At the M16 Artspace, Step into the Limelight the annual art exhibition showcasing visual arts excellence from over 500 ACT public education students, ranging from early learning classrooms and special schools through to year 12. Step into the Limelight runs Wednesday 24th July until Sunday 4th August. M16 is at Blaxland Crescent, Griffith and Gallery hours are Wednesday – Sunday, 12 – 5pm.

The Scandinavian Film Festival is coming to Canberra. The festival showcases the best in new Nordic cinema from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden with a wide ranging mix of drama, comedy and Nordic thrillers. The festival is screening at the Palace Electric cinema in New Acton from Thursday 25th July – 14th August. Further information and bookings available from the Palace cinemas website.

The latest Canberra Rep theatre production is William Golding’s classic novel Lord of the Flies. A plane crashes on a desert island. A group of schoolboys are the only survivors. As they begin to form a new society in this tropical paradise, the darkness inside them shows how thin the layer of civilisation can be. Lord of the Flies will be performed from Thursday 25th July till Saturday 10th August. The Canberra Rep theatre is at Repertory Ln in Acton. Further information and performance times are available from their website.

At the National Library of Australia Winter Tails. Join Genevieve Jacobs as she delivers a presentation for The National Foundation for Australian Women and the Australian Women’s Archives Program. The event will take place on Sunday 28th July at 2:00pm. For more information visit the National Library of Australia website.

At the Megalo print studio Moving in Circles by Richard Harding features works ranging from figurative expressionist woodcuts to photographic screen prints, that highlight ongoing topics of concern from nuclear disarmament to human rights focusing on various LGBTQIA+ positions . Moving in Circles will run until Saturday 24th August. The Megalo print studio is at Wentworth St, Kingston. Opening hours 9.30am – 5pm, Tuesday – Saturday.

The next Lakeside at 5 live music series will be the Harry and Imogene Duo: an exciting new double-bass and vocal duo from the ANU, School of Music, performing fresh new arrangements of traditional standards as well as songs composed specifically for bass and vocal duos. The concert will be at Tuggeranong Arts Centre from 5:30pm on Friday 26th July. For information on the event and upcoming Lakeside at 5 sessions visit the Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s website.

At Strathnairn Arts Over Time: is a retrospective exhibition of works by former Strathnairn Arts studio artist, Nancy Tingey. Over Time will run until Sunday 11th August. Strathnairn Arts is located at Stockdill Drive, Holt. Gallery hours are 10-4pm Wednesday to Sunday.

The Children’s Medical Research Institute is hosting a High Tea on 4 August at the National Museum of Australia in the Peninsula Room, from 1pm – 4pm. The event will include guest Speaker ACT Australian of the Year Jo Farrell, Liz Nair as Master of Ceremonies and entertainment from Harpist Madeleine Johnson.

The Canberra Contemporary Arts Space, Lakeside has two new exhibitions. Firstly, RGB by Kamberri/Canberra-based artist Nicci Haynes features works that explore themes of language and communication, examining how these elements intersect and interact across various analogue and digital media. Then, Unkempt Cognition is Ella Barclay’s first Kamberri/Canberra institutional solo exhibition. Comprising a series of messy and playful luminous installations and photography, that explores common human experiences within connected daily life. Both exhibitions will be on display until the 14th September. The Canberra Contemporary Art Space Lakeside is at Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 5pm.

Then at the Canberra Contemporary Arts Space Manuka, Crepusculum is an exhibition by Sydney-based artist Anton Pulvirenti that reimagines historical images to challenge official narratives around war memory. Crepusculum will be on display from Friday 19th till Sunday 28th July. The Canberra Contemporary Art Space Manuka is at Furneaux Street, Forrest. Gallery hours are Friday to Sunday, 11am – 5pm.

Craft and Design Canberra has three exhibitions. Firstly, Self portrait in the Anthropocene by Rebecca Selleck is an installation that combines curved stainless-steel furniture with intricate bronze work, blown glass, living plants and bodily upholsteries to explore our increasing destruction of natural environments and the inherent hypocrisies of being human.

Then, in Five Dresses for a Wari Goddess Ximena Briceño has created five dresses crafted from titanium, aluminum and cardboard using camelids as a main form of decoration, showcasing Trans-Pacific craft and skill.

And lastly, Chasing Clouds by Jonathon Zalakos employs motifs of cloud-like abstraction, utilising silver inlay on steel to create representational relief work as externalised models of the unconscious in a modern context.

