Six blockbuster exhibitions for Summer 2020
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The weather outside is frightful, Canberra. So why not go gallery hopping?
Let’s face it. Normally our ‘summer blockbuster’ editorial is about places to escape the heat and entertain kids during the school holidays.
But this year it’s also an important resource for those seeking respite from the smoke haze and hazardous air quality.
Many of these exhibitions are free and all feature air conditioning—however, we suggest you check the institution’s individual websites before visiting, as some have had to close sporadically due to air quality.
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
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EYE TO EYE
You may have been told that it’s rude to stare—but there are no such restrictions when it comes to portraiture.
Eye to Eye is a summer Portrait Gallery Collection remix arranged by degree of eye contact—from turned away with eyes closed all the way through to right-back-at-you.
Exploring artists’ and subjects’ choices around the direction of the gaze, The progression of visages is designed to prompt the senses, tapping into the endless subjectivity of being human.
Where one viewer sees a subject’s distant stare as baleful, another perceives a fatalistic cheer; here’s a face in three-quarter profile pondering past triumphs, or perhaps you sense a layer of barely-there regret?
COST: FREE
Showing until 16 February | National Portrait Gallery | portrait.gov.au/exhibitions/eye-to-eye-2019
NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA
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MATISSE & PICASSO
Colourful and provocative, Matisse & Picasso explores the relationship between two of the world’s greatest artists and rivals—from Picasso’s untameable approach to Matisse’s seductive irresistibility—responding to each other’s work throughout their careers.
Curated by the National Gallery of Australia, this exhibition includes major works sourced from public and private collections around the world.
COST: $10-28
Showing until 13 April | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au
HUGH RAMSAY AT THE NGA
Delve into the paintings, portraits and sketchbooks of seminal Australian artist Hugh Ramsay, whose brilliant career was cut short at just 28.
The young artist shot to fame when four works were selected for the New Salon in Paris in 1902, a feat unheard of in expatriate circles.
Revel in his insights into the human condition as the National Gallery reveals his paintings, drawings and works on paper from around Australia.
COST: FREE
Showing until 1 March | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au
NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE
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GAME MASTERS: THE EXHIBITION
With the opening of Game Masters: The Exhibition, the NFSA turns into Australia’s biggest video game arcade with the world’s greatest designers, characters and 80 playable games.
Game Masters is an interactive journey through five decades of video game history, offering both a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind the world’s most popular characters and franchises and a chance to play them.
Featuring interviews, never-before-seen concept artwork, an amazing display of vintage consoles and collectable items, and 80 playable games, visitors won’t want to leave!
COST: $12-19
Showing until 9 March | National Film and Sound Archive | nfsa.gov.au
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA
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SPY: ESPIONAGE IN AUSTRALIA
Often cloaked in myth, the stories of spies are sometimes stranger than fiction.
For the first time at the National Archives, Spy: Espionage in Australia reveals the personal experiences of secret agents and the curious history of espionage and counter-espionage in Australia, from Federation through to the present day.
See genuine spy equipment, surveillance images and candid interviews with ASIO officers. Play the part of a secret agent in the interactive family trail. Test your skills at codebreaking and reading invisible ink.
Developed in partnership with ASIO, Spy brings the stories of spies out of the shadows and into the light.
COST: FREE
Showing until 27 April | National Archives of Australia | naa.gov.au
MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRACY AT OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE
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BEHIND THE LINES: THE YEAR’S BEST POLITICAL CARTOONS 2019
Framed by the world of rock music, and under the theme song of The Greatest Hits Tour, the brand new iteration of Behind the Lines allows visitors to hit rewind on the most significant political moments of the year through political cartoons.
Are you ready to rock?
COST: FREE
Showing until 29 November 2020 | Museum of Australian Democracy |moadoph.gov.au
Feature image: facebook.com/NationalGalleryofAustralia
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