Night Drinks at Pialligo Estate
Pair delectable charcuterie and a selection of incredible wines on Fridays at Pialligo Estate.
Let the stunning views sweep you away while relaxing with friends tasting wine from the vineyard and sampling award-winning smoked meats.
Be amongst the first to enjoy the comfort and intimacy of the new extended garden pavilion or find some space on the lush grass listening to live entertainment and challenging your colleagues to a lawn game or two.
For the more adventurous, the Estate’s Horticulturalist and Sommelier will take small groups on tours of the vineyard, providing guests with a close-up of this year’s grapes and an understanding of what can be expected in the next Vintage.
Once you’ve worked up an appetite select from the generous charcuterie and cheese boards, share-plates or small meals from the Head Chef matched with wines of your choice from the Sommelier.
If it’s been a hectic week and you are after something with a bit more kick, try one of the Estate’s signature cocktails made straight from the fruits off the Estate’s very own orchard!
Call 6247 6060 to book a table in advance or just arrive on the day.
Happening every Friday except for public holidays from 4 – 8.30 pm (happy hour from 5 – 6 pm) at Pialligo Estate, 18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo.
See thepialligoestate.com.au/whats-on/friday-night-drinks for more information.
Inked: Australian Cartoons
Inked features a selection of the best cartoons from the National Library of Australia’s extensive collections.
The exhibition draws from over 14,000 cartoons by dozens of artists, from before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 up to the present. Each work is a time capsule, offering a snapshot of Australian life.
Visitors will be captivated by the works on display by many greats of Australian cartooning, including Will Dyson, Judy Horacek, Michael Leunig, David Low, Phil May, Alan Moir, Bruce Petty, Martin Sharp, Cathy Wilcox and many more.
INKED: PLAY
Come and see the famous Gumnut Babies going off to war. Create your own cartoon or draw a protest sign to hang on our display wall. Get stuck into a book. Find all the hidden Inkie the Echidnas and explore whether the world is doomed or domed.
Inked Play is open daily as part of Inked: Australian Cartoons. Find it by following Inkie the Echidna.
Open 10 am to 5 pm every day until 21 July 2019
Painting on Country
Five senior artists from Tjungu Palya art centre in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia have reinvigorated their ancestors’ practice of painting directly onto the land. Their work, captured in a series of large-format photographs, is both timeless and transient, bridging the ancient and the contemporary.
Exhibition on show at the National Museum of Australia until 30 September 2019. Free entry.
More information at nma.gov.au.
FOOD & DRINK
Mad Hatter’s High Tea at Pialligo Estate
Don’t be late for a very important date!
Pialligo Estate has a wonderous Mad Hatter’s High Tea planned for you and you won’t want to miss a minute. Bring your friends with you down the rabbit hole on an adventure with Champagne and Chocolate!
Their utterly mad team will make you smile with their curiouser and curiouser array of sweets and treats.
You could have a table for two or ten! It’s time to visit Wonderland at Pialligo Estate.
Choose a two-hour High Tea starting at 11 am or at 1 pm. Enjoy a glass of Champagne upon arrival, our Mad Hatter’s High Tea spread and of course a Tea or Coffee. More Champagne, wine, tea, coffee or other beverages can be purchased on the day
Happening Sunday 26 May at the Pialligo Estate Glasshouse, 18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo.
See the website for bookings and more information.
Pialligo Estate: Travel to the Rioja Wine Region
Be a part of this intimate dinner with winemaker Thomas Puyaubert and talk to Tom about his passion for the Rioja wine region and his amazing wines.
Originally from France, he founded Bodegas Exopto in 2003 to create quality wines crafted from old vines sourced from around the town of Abalos in the high-altitude Rioja Alta.
Exopto has been producing different wines within the historical context of La Rioja which includes wines with more colour and freshness, better fruit expression and a finer contribution from the oak.
Bodegas Exopto demonstrates the perfection of a complex balance between modernity and tradition. The various parcels of vineyards are aged between 30 and 90 years and the winery’s tanks are made of oak and concrete, traditional and fine quality materials that allow the wine to express itself and develop a great complexity of aromas and flavours.
Not only will you get to try Exopto’s range in wines, but you will also enjoy them paired with a 5-course meal by Pialligo Estate Executive Chef, Darren Perryman.
Cost: $135 per person. Includes a 5-course Spanish style meal with matching wines from Bodegas Expoto.
Happening Wednesday 22 May from 6.30 pm at Pialligo Estate, 18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo.
See the website for more information.
CELLAR DOOR
Cellar Door is a wine market for Canberra’s wonderful wine scene happening every Saturday from 3-6 pm. Buy wines from local makers every Saturday afternoon in the iconic Nishi Grand Stair, NewActon Precinct.
Grab a souvenir glass, taste the latest drops, and buy at cellar door prices.
Wine stalls rotate each week with complementing stalls like flowers, cheese, chocolate and books.
Make a day of it with a film at Palace Electric Cinema and NewActon’s leading food and drink destinations.
Happening every Saturday from 3-6 pm on the Nishi Grand Stair, inside the Nishi Building, Philip Law Street, NewActon.
See the website for more details.
Friday Night Drinks at Pialligo Estate
Pair delectable charcuterie and a selection of incredible wines on Fridays at Pialligo EstateLet the stunning views sweep you away while relaxing with friends tasting wine from the vineyard and sampling award-winning smoked meats.
Be amongst the first to enjoy the comfort and intimacy of the new extended garden pavilion or find some space on the lush grass listening to live entertainment and challenging your colleagues to a lawn game or two.
For the more adventurous, the Estate’s Horticulturalist and Sommelier will take small groups on tours of the vineyard, providing guests with a close-up of this year’s grapes and an understanding of what can be expected in the next Vintage.
Once you’ve worked up an appetite select from the generous charcuterie and cheese boards, share-plates or small meals from the Head Chef matched with wines of your choice from the Sommelier.
If it’s been a hectic week and you are after something with a bit more kick, try one of the Estate’s signature cocktails made straight from the fruits off the Estate’s very own orchard!
Call 6247 6060 to book a table in advance or just arrive on the day.
Happening every Friday except for public holidays from 4 – 8.30 pm (happy hour from 5 – 6 pm) at Pialligo Estate, 18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo.
See thepialligoestate.com.au/whats-on/friday-night-drinks for more information.
PINT OF SCIENCE
For three days in May, Pint of Science is a festival bringing the latest in science research to pubs across Australia (and the world!).
Happening Monday 22 – Wednesday 22 May from 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm (doors open at 6 pm) starting at Ace High Eatery, 191 Anketell St, Greenway.
For more information visit the pintofscience.com.au
Monster’s Afternoon Delight
Serene, methodical and exceptionally Monster.
Presenting a new Sunday afternoon blend, Monster Kitchen and Bar is adding a little extra flavour to your signature lazy day with its very own High Tea…
Amidst the hand-crafted furniture, bespoke artwork, and ambient lighting you will find the familiar flavours you have come to appreciate from the team at Monster with a range of exclusive tea flavours by Tea Garden co, tea inspired cocktails, Champagne all complemented by black and gold fixtures.
1 pm every Sunday at Monster Kitchen, Ovolo Nishi. Tickets $70 to $120 – more information on facebook.com.
Freestyle Fridays at Vertikal
Join Vertikal every Friday for indoor ski lessons with indoor snow machines and music. Enjoy discounted sessions from $40 or kick back with a Jindabyne Brewing beers on tap or Canberra Distilling Co & Underground Spirits.
Every Friday at Vertikal Indoor Snow Sports, Unit 2, Building 3, 1 Dairy Rd, Fyshwick. Find out more at vertikalsnowsports.com.
MUSIC
The Merindas.
Reconciliation in The Park
A line-up of local talent will join Melbourne duo The Merindas as performers at the second annual Reconciliation in the Park event for the ACT’s Reconciliation Day public holiday on Monday 27 May 2019.
Teenagers Grace Obst and Jye Hopkins and the Woden Valley Youth Choir – singing in local Indigenous language – will perform alongside The Merindas, best known for their appearance in the Australian movie, The Sapphires. The duo will bring a fusion of Indigenous, electro-tribal pop sounds to the stage.
Also appearing on stage is popular Indigenous children’s entertainer Johnny Huckle and dancers from Kulture Break and the Wiradjuri Echoes plus The Chesterfield Band.
