Belco Arts has four new exhibitions:
Firstly, Dialogue with Dissonance is a mixed media exhibition of works by a group of local artists exploring our human disposition to live with contradiction.
Then, The Art of Celebration: Reflecting 50 years plus of the Canberra Art Workshop enables the diverse and talented members of Canberra Art Workshop to celebrate their enthusiasm for art making in an exhibition that includes experimental and traditional art using a wide range of media, drawing, painting, pastel, mixed media, and watercolour.
Next, subcultures is an open exhibition curated by Red Saunders that brings to light the rich tapestry of alternative identities, communities, and expressions that flourish outside mainstream society.
And, lastly, Disclosed Impressions highlights the diverse artistic contributions of the Migrant Women’s Art Group in Gungahlin with culturally relevant works that explore colour, composition and personal stories using a wide variety of mediums and techniques.
All four exhibitions will be on display until 1st February next year. Belco Arts Gallery hours are 10am – 4pm, Tuesdays – Sunday.
Photo Access’s Huw Davies Gallery has Sun/Shadow: The Appearance of Pitjantjatjara ‘Hand Talk’ by the Tjuntjuntjara Community Artists and Louise Allerton. This exhibition of collaborative photomedia experiments offers a glimpse into the vibrant and dynamic cultural practice of Marangka wangkapai (hand talk), drawing on years of creative and collaborative research between Allerton and Tjuntjuntjara artists. Sun/Shadow will be on display until Saturday 20th December. Photo Access (is at Manuka Circuit, Griffith.) Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 4pm
The Canberra Choral Society presents A Handel Celebration. Featuring music from Handel’s greatest operas, oratorios, odes and anthems. The concert will take place at Llewellyn Hall on Saturday December 13th at 7.30 pm and will include highly accomplished French Soprano Myriam Arbouz, a 160 voice choir, guest singers from the local community, and a professional orchestra sourced from Canberra’s finest players. For further information visit the Canberra Choral Society website.
ArtSound FM will be hosting its next Summer Garden concert on Sunday 14th December. Featuring folk singer/songwriter Gary Luck performing the songs of a generation, from Gordon Lightfoot to Canberra Classics in the Manuka Arts Centre Gardens next to Manuka Pool from 2-4pm. Tickets are available for $15 through the ArtSound FM website and include a complimentary drink. Otherwise they can be purchased for $20 on the day.
The Luminescence Chamber Singers and the Luminescence Children’s Choir are presenting an evening of uplifting Christmas music from around the world, including Medieval carols, classic Yuletide songs and traditional Nativity hymns. There will be three concerts at the Wesley Music Centre on Friday 12th December at 7:30pm, Saturday 13th December at 6:00pm and Sunday 13th December at 6pm. Further information is available from the Luminescence Chamber Singers website.
The next Jazz Haus Canberra concert will be Rachael Thoms and Tom Fell presenting a double-bill where expressive melodies and bold improvisations collide, as they journey through original contemporary Australian jazz at its most authentic. The concert will be at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre on Saturday 13th December from 7pm. More information is available from their website.
M16 Artspace has four new exhibitions:
Firstly, there’s the M16 Artspace Drawing Prize which presents the works of 25 artists working at the forefront of contemporary art practice.
Then, there’s the fourth M16 Artspace Young Drawers Prize which shines a spotlight on the artistic brilliance of young artists, providing them with a platform to showcase their skills and innovation in the realm of drawing.
Next, Porridgegate: A Breakfast Tragedy is the result of artist Adelaide Worcester’s young son accidentally overloading his porridge bowl in the microwave. Discovering this tiny scene of spilt-over chaos her artist eyes committed it to memory.
And, lastly, the Hook presents new works by Jackson Taylor and Litia Roko, recipients of the 2025 ANU Emerging Artists Support Scheme.
All four exhibitions will run until Sunday 14 December. M16 is at Blaxland Crescent, Griffith and gallery hours are 10am – 4pm, Tuesdays – Sunday.
The Everyman Theatre presents Hand to God. Set in a small-town Texas church, Hand to God follows Jason, a sweet, awkward teenager whose hand puppet Tyrone seems to have developed a mind—and mouth—of its own. When Tyrone goes rogue, all hell breaks loose in the church basement, testing faith, decency, and the limits of puppet behaviour. Hand to God will be staged at the ACT Hub from Wednesday 10th – Saturday 20th December. For further information & performance times visit the ACT Hub website.
The Friends of the Australian National Botanic Garden presents Illuminate. Their 12th annual exhibition will feature plant portraits, close-ups of flowers, birds and insects and intimate landscapes taken within the gardens and across our local region. The Exhibition is on display at the Australian National Botanic Garden’s Visitors Centre until Sunday 14th December.