All three exhibitions run from Friday 19 July – Saturday 24 August. Craft & Design Canberra is in the North Building on London Cct in Civic. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturday 12pm -4pm.

The Art in Miniature Group are presenting their 24th Annual Group Exhibition, which will include miniature works created in a range of styles inspired by landscapes through to contemporary still life. Mediums include watercolour, oils, thread painting, collage, mixed media, pencil, pen and ink, scratch board and pastel. The exhibition will be on display at the Raglan Gallery and Cultural Centre Lambie St, Cooma until 18th August. More information is available from the Art in Miniature website.

To celebrate NAIDOC Belco Arts has five new exhibitions from First Nations artists:

Firstly, in Bloodlines Jessika Spencer explores life as a young blak woman, and demonstrates how that is both heavy and light at the same time. Each art piece has an emphasis on decolonization, feminism, matriarchy and at their core, a deep refusal to settle into colonial way.

Then Reclamation: Stories of Thrivival is an eclectic, evocative and unique collection of mixed media works by Wallabindi Dickerson.

Murrook by Krystal Hurst explore the state of happiness through bush dyed fabrics, basketry, and adornments in response to the coastal land and seascapes of Worimi and Biripi Country.

Next, William Walker’s Respecting Country is focused around the Deep, Spiritual Connection his People and his Ancestors have to the Land. He mostly paints landscapes that show what it was like back in the Dreamtime.

And, lastly, Yurwang Bullarn by the Strong Women’s Group is a culmination of the group’s exploring and celebrating their cultural identity and heritage

All five exhibitions run from Friday 12th July until 25th July. Belco Arts Gallery hours are 10am – 4pm, Tuesdays – Sunday.

Straight from the Strait is the name of an upcoming musical set to premiere at the Brisbane Festival in August 2024. This is a tribute to the occurrence on May 8, 1968 where a track laying crew involving mostly Torres Strait Islander workers broke the world record for laying the greatest length of railway in a single day. Join Aunty Ruth Ghee, Uncle Luke Captain, Georgia Corowa and Rhianna Patrick at the National Library of Australia on Wednesday 17 July from 6.00pm for a panel discussion about the details of this performance and why opera was chosen to tell this story. To register and to find out more visit the National Library of Australia website.

At the Australian National Capital Artists Gallery Emotional Landscapes 1 by four Canberra artists explores the philosophical idea of humanity’s place within the natural world. It questions the dichotomy of being apart from nature versus being an integral part of it. The exhibition runs from Wednesday 17th July until Sunday 4th August. The Australian National Capital Artists Gallery is at Rosevear Place, Dickson. Gallery hours Wednesday to Sunday 12–5pm.

Currently at the National Archives of Australia, the 2024 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize. This visiting exhibition brings together a diverse array of artworks that map the intersection of nature, science, and art, through a range of creative mediums. The works of the finalists and prize winners will be on display at the National Archives of Australia at Kings Avenue Parkes, in the Parliamentary Triangle each day from 9am to 5pm until the 27th October. For more information go to the National Archives of Australia website.

At the National Museum of Australia, Tony Armstrong’s Extra-Ordinary Things  is an exhibition of selected objects discovered by ABC personality Tony Armstrong as seen in his ABC five-part TV series. A vintage ute, a novelty cheque, an elite boxing trophy and an unforgettable letter from then Prime Minister Bob Hawke are among the seemingly ordinary objects. The exhibition will be on display until 13 October. The museum is open daily 9am -5pm. Further information available from the National Museum of Australia website.

At the Canberra Potters Gallery, Collections is a group exhibition that explores the tapestry of connections that define us, each thread representing a collection of moments that shape our individual journeys. The exhibition will run from Thursday 11th July until Sunday 4th August. Canberra Potters is at Aspinall St Watson. Gallery hours are 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday and 11am to 3pm Sunday.

At the Grainger Gallery there’s Winter Feast a group exhibition by 16 Canberra and interstate artist celebrating food through their artworks. The Granger gallery is at Dairy Road, Fyshwick opening hours Wed-Sun 11am-5pm.

At Australian Parliament House the Napier Waller Art Prize exhibition. The prize is open to all current and former service personnel in the Australian Defence Force. A panel of art experts and professionals will select the winning work from the shortlist of 17 highly commended entries displayed in this exhibition, which will run at Parliament House until October 13. For more information and to vote for the People’s Choice Award visit the Australian War Memorial’s website.