The free event – being held between 10.30am and 2.30pm in Glebe Park – encourages Canberrans to engage in meaningful conversations to develop a deeper understanding of our national story and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
In addition to the stage activities, Canberrans will be able to join in a number of activities including Indigenous art, craft and language and leaving a message of reconciliation at the Reflection Forest.
To help navigate the park and take in all the activities on offer, the King Brown Walking Trail has been developed, with maps available at Glebe Park on the day.
A number of ACT sporting groups including the Canberra Raiders, Brumbies, Cricket ACT, Volleyball ACT, Netball ACT and the Warriors Basketball Club will have players and onsite activations.
In addition, there will be community stallholders in marquees around the park as well as food and coffee vans to fuel those attending the event.
Cost: Free
Happening Monday 27 May 10:30 am to 2:30 pm at Glebe Park, Civic.
For more information go to events.act.gov.au/reconciliationday.
Side by Side Chamber Orchestra
Musicians from the Canberra Symphony Orchestra will again join School of Music staff and students in 2019 to form the Side by Side Chamber Orchestra. Under the baton of distinguished conductor Max McBride, the Orchestra’s autumn concert will present a program of beloved chamber repertoire.
The Orchestra will be joined by guest soloist Andrew Blanch to open the concert with a rendition of Antonio Vivaldi’s Guitar Concerto. Next, the magnificence of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto k. 453 will be on full display with School of Music student pianist, Mia Huang. The concert will conclude with Joseph Haydn’s spectacular 99th symphony, the seventh of his monumental London Symphonies.
Tickets are $10-20. Book now for an evening of musical brilliance, celebrating the collaboration of Canberra’s leading musical institutions.
Happening Friday 24 May from 7.30 – 8.45 pm at Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music, William Herbert Place, Acton.
See Eventbrite for more information.
CARRIBERRIE – INDIGENOUS SONG AND DANCE VR EXPERIENCE
Put on your virtual reality headset and let David Gulpilil and Jack Charles guide you on a journey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander song and dance.
You’ll encounter the contemporary dancers of Bangarra performing at the Sydney Opera House, The Lonely Boys rocking out in Alice Springs, and performers of songs and dances used to share knowledge and culture for thousands of years.
From Uluru to Cairns and the Torres Strait, this is an intimate and immersive experience unlike any other.
Happening now until Saturday 1 June from 11 am – 2 pm at the National Film and Sound Archive.
See nfsa.gov.au for more information.
FOSTER & ALLAN
Legendary Irish folk music due Foster & Allen are number one stars across the globe, having 30 new-release charting albums over a 40-year career, the only act in the world to do so. This legendary Irish folk music act began in 1975 when Mick Foster & Tony Allen formed their duo after many years of playing together.
Foster & Allen’s mega-hits include Old Flames & Maggie, which has seen them amass record sales in excess of 20 million sales worldwide due to their loyal fan-base.
Happening Tuesday 21 May from 8 pm – 10:30 pm at the Canberra Theatre Centre.
See canberratheatrecentre.com.au for more information
IVAN OOZE – THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES TOUR
Don’t miss this farewell concert from the performer who has been rapping since he was eight years old.
Borrowing his alias from his favourite Mighty Morphin Power Rangers character, Ivan Ooze is part of the new breed of Australian hip hop artists taking the local form of the genre to new heights.
With a fascination for intricate rhymes and a signature super-fast flow, Ivan Ooze(Ben Townsend) has in a short period of time experienced the support and attention that some artists take a lifetime to build, with a steadily growing legion of fans waiting with baited breath for each release.
Happening Friday 24 May from 6 pm – 11 pm at Kambri, ANU Campus.
See Facebook for more information.
BABE RAINBOW ‘EARTH IS AN EGG DON’T FRACK IT’ TOUR @ UC
‘Morning Song’ is the 1st single to be lifted from the upcoming 3rd album by Babe Rainbow. A generous helping of folk pop, flutes and floating harmony, acoustic guitar, late 70’s electronic fox trot, and the choir of the women of the wonderfolk. Just an optimistic announcement of new cycle, fresh air.
The new album is more musical and ambitious than previous outings. Produced by Sam Joseph from the Flightless / King Gizzard stable. Feels authentic to the Babe Rainbow but more diverse and sophisticated, like falling in love outwards, a perfect collection of pacific vibrations, brunch in Arcadia.
Happening Thursday 23 May at 8 pm – 11 pm at the University of Canberra, UC HUB.
For more information and tickets visit tickets.oztix.com.au
THE PROCLAIMERS: AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2019
Scotland’s finest Celtic soul brothers Craig and Charlie Reid have reached a rarefied status: after three decades they are as innovative as ever and with every album and show played, The Proclaimers continue to garner new fans.
A highly-individual blend of punk, folk, pop, poetry, country, soul, socialism and new wave, The Proclaimers walk precisely the right line between romance and bitter reality. Their songs are timeless; with their catchy tunes and stirring harmonies they capture the full gamut of human emotions.
Expect to hear the classics Let’s Get Married, Sunshine on Leith, Letter From America, and I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) and songs from their highly acclaimed 11th studio album Angry Cyclist produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Kylie Minogue and Roger Daltrey).
“The world is a better place for bands that wear their heart on their sleeve: these are universal sentiments presented in perfect harmony by two unique voices and it’s just fabulous.” UK Press Oct 2018
Happening Thursday 23 May from 8 pm – 10 pm at the Canberra Theatre Centre.
For more information visit canberratheatrecentre.com.au
MARK LANG
Rich with melody and storytelling acclaimed singer-songwriter Mark Lang (Skipping Girl Vinegar) returns to The Street to showcase works from his new release.
A renowned lyricist and storyteller Mark’s performances are a must-see immersive live experience. Returning home from an extensive North American and European tour including appearances at the legendary Cambridge Folk Festival, Woodford and Port Fairy Folk Festivals.
Happening Friday 24 May from 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm at The Street Theatre, 15 Childers Street, Acton.
For more information visit thestreet.org.au
TORMENT & TRANQUILLITY
Salut! presents a concert of baroque music with works by Vivaldi, Telemann, Handel, Monteverdi, Purcell, Biber, WF Bach and Rebel.
Christian Schubart’s seminal work, Ideas towards an Aesthetic of Music (1806), established that specific characteristics of each key signature determine the emotion of the music.
Happening Friday 24 May from 7.30 pm – 9.15 pm at Albert Hall.
See baroque.com.au for more information.
More local music
Check out BMA and CBR DIY for more local gigs!
STAGE + SCREEN
RECONCILIATION DAY EVE
In the capital, on the eve of the Reconciliation Day public holiday, some of the strongest voices in the country are coming together to honor the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum.
Continuing the tradition that started last year, powerhouse rapper Briggs will return to the stage along with Australian icons Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project for a celebration of Black Excellence. They will be joined on the evening by Alice Skye and Emily Wurramara for what promises to be a night of power and beauty.
Happening Sunday 26 May from 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm at The Canberra Theatre Centre.
Fore more information visit canberratheatrecentre.com
DEWHURST, JOHNSTONE, CLARKE & SUTTON
Carl Dewhurst, Chris Johnstone, Brendan Clarke & Mark Sutton present the music of Montgomery, Green, Burrell and Benson.
Guitarists Carl and Chris will display their deep understanding and mastery of this soulful and swinging period in jazz, backed by an outstanding rhythm section that will leave you with no choice but to be caught up in the groove!
Performing in a variety of formats from solo to full swinging quartet, you will witness a maturity of musicianship and expression that only comes from years of experience and deep connection through respect, not only for each other, but for the music they will be representing.
Be transported back to the soulful sixties with one of the most exciting collaborations you’ll hear this year!
Happening Thursday 23 May from 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm at The Street Theatre.
For more information visit thestreetorg.au
BILLIONAIRE BOY
12 year old Joe has everything a boy could ever want, from a golden underwater Ferrari to his very own cinema. Joe and his Dad have more money than you could imagine, but what Joe really needs is a friend. When Joe arrives at his new school, life really gets tough. Facing the school bully, his Dad’s new girlfriend and the world’s worst school canteen, Joe is about to learn that money might buy you a lot in Raj’s shop, but it can’t buy you everything.