At the Canberra Contemporary Platform Q1 Close by Litia Roko examines the status of art in algorithmic culture and considers its shifting place within contemporary economies of value. Q1 Close will be on display until Sunday 14th December. The Canberra Contemporary Platform is at Furneaux Street, Manuka. Gallery hours are Friday to Sunday, 11am – 5pm.
At Rusten House in Queanbeyan there’s The Power of Contrast by the Allsorts Collective. A group exhibition that brings together distinctive styles and personal responses to the theme of contrast. The Power of Contrast will be on display until Saturday 13th December and Rusten House is at Collett St in Queenbeyan.
The Kyeema Gallery at Hall has Of Land and Light by Amy Beggs-French and Penny Deacon. The exhibition will be on display until the 20th January. Gallery hours 10:30 am to 5 pm, Thursday to Monday. For further information go to the Capital wines website.
To mark 50 years since the dismissal of the Whitlam government the Museum of Australian Democracy presents The Dismissal: Words that made history. An exhibition about one of the most controversial events in Australian political history that includes handwritten notes, official letters and the original letter of dismissal handed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The Dismissal: Words that made history will run until February next year.
At the Drill Hall Gallery Conjunction is a curated selection of works from the Australian National University Art Collection that creates a generative dialogue, joining artworks from different art historical periods, social and cultural contexts. Conjunction will run until 21st December. The Drill Hall Gallery is at Kingsley St Acton, Opening hours are Weds-Sun 10am -5pm.
Canberra Glassworks has an exhibition by Gabriella Bisetto that explores the profound connection between the human body and breath through the physical act of blowing glass. The exhibition will be on display until 25th January. Canberra Glassworks is at Wentworth Avenue, Kingston. Gallery hours 10am – 4pm Wednesday to Sunday.
Tuggeranong Arts Centre has four new exhibitions.
Firstly, Curious Birds brings together work by four artists known for creating quirky and whimsical bird art pieces and incorporating found objects and materials in their work.
Next, Ordinary Extraordinary by Cam Michael explores the everyday by using the mediums of glass, drawing and textiles to reflect on the idea of home, its comforts, the value of the familiar, the meaning of keepsakes and things we collect.
Then, Faces of the South Photo celebrates the people and places of Tuggeranong through a series of portraits captured in a pop-up portrait booth that has culminated in a black and white portrait exhibition.
And lastly, Felted Fiends and Friendly Beasts features works created by participants in the Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s Messenger program who have brought their imaginations to life through fabric monsters, comics, dioramas, polymer clay creatures, and wire sculptures.
All four exhibitions will be on display until 13th December. For more information visit the Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s website.
At the Canberra Contemporary Masked Memory by Rosalind Lemoh features works that explore fragility, power and gender through sculptural objects. Masked Memory will be on display until 24th January. The Canberra Contemporary is at Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes. Gallery hours are Friday to Sunday, 11am – 5pm.
Belco Arts presents A place and time is an offsite curated group exhibition of 7 artists that looks through multiple perspectives at personal narratives, culture, identity and implications of living here and now. A place and time will be on display until 14th December at the Suburban Land Agency Display Village and Innovation Precinct which is located at Klaus Moje Street in Whitlam. Exhibition opening hours are Thursday – Sunday 10am – 4pm.
At the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House Gurindji Freedom Banners: From the darkness into the light is a striking exhibition that tells the story of the Gurindji and neighbouring peoples, who on 23 August 1966 led by Vincent Lingiari – walked off Wave Hill Station in the Northern Territory. Their demands for fair working conditions and the return of their traditional lands sparked a landmark shift, leading to the first handback of Aboriginal land on 16 August 1975 that paved the way for the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. For further information on the Gurindji Freedom Banners exhibition visit the Museum of Australian Democracy website.
The National Library of Australia presents 1975: Living in the Seventies an exhibition that brings together a range of objects exploring politics, conflicts and disasters, as well as popular culture, food, fashion and sport, in a colourful celebration of this amazing year and reflects on what it was like to live in the seventies. 1975: Living in the Seventies will be on display until 1st February next year. The National Library is open from 9am-5pm daily and for more information visit the National Library of Australia website.
At the Canberra Museum and Gallery Taglietti: Life in Design explores the life, philosophy, and legacy of one of Australia’s most original architects Enrico Taglietti, a visionary whose design principles shaped modern Australian architecture and left an indelible imprint on Canberra. Taglietti: Life in Design will be on display until February 22 next year. The Canberra Museum and Gallery Cnr London Circuit and City Square, Canberra City. Opening hours are Monday-Friday: 10am-4pm & 12-4pm on Saturday-Sunday.
