At the National Museum of Australia, Pompeii  is an exhibition that combines moving soundscapes and large-scale digital projections with over 90 fascinating objects, to recreate life in the ancient city presenting the people of Pompeii as they were before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. On display will be stunning frescoes spanning more than 3 metres, magnificent mosaics, jewellery, sculptures and moving replicas of casts of people who died in the disaster. The exhibition will run from Friday December 13 until May 4 next year. Further information is available from the National Museum of Australia website.

At the National Archives of Australia, 20 Years of Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year: showcases the winning entries from each year of the competition. Visitors can explore how photographic techniques have evolved over the past two decades, from when digital cameras were limited to today’s advanced technologies like smartphones and drones, illustrating how photography is a powerful medium for capturing and understanding our natural world. 20 Years of Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year is on display at the National Archives of Australia each day from 9am to 5pm until April 27 next year.

Canberra Blues Society presents the annual Bucky’s Big Birthday Bash Blues & Roots Charity Gig, featuring eight amazing acts and over nine hours of live blues music. All proceeds will go to Rise Above Capital Region Cancer Relief, which provides financial assistance and support to cancer patients and families residing with them within the ACT, Queanbeyan and surrounds. The concert will be at Harmonie German Club, Narrabundah on Saturday January 11 from 1pm. For more information visit the Canberra Blues Society website.

Belco arts has four new exhibitions:

Firstly, there’s Dear Forests…An open postcard exhibition where artists have been invited from throughout Australia to share in bringing a lens of focus on the world’s forests, the need for their safekeeping and preservation of the wildlife within.

Oikos by Peter McLean emphasises the relational aspect of nature rather than the scenic.  In his drawings and prints trees embrace in pairs, and cluster in thickets, while human figures interact with the landscape with a feeling of reverence and intimacy.

Then in Grounded by the Grounded Collective through drawing and sculpture, the act of making is amplified by each of the three artists in a three-way conversation to produce site-specific works, both collaborative and individual, that overlaps ideas and practice.

And, lastly, Echoes of Absence is Rebecca Tapscott’s cyanotype print wall installation, that explores loss and interconnectedness, drawing from personal and environmental experiences.

All four exhibitions run until 2nd February next year. Belco Arts Gallery hours are 10am–4pm, Tuesday–Sunday.

The Q theatre,  the Queanbeyan performing arts centre, presents Goldilocks and the Three Bears. A beautiful story of friendship and forgiveness, apology and acceptance, with singing and dancing bears and a girl with golden hair. This endearing and lovable musical tale for kids 0-8 will be performed on Wednesday December 18 at 10am, 1pm & 6pm. Further information is available from the Q theatre website.

At Photo Access’s Huw Davies Gallery Concept to Exhibition/Publication/Short Film by Multiple Artists showcases the creative outcomes of three Photo Access workshops: Concept to Exhibition, Concept to Publication, and Concept to Short Film. The exhibition features a series of photographic prints, photo-books, and short films – each reflecting a distinct and personal creative vision; and, will be on display until Saturday December 21. Photo Access is located at Manuka Circuit, Griffith. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm and for further information visit their website.

At the Canberra Contemporary Arts Space Manuka Punk Romantic is the debut solo exhibition by Kamberri/Canberra-based artist Sophie Dumaresq that uses interdisciplinary practices working across photography, video installation, sculpture and performance to bring perspectives of absurdity, queerness and humour to creative and critical robotics. Punk Romantic will be on display from Thursday December 5 until Sunday December 15. The Canberra Contemporary Art Space Manuka is at Furneaux Street, Forrest. Gallery hours are Friday to Sunday, 11am-5pm.

The Grainger Gallery has three new exhibitions: After images of Familiar Tales by Jessica Murtagh; Origins and Destinations by Liz Priestley; and Ancient Rhythm by Melody Suranyi. The Granger gallery is at Dairy Road, Fyshwick. Opening hours Wednesday-Sunday 11am-5pm and for further details visit their website.

At the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House Behind the Lines 2024: the year in political cartoons. This year’s exhibition theme is ‘No guts, no glory’, reflecting a year where the Olympic and Paralympic Games were held, and in Australia’s daily news sporting analogies were drawn between politics and the issues affecting our everyday lives.  Behind the Lines 2024 will run until December 2025.

Canberra Potters is hosting its annual Christmas Fair showcasing the works of local potters and ceramicists. The fair will be held from Friday December 6 to Sunday December 15 from 10am to 4pm daily at the Watson Arts Centre, Aspinall St Watson. More information is available at the Canberra Potters website.

At Rusten House in Queanbeyan there’s Christmas Squared a group exhibition celebrating local and regional artists.The exhibition will be on display from Saturday November 23 until Saturday December 14. Rusten House is at Collett St, Queenbeyan.

Studio Map conducts art classes for children & teens. They will be having an Open Day on  Saturday 9th November from 10am-4pm. Studio Map is located in the M16 Artspace studios at 21 Blaxland Crescent Griffith. For details about the Open Day, as well as their classes and workshops visit their website.

At the Canberra Contemporary Arts Space lakeside there’s Pattern Recognition, a celebration of female and non-binary artists from the ACT region who use abstraction and design principles to explore colour perception and spatial relationships, highlighting the variety of ways artists approach colour, geometry, and form. Pattern Recognition  will be on display until January 25. The Canberra Contemporary Art Space Lakeside  is at Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-5pm.

Tuggeranong Arts Centre has three new exhibitions. Firstly, this year’s Fuse Glass prize winner, renowned glass artist Tom Moore teams up with Canberra based sculptor Tom Buckland and multi award winning stop motion animators Eleanor Evans and Giovanni Aguilar in Objects in Motion. Next, there’s the Messenger’s Group Show. Fueled by a common desire to create; the young people in the Messengers program have spent the year exploring a range of new art-forms including sculpture, printmaking, textiles and more. And lastly, there’s It’s a wrap, a group exhibition of textile and fibre artists from the Canberra region showcasing their design and making skills in the timeless scarf format. All three exhibitions run until December 13. More information is available from the Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s website.

At the Grainger Gallery Neath the vast open sky by Rebecca Rath features paintings inspired by the ACT region. The Granger gallery is at Dairy Road, Fyshwick. Opening hours Wednesday-Sunday 11am-5pm.

At the Canberra Glassworks, Mythica Ignota: Artefacts of the Oscillocene and the Warawana Mythologies by designer Elliat Rich taps into ancient and future ways of seeing the world by using mythology as a framework to nest scientific observation and more-than-human orientated values with artefact and narrative.The exhibition runs from Thursday October 3 until December 15. Canberra Glassworks is at Wentworth Avenue, Kingston. Gallery hours 10am-4pm Wednesday to Sunday.

At the National Gallery of Australia the exhibition Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia is a celebration of First Nations art and cultures, providing a visual dialogue into Australia’s complex histories with over 260 historical and contemporary works of art by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across Australia. Ever Present will be on display until August 2025. Gallery hours are 10am-5pm daily.