David Walliams’ best selling books comes to life on stage for 6-12 year olds – and their adults! Don’t miss this original Australian adaptation as the team behind Mr Stink and The 13-, 26-, 52- and 78-Storey Treehouses live on stage return with songs, laughs and yes, that cat sick and sweet potato mash from the canteen…
Happening Thursday 23 May from 6 pm – 7 pm at the Canberra Theatre Centre.
For more information visit canberratheatrecentre.com
MOUNTAINFILM ON TOUR
Mountainfilm on Tour is back! The 2019 Mountainfilm on Tour features the best short films from the annual Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado. One word sets Mountainfilm apart from other tours – Heart. Join them for a celebration of adventure, environment and the human spirit.
Mountainfilm is one of the world’s best mountain film festivals, featured in the Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World by MovieMaker magazine. The festival has been held in May each year since 1979, with the best films then touring more than 150 locations around the world.
Mountainfilm toured Australia and New Zealand for the first time in 2017 to rave reviews. This year’s films feature an awesome mix of short films featuring the likes of climber Alex Honnold, ultra runner Kilian Jornet as well as mountaineering, mountain biking, expedition travel, fly fishing, cultural and environmental stories. This is an event to inspire you to take on the world and experience all it has to offer.
The event will feature prize draws and a free program for all attendees.
Happening Saturday 25 – Monday 27 May from 7 pm – 9 pm at Dendy Cinemas, Canberra Centre.
For more information visit mountainfilmausnz.com
NATIONAL SIMULTLANEOUS STORYTIME: ALPACAS WITH MARACAS
Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country.
Now in its nine-teenth successful year, it’s a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy.
This year, we’ll join thousands of other story lovers around the country to hear the exciting tale of Macca and Al—and their musical adventures—in Matt Cosgrove’s Alpacas with Maracas, read by National Zoo and Aquarium Guide, Jessica Cartwright.
Bookings essential.
Happening Wednesday 22 May from 11 am – 11:30 am at the National Library of Australia.
For more information visit Facebook.
FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Aubrey’s Charity Fashion Show For Variety – The Children’s Charity
What are you doing this Saturday? What are you doing next Tuesday?
Going to the hottest fashion event of the year – sounds way cooler than watching Netflix. Come see an amazing fashion show at the Howling Moon! But wait there’s more – all proceeds of the shows will go directly to charity.
Aubrey Chayson is an ANU student that worked at Paris Fashion Week and helped style Beyonce, Anne Hathaway and Paris Hilton. Aubrey Chayson The Label designs are made with 100% ethical labour and 100% silk.
Aubrey champions ethical labour, sustainability and beautiful ergonomic design – and is launching her debut collection on May 25 and half her second collection on May 28. Unapologetically feminine is the ethos behind her clothes. There will be 40 models and a dance performance, an exclusive fashion film preview, as well as a lecture about sustainability.
All proceeds of the fashion show will go directly to Variety, the children’s charity. Live music will be generously sponsored by the amazing DJ Mr Michael (Michael Liu) and venue by the wonderful Kurt Hartmann at the Howling Moon.
All clothes for the show have been made with 100% silk and 100% ethical labour; and in keeping with the label’s vision for sustainability, tickets are electronic.
Secure your tickets now before they sell out! Early bird tickets are running low. Support children who are gravely ill, sick or disabled, support ethical labour, support a liveable earth and support young local talent today.
Early bird tickets are $15.
Happening Saturday 25 May from 2.30 pm – 4.30 pm at The Howling Moon, 150 Northbourne Avenue, Braddon.
See demandchange.com.au and Facebook for more information.
MEET & MOVE
Are you finding it hard to get active since having kids? Perhaps it’s time for you to Meet & Move!
Meet & Move is a new, active playgroup. It’s facilitator, Nicole Sadlier from Bluearth, knows that it can be hard to get out of the house when you have young kids. But like she says “When you do get outside, you feel much better. Your mood improves and you feel refreshed and more energetic!”
Meet & Move sessions occur outdoors and include a pram-friendly, baby-wearing friendly walk, gentle yoga-style stretching or toning exercises (selected sessions) and a chance for the kids to burn off some energy at a playground or to walk/bike with the group.
It also engages parents and their kids in activities which develop skills such as running, kicking, balancing, throwing and catching. Their focus is to make movement fun and help parents to bank more active time into their day.
Join one of their free weekly sessions which run on Monday – Thursday from 10 am during the school term. Full details for locations can be found on Facebook.
Meet & Move is a program of the Bluearth Foundation, working in partnership with Mums Exercise Group Australia (MEGA) Canberra and supported by ACT Government under the ACT Health Promotion Grants Program. It has been created to help mums with young kids to be more active together, get outdoors and connect with other mums.
#UDHRquiltproject
The #UDHRQuiltProject features never before seen work from a global craftivism project. Stitching in local and global stories; see the intricate detail of these quilts that represent the world’s conscience.
Through the creation of four quilts, each embroidered with the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the project draws attention to the way human rights are challenged around the world today. The messages sewn into the quilts encourage visitors think, engage and take action.
The #UDHRQuiltProject moves beyond a traditional museum experience by inviting visitors to participate in a range of hand-on craft activities and workshops.
Happening until 30 June 2019 at Museum of Australian Democracy at various times.
See moadoh.gov.au/exhibitions/udhr-quilt-project to see more information.
SPORT + FITNESS
RECONCILIATION DAY RUN
This year’s Reconciliation Run will take place at Reconciliation Place on Lake Burley Griffin Canberra.
This event will also be the official reveal of our 2019 Indigenous Marathon Project squad – 12 Indigenous Women and Men from around Australia are selected every year to participate in an intensive 6-month program.
This is their first camp and event as a squad, and their first official run – we would love you to be there to cheer them on and run with us!
Happening on Sunday 26 May from 9:45 am (with a 10 am start) at Lake Burley Griffin.
For more information visit eventbrite.com.au.
YOGA BY THE LAKE
Yoga by the Lake is perfect for all experience levels and aims to bring together the yoga community in a beautiful location at Bowen Park in Barton.
With a class every Thursday, it’s a BYO mat event. Entry is free with donations welcome. All ages and experience welcome.
Every Thursday evening from 6 pm at Bowen Park, Bowen Drive, Barton.
See Facebook for more information.
Freestyle Fridays at Vertikal
Join Vertikal every Friday for indoor ski lessons with indoor snow machines and music. Enjoy discounted sessions from $40 or kick back with a Jindabyne Brewing beers on tap or Canberra Distilling Co & Underground Spirits.
Every Friday at Vertikal Indoor Snow Sports, Unit 2, Building 3, 1 Dairy Rd, Fyshwick. Find out more at vertikalsnowsports.com.
MEET & MOVE
Are you finding it hard to get active since having kids? Perhaps it’s time for you to Meet & Move!
Meet & Move is a new, active playgroup. It’s facilitator, Nicole Sadlier from Bluearth, knows that it can be hard to get out of the house when you have young kids. But like she says “When you do get outside, you feel much better. Your mood improves and you feel refreshed and more energetic!”
Meet & Move sessions occur outdoors and include a pram-friendly, baby-wearing friendly walk, gentle yoga-style stretching or toning exercises (selected sessions) and a chance for the kids to burn off some energy at a playground or to walk/bike with the group.
It also engages parents and their kids in activities which develop skills such as running, kicking, balancing, throwing and catching. Their focus is to make movement fun and help parents to bank more active time into their day.
Join one of their free weekly sessions which run on Monday – Thursday from 10 am during the school term. Full details for locations can be found on Facebook.
Meet & Move is a program of the Bluearth Foundation, working in partnership with Mums Exercise Group Australia (MEGA) Canberra and supported by ACT Government under the ACT Health Promotion Grants Program. It has been created to help mums with young kids to be more active together, get outdoors and connect with other mums.
Zumba with Lachlan
Lachlan is a trained American Ballroom and Latin dance teacher who has been instructing Zumba for over three and a half years.
Lachlan hopes to bring a more dance-oriented style of Zumba to Gungahlin. Whether you have been dancing Zumba for years, or have always wanted to try, this is the perfect way to get started.
Exercise shoes and a water bottle are strongly encouraged.
Happening every Monday at 9.30 am at the Gungahlin Club, 51 Hinder Street, Gungahlin.
See Facebook for more information.
FESTIVALS
Ignite your journey with the Festival: “Young women: Take the lead!”
Empowerment should start early in a career.
Festival: ‘Young Women Take The Lead’ will provide a holistic approach to women’s leadership, offering the inspiration to open new avenues and see other perspectives.
This day is an opportunity for you to think, understand, engage and challenge pre-conceived notions surrounding women. Young women should have the opportunity to receive practical guidance that can assist them.
That’s why the aim of the conference is to provide a perspective on women’s leadership in Australia through testimony and debate by experts of different backgrounds.
The Festival wants this event to also be an experience for the audience and raise awareness about the under-representation of women in the arts. Various performances by female artists will occur throughout the day, linking to the theme of gender equality.
Discussants include:
- Melanie Kontze (Co-founder Silverstone Edge)
- Genevieve Jacobs (Group Editor, Region Media Group)
- Michelle Dixon (CEO and Partner, Maddocks)
- Trish Clancy (Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group)
- David Fricker (Director-General, National Archives of Australia and Vice-President of the UNESCO Memory of the World International Advisory Committee)
- Rosanne Brand (Partner, PwC Australia)
- Caitrine Dunn (Partner, PwC Australia)
- Morgan Marshall (ACT Young Woman of the Year 2019)
- The Hon. Kate Lundy (Former Senator for the ACT, and Former Minister for Multicultural Affairs)
- Dr Marie-Louise Ayres (Director-General of the National Library Australia)
- Ashleigh Streeter-Jones (Gender Advocate and ACT Woman of the Year 2018)
- Mark Kenny (Erstwhile national affairs editor: SMH, The Age, Canberra Times)
Happening Tuesday 21 May from 9 am – 6 pm at the Drama Theatre, Kambri, ANU Campus, Acton.
See Facebook for more information.
River of Art Festival – the art is flowing
Conversations with renowned Australian artists, a fabulous burlesque show, a Japanese drumming workshop and an exhibition of exquisite woodwork – these are just a handful of the 120 events which next month’s River of Art Festival will have on offer.
Running from 17 – 27 May, this south coast festival celebrates art in all its forms from Durras in the north to Bermagui in the south.
Wendy Sharpe, one of Australia’s most awarded and accomplished artists, will officially open the festival and the ‘River of Dreams’ exhibition at the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre (the BAS) in Moruya on Friday 17 May.
The festival will feature an Art Trail with 30 Open Studios where you can meet artists in their own spaces and see or purchase their work. A further 30 artists have partnered with local businesses to be part of Art on Parade, showcasing their work in shop-fronts.
A highlight of the festival will be the burlesque and cabaret show, Kinema Kabaret, on Saturday 18 May. There will also be another 17 or so musical events throughout the Festival including the Busking Championships in Narooma.
Artists in Conversation is a new event this year giving festival-goers an opportunity to hear artists talk about their work over a delicious food. Archibald prize winner, Wendy Sharpe, will be in Conversation at The River restaurant, Moruya on Sunday, 19 May. Graham Fransella, a four-time winner of the Wynne watercolour prize will be in Conversation at the Sandbar, Batemans Bay, on Saturday, 25 May.
Happening 17 – 27 May across various locations on the South Coast.
The full festival program and booking details for each f the events can be found on the River of Art Festival website.
MARKETS & FAIRS
FROCK UP CANBERRA VINTAGE FAIR
Come and see antique, retro, vintage and designer clothing from Victorian times onwards. There are fashion accessories, jewellery, fashion art, textiles, buttons (and probably a few bows), linen and lace at this boutique vintage event.
In the intimate venue there are three to five of Australia’s oldest vintage dealers with their wares for sale. If you like vintage clothing you should not miss this quarterly event.
Happening Thursday 24 – Friday 25 May from Friday 6 pm – 9 pm and Saturday 10 am – 5 pm at Griffith Neighbourhood Centre.
For more information visit frockupaustralia.com
THREE SIXTY FASHION MARKET
The Three Sixty Fashion Market is a truly unique, niche Canberra-based market dedicated to sustainable fashion loved. This mostly recycled fashion market is perfect for stylish, discerning shoppers who love genuine, quality vintage, retro and pre-loved fashion that is far too good to chuck in a bin or send to landfill.
The Three Sixty Fashion Market is committed to a circular economy and to providing fabulous shopping for those who ethical choices and ecological sustainability as much as they value style and fun.
You’re guaranteed to uncover some intriguing fashion and great buys. This is a super shopping day out. Great day for a get together with the gals or enjoy an outing with family and friends. Grab a coffee and explore.
The Three Sixty Market is held at the Fitters’ Workshop, a heritage-listed building and part of the Kingston Power House historic precinct. Free entry and held indoors so protected from the weather.
The Three Sixty Fashion Market is run by the ‘Canberra Markets’, which also runs the Canberra Fashion Market, Canberra Kids Market and the Canberra Christmas Market.
Happening Sunday 26 May from 10 am – 3 pm at Old Bus depot Markets, Kingston.
For more information visit canberramarkets.net.au
NORTHSIDE FAMILY MARKETS
Northside Farmers Markets brings you the best quality fresh produce from the region. Select from leafy vegetables, free range pork, pastured eggs, luscious peaches and juicy apples.
Grab a sit and enjoy the amazing aroma and refreshing taste of our freshly brewed coffee. Enjoy with some pastry or bakery product. Do all your weekly grocery shopping while enjoying the spacious and sunny atmosphere. Brings friends and family and friends, share a cuppa and stories from your week.
Happening every Saturday from 9.30 am – 4.30 pm at Thoroughbred Park, Lyneham.
See the website for more information.
SOUTHSIDE FARMERS MARKETS
Get along to the Southside Farmers Markets every Sunday morning and pick up the finest fruit and vegetables and produce our region has to offer. There are over 50 stalls made up of farmers and producers who sell their food direct from their farm or kitchen. Many farmers are out picking their produce the night before the market and you can certainly taste the difference.
Talk to the farmer direct and find out where your food is being grown, how they grow it, and even how they best like to cook it. Not only do they provide us with fresh food every week but they are a wealth of information on the food that nourishes week in week out.
What’s in season this week? Annual herbs, beans, peas, beetroot, capsicums, carrots, chillies, corn, cucumber, daikon, eggplant, garlic, onion, radishes, rhubarb, squash, zucchini, melons, stonefruit, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes and more!
Every Sunday from 8.30am to 11 am at Canberra College, 2 Launceston Street, Phillip. Entry is free, visit the website for more information
MARKET GARDEN PRODUCE STALL
Selling fresh, clean, chemical-free vegetables, preserves and baked goods in the Courtyard of 56 Wallace Street, Braidwood every Saturday morning from 8.30am until 12.00 or sold out. Wynlen House is a small urban micro-farm specialising in offering a broad range of seasonal vegetables all year round.
They also run workshops to show people how to grow vegetables, garlic, and raise small farm animals on a large suburban block and offer slow food events to showcase the benefit and deliciousness of produce grown locally, without chemical inputs and picked fresh.
On every Saturday from 8.30am – 12 pm, at The Courtyard, Braidwood. For more information visit the website.
WORKSHOPS, TOURS & TALKS
AW Style Masterclass with Fiona Keary
Discover the trends that are right for you based on your style personality!
In this workshop Fiona Keary is going to help you define your style personality, then show you the trends that are perfect for you based on your results. Trends that truly reflect you and your personality = timeless style. They’ll become ‘go-to’ pieces that you’ll wear season to season.
Tickets include a complimentary glass of champagne and gift bag.
A delicious grazing platter of cheese, meats, fruit & nuts will also be provided. Tickets are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Happening Saturday 26 May from 11 am – 12 pm at Canberra Centre (near R. M Williams), Bunda Street, Civic.
See Eventbrite for more information.
Over the Rainbow: The other world seen by animals
Did you know that many birds, insects, reptiles and aquatic animals perceive colour in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum – literally ‘over the rainbow’?
Join Dr Charles W Clark as he demonstrates invisible light using household objects and examples from school science fairs and discusses how ultraviolet influences the science of physics, astronomy and climate change.
Dr Clark is the theoretical atomic and molecular physicist at the Joint Quantum Institute at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland.
Free, bookings essential.
Happening Sunday 26 May from 2–3 pm at Visions Theatre, National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton.
See the website for more information.
DEFINING MOMENTS: FIRE
For hundreds of thousands of years, fire has played a vital role in human evolution and civilisation. Today, our relationship with fire has changed significantly. Intense, extensive and deadly bushfires are increasingly common events that have catastrophic consequences for the people, communities and landscapes caught in their path.
How can we harness 65,000 years of Aboriginal knowledge and land management to better prepare for and manage the impact of bushfires? What does the changing pattern of human habitation on this continent mean for our engagement with fire? What is the future of humanity’s interaction with fire in a changing environment?
Join ABC RN’s Big Ideas presenter Paul Barclay in conversation with our expert panel as they examine our relationship with fire. The panel features Bruce Pascoe, award winning author of Dark Emu; Helen Cleugh, Director of the CSIRO Climate Science Centre; Professor Tom Griffiths AO, environmental historian; and Jane Smyth OAM, educator and Canberra bushfire survivor.
This program is part of the Defining Moments in Australian History project.
Happening Thursday 23 May from 6 pm – 7 pm at the National Museum of Australia
For more information visit nma.gov.au
Ignite your journey with the Festival: “Young women: Take the lead!”
Empowerment should start early in a career.
Festival: ‘Young Women Take The Lead’ will provide a holistic approach to women’s leadership, offering the inspiration to open new avenues and see other perspectives.
This day is an opportunity for you to think, understand, engage and challenge pre-conceived notions surrounding women. Young women should have the opportunity to receive practical guidance that can assist them.
That’s why the aim of the conference is to provide a perspective on women’s leadership in Australia through testimony and debate by experts of different backgrounds.
The Festival wants this event to also be an experience for the audience and raise awareness about the under-representation of women in the arts. Various performances by female artists will occur throughout the day, linking to the theme of gender equality.
Discussants include:
- Melanie Kontze (Co-founder Silverstone Edge)
- Genevieve Jacobs (Group Editor, Region Media Group)
- Michelle Dixon (CEO and Partner, Maddocks)
- Trish Clancy (Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group)
- David Fricker (Director-General, National Archives of Australia and Vice-President of the UNESCO Memory of the World International Advisory Committee)
- Rosanne Brand (Partner, PwC Australia)
- Caitrine Dunn (Partner, PwC Australia)
- Morgan Marshall (ACT Young Woman of the Year 2019)
- The Hon. Kate Lundy (Former Senator for the ACT, and Former Minister for Multicultural Affairs)
- Dr Marie-Louise Ayres (Director-General of the National Library Australia)
- Ashleigh Streeter-Jones (Gender Advocate and ACT Woman of the Year 2018)
- Mark Kenny (Erstwhile national affairs editor: SMH, The Age, Canberra Times)
Happening Tuesday 21 May from 9 am – 6 pm at the Drama Theatre, Kambri, ANU Campus, Acton.
See Facebook for more information.
River of Art Festival – the art is flowing
Conversations with renowned Australian artists, a fabulous burlesque show, a Japanese drumming workshop and an exhibition of exquisite woodwork – these are just a handful of the 120 events which next month’s River of Art Festival will have on offer.
Running from 17 – 27 May, this south coast festival celebrates art in all its forms from Durras in the north to Bermagui in the south.
Wendy Sharpe, one of Australia’s most awarded and accomplished artists, will officially open the festival and the ‘River of Dreams’ exhibition at the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre (the BAS) in Moruya on Friday 17 May.
The festival will feature an Art Trail with 30 Open Studios where you can meet artists in their own spaces and see or purchase their work. A further 30 artists have partnered with local businesses to be part of Art on Parade, showcasing their work in shop-fronts.
A highlight of the festival will be the burlesque and cabaret show, Kinema Kabaret, on Saturday 18 May. There will also be another 17 or so musical events throughout the Festival including the Busking Championships in Narooma.
Artists in Conversation is a new event this year giving festival-goers an opportunity to hear artists talk about their work over delicious food. Archibald prize winner, Wendy Sharpe, will be in Conversation at The River restaurant, Moruya on Sunday, 19 May. Graham Fransella, a four-time winner of the Wynne watercolour prize will be in Conversation at the Sandbar, Batemans Bay, on Saturday, 25 May.
Happening 17 – 27 May across various locations on the South Coast.
The full festival program and booking details for each of the events can be found on the River of Art Festival website.
AUTHOR TALK WITH MEG KENEALLY: FLED
Already optioned for a film, Meg Keneally’s first solo novel, Fled – based on the extraordinary life of convict Mary Bryant – tells the historical adventure of the only female convict to successfully escape the colony.
About the book, Fled
Jenny Trelawney is no ordinary thief. Forced by poverty to live in the forest, she becomes a successful highwaywoman – until her luck runs out.
Transported to Australia, Jenny must tackle new challenges and growing responsibilities. When famine hits the new colony, Jenny becomes the leader in a grand plot of escape, but is survival any more certain in a small open boat on an unknown ocean?
Happening Tuesday 21 from 6 pm – 7 pm at the National Library of Australia.
For more information visit stickytickets.com.au
WOODCUT WORKSHOPS WITH JULIAN LAFFAN
Join artist Julian Laffan in this weekend workshop exploring the popular relief printing technique of woodcut. Whether you are a new maker, a dabbler, or an experienced printmaker looking to develop your skills, this course will enable you to take on new explorations.
Julian offers a carefully designed course exploring the traditions and exciting future of engaging with the medium of wood to communicate your own personal story. Bring three items of meaning as a springboard to develop your ideas and artistic expression.
Tickets: Members $280, Non-members $340, Non-members Concession $320.
Happening Saturday 25 – Sunday 26 May from 10 am – 4 pm at Megalo Print Studio and Gallery
For more information visit megalo.org.
GUIDED TOURS OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA
Visiting the National Library of Australia? Take a tour and see a side of the Library most visitors never experience. Whether this is your first visit or the next of many, you can learn more about the Library and its exhibitions by joining a free guided tour. Tours are offered by trained Volunteer Guides who have a passion for sharing their knowledge of the Library and its collections. Your Guide will welcome the opportunity to introduce you to the National Library, its collections and the stories of Australia.
Treasures Gallery – Daily at 11.30am. Take a tour and come face-to-face with some of the Library’s greatest treasures and Australia’s greatest stories.
Behind The Scenes – Thursdays at 2 pm. Take a tour to visit enormous stacks where the books are stored and learn about strange curiosities in the Library’s collection that have been acquired over more than a century of collecting.
Discover your National Library – Saturdays at 2 pm. Join a Library guide for a journey around the building and discover the stories in the Reading Rooms and public spaces.
For more detailed information visit the website.
FRIDAY WITH A FRIEND
An engaging tour of the NGA collection for people with dementia and their carers. This event is free however it is recommended that participants register interest.
Happening 10.30am – 11.30am every Friday at the National Gallery of Australia, Parkes.
See the website for more information.
Art for lunch
Drop into 30-minute weekly talks or creative activities interpreting works of art in the NGA’s collection.
Check our website for further details. This event is free but bookings are essential.
Happening Thursday 14 Feburary until Thursday 28 November, every Thursday from 12:45-1:15pm at the National Gallery of Australia.
See nga.gov.au for more information.
Happy and Glorious
The Queen’s Visit in 1954. The phrase conjures up memories of a young Queen in summer dresses and ball gowns, crowds of Australians excitedly waving flags and charming tableaus spelling out heartfelt messages.
Old Parliament House was central to the royal tour while the Queen was in Canberra. The Queen alighted from the Daimler and walked up the front steps in her coronation gown to rousing cheers. She was escorted through King’s Hall by a very proud Prime Minister Menzies to attend the State Banquet. In her most formal duty, the Queen opened the 20th Parliament in the Senate Chamber. A room in the President of the Senate’s suite was redecorated and furnished for her private use while she was in the house.
Relive the memories of her visit at the Happy and Glorious exhibition. Enter the very room the Queen used while she was at Old Parliament House.
Happening until Thursday 16 January 2020 daily at the Museum of Australian Democracy.
See moadoph.gov.au for more information.
BEHIND THE SCENES TOURS AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE
Discover the stories behind the building on a special tour of Parliament House. Learn how the building’s impressive architecture is symbolic of the national identity and gain a rare view into private areas.
These tours run only on non-sitting days (except Christmas Day and when seasonal tours are running). Visit the website for more information.
It is recommended that you arrive at least 20 minutes before your tour or event for screening and check-in as places are limited to 10 participants. tours operate for 55 mins.
Happening now until Saturday 31 August at 10 am, 12 pm and 3 pm with a cost fee of $25 per adult, $ 20 per child and $20 for a concession fee.
See aph.gov.au for more information.
CHANGING LIVES WITH SCIENCE
The 2019 Canberra Speaker Series held across the year at the iconic Shine Dome.
Throughout this series listen to remarkable science stories that haven’t yet been told. Stories of innovation, research, breakthroughs, and how science is solving the big challenges of our time.
Happening now until Tuesday 10 December from 5:30 pm – 7 pm with a cost of $ 15.
See science.org.au for more information.
MARION HALL BEST: INTERIORS
Described as electrifying, vital and avant-garde, Marion Hall Best was the most flamboyant Australian interior designer of the 1950s through to the 1970s.
Her schemes were unashamedly modern at a time when other interior designers preferred a subdued palette and period furniture. She claimed that “gentle, soft colours…are not restful, but dreary, sapping the energy and the mind”; by contrast, “bright clear colours challenge the mind.”
Presented by CMAG, Marion Hall Best: Interiors is a travelling exhibition from Sydney Living Museums.
Happening until Saturday 15 June from 10 am – 4 pm at Canberra Museum and Gallery.
See cmag.com.au for more information.
MOUNT STROMLO PUBLIC ASTRONOMY NIGHT
Mount Stromlo Observatory in conjunction with the Canberra Astronomical Society invite the Canberra community to attend the public observing nights of 2019. Come and see the rings of Saturn, the craters of the moon, and beautiful star clusters and nebulae.
On the night attendees will be taken on a ‘tour of the universe’ with talks by astronomers from Mt. Stromlo Observatory and observations on several telescopes.
Bookings are essential and entry is by gold coin donation. Warm clothing is recommended.
Happening at various times until 27 September from 7 pm – 9 pm at Mt Stromlo Observatory.
See eventbrite.com.au for more information.
OUTDOORS
Image: VisitCanberra
Critters of the Eucalypt Forest
Take a short walk with a ranger and learn about the potoroos and other important inhabitants of the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve Eucalypt Forest and get back in time for “Koalas in the Canopy”.
This wildlife walk is suitable for all ages, there are no bookings required and the cost is included in the Reserve entry fee.
Available Saturdays, 2 pm – 2.45 pm until 29 June. Meet at the koala enclosure in the Eucalypt Forest.
Find out more at tidbinbilla.act.gov.au
YOGA BY THE LAKE
Yoga by the Lake is perfect for all experience levels and aims to bring together the yoga community in a beautiful location at Bowen Park in Barton.
With a class every Thursday, it’s a BYO mat event. Entry is free with donations welcome. All ages and experience welcome.
Every Thursday evening from 6 pm at Bowen Park, Bowen Drive, Barton.
See Facebook for more information.
Koalas in the Canopy
From 2.45 pm – 3.15 pm every Saturday until 29 June you can search for koalas and enjoy a ranger-guided walk through the tall eucalypt forest at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Hear a ranger’s story or two about these fascinating marsupials.
Meet at the Eucalypt Forest car park. Normal entry fees to Tidbinbilla apply. No bookings required for Koalas in the Canopy.
Find out more at tidbinbilla.act.gov.au.
KIDS
DRESSUP: CHANGE THE WORLD
Discover the incredible journeys of some of the world’s most inspiring people, taking the time to walk in their shoes in DressUP: Change the World.
Connect with the lives of historical and contemporary figures, including Frida Kahlo, Adam Goodes, Beyoncé, and many others, by dressing up in their most iconic outfits.
Immerse yourself in their stories of triumph as they go from ordinary people to visionary leaders who have made a difference in the world. Listen to their stories and learn about the challenges they overcame to leave their mark.
Visitors can also tell their own story in the new Zine Lounge. Whether you prefer writing or sketching, the Zine Lounge lets you carve out a space for your voice to be heard.
This engaging exhibition space provides a bold and quirky environment that will inspire young people and asks them “How will you change the world?”
On until 31 December 2019 at the Museum of Australian Democracy Old Parliament House.
See the website for more information.
LITTLE GRIFFINS
The National Capital Authority’s popular and entertaining Little Griffins program for children four years and under and their parents and carers is back for 2019, every Friday from 10 am – 11 am at the National Capital Exhibition, Regatta Point.
The free, fun and interactive session will include building with DUPLO, songs, stories, and games. No bookings required – just come along!
Happening every Friday from 1 am at the National Capital Exhibition, Regatta Point.
Visit nca.gov.au for more information.
PLAYUP
After an exciting transformation, the imaginative family space in the Museum of Australian Democracy has all-new hands-on activities to educate, excite and challenge young minds.
This creative exhibition space celebrates the role of children in our community and provides a welcoming environment for families to engage in the rights and responsibilities of children through imagination, discovery, role-play and fun.
Happening every day from 9 am – 5 pm at the Museum of Australian Democracy, King George Terrace, Parkes. Entry costs vary.
Visit the website for more details.
LEAP INTO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY
Your local library is a treasure trove…not only are there free books and resources, there are regular amazing events! Giggle & Wiggle with your little ones (up to two years) and help them learn through language play using interactive rhymes, songs, games and stories.
Looking to improve your English and make new friends, then head along to your local library for one of the informal English conversation groups. For more events and info check them out here.
EXHIBITIONS
The Dressmaker Sarah Snook (Trudy), Hayley Magnus (Prudence), Amanda Woodhams (Nancy), Tracy Harvey (Lois) and Rebecca Gibney (Muriel). Photographer: Ben King.
THE DRESSMAKER COSTUME EXHIBITION
From 1950s Dungatar to 2019 Canberra, the original costumes from the hit film The Dressmaker will be on display at the NFSA from 18 April 2019.
Audiences will be able to go ‘behind the seams’ of a diverse range of elegant vintage fashion worn by Hollywood stars and home-grown acting talents including Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Sarah Snook, Judy Davis, Rebecca Gibney and more.
The exhibition, designed by Marion Boyce, features a spectacular range of haute couture worn by the film’s stars.
The Dressmaker Costume Exhibition celebrates the artistry of the film’s sumptuous designs, as well as the transformational power of fashion.
Showing from Thursday 18 April until Sunday 18 August from 10 am – 4 pm at the National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton.
See nfsa.gov.au for more information.
Inked: Australian Cartoons
Inked features a selection of the best cartoons from the National Library of Australia’s extensive collections.
The exhibition draws from over 14,000 cartoons by dozens of artists, from before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 up to the present. Each work is a time capsule, offering a snapshot of Australian life.
Visitors will be captivated by the works on display by many greats of Australian cartooning, including Will Dyson, Judy Horacek, Michael Leunig, David Low, Phil May, Alan Moir, Bruce Petty, Martin Sharp, Cathy Wilcox and many more.
INKED: PLAY
Come and see the famous Gumnut Babies going off to war. Create your own cartoon or draw a protest sign to hang on our display wall. Get stuck into a book. Find all the hidden Inkie the Echidnas and explore whether the world is doomed or domed.
Inked Play is open daily as part of Inked: Australian Cartoons. Find it by following Inkie the Echidna.
Open 10 am to 5 pm every day from 7 March–21 July 2019
The Historical Expression of Chinese Art: Calligraphy and Painting from the National Museum of China
Calligraphy and painting are two treasures of traditional Chinese culture. For thousands of years artists have produced works that have sustained the practice of China’s most revered art and provided cultural nourishment for the Chinese people.
This Australian-first exhibition explores the breadth and tradition of Chinese calligraphy and painting through artworks from the National Museum of China’s collection. See exquisite paintings by three Chinese modern artists — Xie Yun, Xiao Lang and Wang Naizhuang —and an extraordinary 20-metre-long replica 18th-century scroll documenting Emperor Qianlong’s 1751 tour to the southern provinces.
A mesmerising and immersive animation brings the story of the scroll and its historical figures to life in intricate three-dimensional detail.
The National Museum of Australia’s Harvest of Endurance pictorial scroll, painted in the traditional gong bi style and representing two centuries of Chinese contact with, and migration to, Australia forms a companion element of the exhibition, with eight of its 50 metres on display.
This exhibition is part of a cultural exchange with the National Museum of China.
Free entry.
Showing until 28 July 2019 at the National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton.
See nma.gov.au/chinese-art for more information.
WOOD + YU
Wood + Yu is a duo exhibition featuring a painter and a gold and silversmith jeweller.
Visitors will experience Canberra’s tiniest gallery transformed into a flora and fauna oasis where nature and culture is the inspiration behind the artworks.
Thomas Wood and Boya Yu were awarded the Gallery of Small Things Emerging Artist Support Scheme awards through the ANU School of Art and Design. This award assists visual arts graduates to have an exhibition in a gallery, create new works and spark their emerging career.
This special exhibition is held once a year in May / June for three weeks, 7 days a week.
Happening Friday 17 May until Sunday 2 June from 11 am – 4 pm at the Gallery of Small Things.
See galleryofsmallthings for more information.
CRAFT ACT: RHIZOMING: LANGUAGE OF PRINT AND PLACE
Rhizoming; language of print and place aims to explore the entanglement of nature, place and culture through a woodcut installation and accompanying offshoots based on artists books and objects.
The works respond to the patterns and rhythms of a suburban beach on the Derwent River in Hobart. The exhibition aims to creatively explore, through printmaking and multiples, Deleuze’s theory that rhizomes pertain to a map that is always detachable, connectable, reversible, modifiable and has multiple entryways and exits with its own lines of flight.
Happening 16 May – 6 July at multiple times at Craft ACT.
See craftact for more information.
CRAFT ACT: TAKE TIME
Cheryl Thornton | Daniel Edwards | Diana Wood-Conroy | Dimity Kidston | Ema Shin | Patsy Payne | Rachel Hine | Suzanne Knight | Tim Gresham | Valerie Kirk
A group exhibition investigating why artists choose to work in the time consuming medium of woven tapestry in a time poor contemporary world.
Happening 16 May – 6 July at multiple times at Craft ACT.
See craftact for more information.
ABORIGINAL ART EXHIBITION AT 73 NORTHBOURNE
Small collection of six aboriginal artworks, located in the ground floor lobby of 73 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra. Exhibit curated and supplied by Heidi Castro of Art Index, and includes pieces designed by prominent artists including
Minnie Pwerle
Judy Watson Napangardi
Lilly Kelly Napangardi
Gloria Petyarre
This exhibition will rotate every 6-12 months.
Happening now until December from 9 am until 5 pm at 73 Northbourne.
See 73northbourne.com for more information.
BERDER. GABA. URRKNGA. WANTJA. EXHIBITION AT NISHI GALLERY
A group exhibition by Erub Arts, Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Hermannsburg Potters and Ernabella Arts.
Berder. Gaba. Urrknga. Wantja. presents new ceramics from Indigenous artists living in remote areas across Australia. The exhibition represents a north to south journey across the land; from Darnley Island in the most north-eastern part of Torres Strait Islands (Erub Arts), to Cardwell in Queensland (Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre), to Ntaria in Northern Territory (Hermannsburg Potters), to the Musgrave Ranges in the far north-west of South Australia (Ernabella Arts). Together, these four art centres make up the Remote Communities Ceramic Network.
The title of the exhibition describes the closest word for ‘clay’ from each art centre. Berder is a Meriam (Torres Strait Islands) word for ‘mud’. Gaba is a Girramay, Jirrbal and Gulnay (Queensland) word for ‘white clay’; one of four ochre colours used to paint traditional objects. Urrknga is a Western Aranda (Northern Territory) word for ‘clay or dirty mud’. Wantja is a Pitjantjatjara (South Australia) word for ‘the hard, moist earth; the first sign of water when digging a soakage well’.
Berder. Gaba. Urrknga. Wantja. depicts a range of narratives; stories of adaptation, social shifts and continuing connection to place.
Happening now until June 1 from 11 am – 6.30 pm at Nishi Gallery.
See nishigallery for more information.
THE DRESSMAKER – FRIDAY FLOOR TALKS
Catch an evening viewing of The Dressmaker Costume Exhibition and join NFSA for a night of 1950s fashion and fun!
Come dressed in your finest vintage wear, or bring a prized piece for appraisal by an NFSA curator, catch a swing dance demonstration (and learn a step or two) and more to be announced – all to the backdrop of our swinging retro vinyl DJ.
Happening now until Friday 16 August from 1 pm – 3 pm at the National Film and Sound Archive.
See nfsa for more information.
COUNCIL COLLECTION – PEOPLE AND PLACES
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council holds a significant collection of over 60 artworks, many produced by local artists of the region. The collection consists of artworks acquired through the Council sponsored Art prize, and other artworks acquired by or gifted to Council.
This exhibition showcases a selection of works that highlight the region and its people.
Happening now until Saturday 25 May at The Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre.
See theq for more information.
I HOPE YOU GET THIS: RAQUEL ORMELLA
I hope you get this: Raquel Ormella brings together a selection of new and recent work by one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists. The exhibition includes a wide variety of media, and particularly draws on Ormella’s experimental textile works, exploring key themes that the artist has consistently developed in her work: social and environmental activism; human and animal relationships; nationalism and national identity.
These recurrent interests are brought together by a consistent engagement with the artist’s voice. Rather than being the site of authority, Ormella’s voice simultaneously expresses an aspiration for connection, while remaining uncertain about whether the communication will work.
Happening until Sunday 9 June from 10 am – 5 pm.
See dhg.anu.edu.au for more information.
Beautiful Weeds and Other Obsessions by Melinda Heal
Every now and then we are fortunate to encounter an artist who opens our eyes to new ways of thinking. In ‘Beautiful Weeds and Other Obsessions’, artist Melinda Heal does just that when she dares us to reconsider our ideas about invasive plants and common garden rocks.
In the latest exhibition at CSIRO Discovery, weedy plants that are normally overlooked or cursed are re-presented to us with beauty and grace, using traditional Japanese dyeing techniques.
In other works, Melinda has painted native birdlife using pigments she’s made from local plants and rocks.
The colours she achieves are so rich and vibrant they might even inspire you to take a second look the next time mud is trod into the carpet.
Showing until 14 June at the CSIRO Discovery Gallery, North Science Road, Acton from 9am-4.30pm Monday-Friday.
Admission is free.
Painting on Country
Five senior artists from Tjungu Palya art centre in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia have reinvigorated their ancestors’ practice of painting directly onto the land. Their work, captured in a series of large-format photographs, is both timeless and transient, bridging the ancient and the contemporary.
Exhibition on show at the National Museum of Australia until 30 September 2019. Free entry.
More information at nma.gov.au.
onetoeight: Australia’s first prime ministers
Visually arresting, humorous and thoughtful, Canberra-based artist Alison Alder reinterprets and reinvigorates portraits of the first eight prime ministers in onetoeight, a contemporary art exhibition. Developed from Alder’s fellowship with the Australian Prime Ministers Centre and motivated by the early period of our nation’s democracy, onetoeight brings these important historical figures a little bit closer to us.
Inspired by a picture of Stanley Bruce’s cabinet where they were all wearing a lapel badge, Alder presents each prime minister wearing at least one badge to reference a key aspect of their time in office. Neither explicitly positive or negative, we are left to form our own opinion.
Through the portraits, intense patterned wallpaper honouring the prime minister’s wives and a Term-O-Meter animation tracking the changing political hues of individuals and governments, Alder gives us a sense of our nation’s history that is lively, dynamic and parallels the present day.
Showing at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Find out more at moadoph.gov.au.
FORM BEYOND FUNCTION: NIGEL LENDON’S PLASTIC CAMERAS
Alongside his practice as an artist and art-historian, Nigel Lendon has been an inveterate and purposeful collector of, amongst other things, conceptual art, Afghan War rugs and over 200 plastic cameras.
In the 1970s and ‘80s Lendon was interested in the intersections of high culture and mass communication. He discovered flea markets swamped with plastic artefacts discarded by previous generations and asked, how was it that plastic, once heralded as the “material of the future”, so rapidly fell out of fashion to become cheap and ‘nasty’?
Lendon’s plastic camera collection has remained cocooned in storage until now. It has emerged when plastic and the waste it generates is now regarded as a new challenge for the survival of life on the planet.
Happening until 27 July from 10 am – 5 pm at Canberra Museum and Gallery, Cnr London Circuit and Civic Square.
See cmag.com.au for more information.
ARBORESCENT: DRAWINGS BY ELIZABETH CROSS
Elizabeth Cross is better known as an art historian and curator, but she has nurtured her remarkable talent for drawing out of the public eye. This exhibition consists of twenty drawings of trees – they are for the most part denuded of foliage and it is their nervy, sinuous, gesticulating grace that translates so well into the language of drawing.
Western art history is full of great artists who have been fascinated by trees and have been inspired to make works which have an analogy with the light-loving, profusely spreading, graceful unities that trees epitomise. There is a tradition stretching from Albrecht Dürer and Claude Lorrain to Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse and Mondrian which establishes the most exacting criteria in the field of drawing. That these drawings by Elizabeth Cross can withstand any such comparison is surely the measure of her formidable achievement.
Happening until Sunday 9 June from 10 am – 5 pm at Drill Hall Gallery.
See dhg.anu.edu.au for more information.
A Tale of Two Villages
A Tale of Two Villages tells the story of the Hall-Ginninderra district from Aboriginal times, through the early pioneer farming settlement at Palmerville and then Ginninderra, to the establishment of the village of Hall from 1881.
Showing at Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre, Victoria Street, Hall each Thursday 9 am-12 pm and Sunday 12 pm-4 pm. Find out more at museum.hall.act.au.
Mr Squiggle Exhibition – Royal Australian Mint
To coincide with the recently released 2019 Mr Squiggle 60th anniversary coin set, the Royal Australian Mint is hosting an exhibition to commemorate Mr Squiggle and his creator, Norman Hetherington.
The exhibition includes children’s letters to Mr Squiggle, script books, original artwork and a portrait loaned from the National Portrait Gallery of Australia ‘Norman Hetherington OAM (and friends)’ by artist Kate Rae.
The exhibition also showcases one of the most loved and longest running Australian children’s programs, honouring Norman Hetherington, the brilliant man behind the iconic puppets and television series
Happening until 28 July 2019 at the Royal Australian Mint.
See www.ramint.gov.au for more information.
Maori Markings: Ta Moko at the NGA
By marking the skin and face with connecting patterns, Māori Tā Moko artists tell stories of prestige, authority and identity. To receive and wear Moko is a great cultural privilege. Captivating photographs, paintings and sculptures trace the history of Tā Moko from the 18th century to its contemporary resurgence, including illustrations created during Captain Cook’s first voyages to Māori Chiefs.
This exhibition includes a unique art event featuring Moko artists engaging in a live demonstration of this phenomenal practice. Free.
Happening until Sunday 25 August 2019 daily at the National Gallery of Australia.
See nga.gov.au for more information.
Magna Carta—An Australian Story
Magna Carta is one of the most famous and significant documents for democracy and human rights around the world.
First written in 1215, it set down rules limiting the power of the monarchy and safeguarding basic human rights and freedoms. Over its long history it has been reinterpreted as an icon of justice and liberty. In this exhibition, created with the assistance of the British Library, explore the history and relevance of Magna Carta from an Australian perspective.
The Magna Carta: An Australian Story exhibition at the Museum of Australian Democracy takes you on a journey through the history of the Magna Carta. You will discover the spirit and legacy of the Magna Carta and learn the significance it plays in Australia’s democratic history.
Happening until Monday 3 February 2020 daily at Museum of Australian Democracy.
See moadoph.gov.au for more information.
DRESSUP: CHANGE THE WORLD
Discover the incredible journeys of some of the world’s most inspiring people, taking the time to walk in their shoes in DressUP: Change the World.
Connect with the lives of historical and contemporary figures, including Frida Kahlo, Adam Goodes, Beyoncé, and many others, by dressing up in their most iconic outfits.
Immerse yourself in their stories of triumph as they go from ordinary people to visionary leaders who have made a difference in the world. Listen to their stories and learn about the challenges they overcame to leave their mark.
Visitors can also tell their own story in our new Zine Lounge. Whether you prefer writing or sketching, the Zine Lounge lets you carve out a space for your voice to be heard.
This engaging exhibition space provides a bold and quirky environment that will inspire young people and asks them “How will you change the world?”
Happening until 31 December at the Museum of Australian Democracy Old Parliament House.
See the website for more information.
BREAKING THROUGH: 75 YEARS OF WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT
Why did it take so long for women to get elected? And once they were there, what was their experience within the parliament?
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first women elected to Australian Federal Parliament, Breaking Through exhibition at the Museum of Australian Democracy explores the journeys of 11 trailblazers who were the first to hold particular parliamentary positions.
These are stories of resilience, perseverance and ground-breaking achievements.
From 1943 when Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons were the first women elected to parliament through to today where woman have held the highest positions in all areas of parliament, including Prime Minister.
Breaking Through exhibition, recognises the significant contribution these women made in Australia’s democracy. Look back on their lives, uncover their motivations and what they view as their greatest achievements.
Told through never before seen portraits, each a unique representation by a young artist, and powerful stories of change-makers breaking through, this exhibition will inspire visitors to think about the role of women in parliament, what it took to get there and whether we’ve come far enough.
Showing until 28 August from 9 am – 5 pm daily at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.
See the website for more information.
BEHIND THE LINES 2018
Venture down the rabbit-hole for Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Political Cartoons 2018, with this year’s theme Curiouser and Curiouser inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Kids of all ages can visit the topsy-turvy world of Wonderland at MoAD for dress ups, games and adventures.
Step through the Looking Glass and dress up as the colourful and curious characters of Wonderland including Alice, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat or the Mad Hatter.
There is also a wall of crazy mirrors that will stretch or shrink you and games with a special Wonderland twist that will delight the whole family.
Older kids can go on a cartooning trail through the exhibition, following clues and learning about the art of political cartooning.
While the children are entertained in Wonderland, parents can grin, smirk and grimace at the cartoons that explore the unexpected twists and turns of politics in 2018.
For more information visit moadoph.gov.au/family.
DEMOCRACY. ARE YOU IN?
Your voice, your hands and even your feet have the power to be heard. Our freedoms and our way of life have been built on the foundation of democracy. This living system is sustained through the participation of each and all of us. Democracy is sustained by you.
Australian democracy is a work in progress. Curiously, at a time of stability and unparalleled economic growth, confidence in our political and social institutions is at its lowest point in decades. But giving up on them is not the answer. Our democracy needs us. Are you in?
Open daily at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Find out more at moadoph.gov.au.
PLAYUP
Discover PlayUP – The Right to Have an Opinion and Be Heard, where kids can explore the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child in a playful way. Adults can even join in the fun too!
From listening pods and a roleplay Kindness Café to a fuzzy felt wall and craft activities, PlayUP has a range of exciting and immersive experiences that flip the traditional idea of museums completely on its head.
See the website for more information. Free after museum admission. Open from 9 am to 5 pm daily at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Cost: Free.
THE ANTARCTICA EXPERIENCE: A VIRTUAL REALITY ADVENTURE
Antarctica as you’ve never seen it before
Travel to Antarctica using the latest 360-degree virtual reality technology and follow in the footsteps of the scientists researching this mysterious continent.
Explore Antarctica from a helicopter cockpit; cruise through icy waters to meet a penguin colony; visit Davis Station and learn about daily life in these harsh conditions; and marvel at the spectacular Southern Lights.
An immersive theatre experience only at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra.
On until 26 June at the National Museum of Australia, Acton.
For tickets and session times visit nma.gov.au/antarctica.
AFTER THE WAR EXHIBITION, AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
After the war is a new exhibition exploring the personal stories of hope, loss, and love of ordinary Australians whose lives have been altered by war, from those who have served to loved ones left behind. Take an intimate journey of the personal costs and consequences of war, unfolding over 100 years from 1918 to 2018.
Entry is free as always, and this event runs until 11 July. For more information, check out the War Memorial website.
Finders keepers: collectors and their stories
Peek into the personal collections of five fascinating collectors. Diverse, rich and often surprising, these collections are brimming with stories. Dedicated to the act of preserving and collecting, the exhibition tells the stories of individuals through the objects they chose to safeguard revealing extraordinary stories about the ideas, individuals and events that have shaped the nation.
From cherished mementoes of political careers, to well-worn protest T-shirts, each collection takes you on a journey through Australia’s democratic history. Families can explore the exhibition and discover what makes collectors tick with fun, hands-on Finders Keepers Collector Kits.
Finders Keepers asks why do people collect, why do museums collect and what do our collections say about us? With 269 objects on display, the most in the history of the museum, Finders Keepers unveils the collector in us all and invites you to share your own collection story.
Showing until 31 August at the Museum of Australian Democracy, Parkes.
See the website for more information.
NGA TALKS AND WORKSHOPS
Talks and workshops cater for a range of different age groups.
For full details visit the NGA website.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.