Six blockbuster exhibitions you can’t miss this summer
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Consider yourself a bit of a culture vulture? In some great news, there are plenty of blockbuster exhibitions in Canberra for summer 2022/23.
Trust us when we say there are some crackers to look forward to. Here are six you can’t miss…
Feared and Revered: Feminine Power Through the Ages (National Museum of Australia)
Woodblock print, Takiyasha the witch and the skeleton spectre by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
One for history lovers with an interest in feminine power through the ages, this exhibition has come all the way from the British Museum to the National Museum of Australia (NMA) just in time for summer.
Feared and Revered: Feminine Power through the Ages features more than 160 objects from six continents—taking a cross-cultural look at the influence of female spiritual power over history.
Examining how goddesses, demons, witches, and spirits have shaped and continue to shape our understanding of the world and the role of women in it, according to British Museum director Dr Hartwig Fischer it engages with important social issues impacting the modern world.
“By presenting this exhibition to an Australian audience it allows us to reflect on the commonality of our own experiences and continue the dialogue on what femininity means today.”
Running until Sunday 27 August 2023, you can book tickets here.
Blueprint (Museum of Australian Democracy)
Visitors exploring one of Blueprint’s interactive walls. Photo: MoAD.
A ballot box designed to be carried 500km on the back of a camel. A ball gown hand-sewn to celebrate the peaceful achievement of Federation. A boomerang-shaped petition calling for constitutional recognition in 2013. These objects speak to what makes Australia’s democracy so, well… Australian.
Blueprint at the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD) shares the blueprint upon which our distinctive democracy has been built.
“Blueprint looks at the fundamental principles that make our democracy characteristically Australian: fairness, freedom of speech, accountability and justice,” says MoAD Acting Director Andrew Harper.
“Knowing how Australian democracy works is vital for making change. Understanding how the parts fit together empowers each of us to participate in ways that are meaningful to us.”
This is the sixth exhibition to open at MoAD after an eventful year. Find out more here.
Disrupt, persist, invent: Australians in an ever-changing world (National Archives of Australia)
Sydney artist Eloise Murphy with National Archives of Australia Director-General, Simon Froude and her ‘yarn bombed’ bicycle ‘Love wheels’ which became an extraordinary message of ‘love is love’. Photograph by Photox/Ben Appleton.
It’s a tribute to the memory of our nation—and how sustained actions over time really can make a difference.
Running until Monday 12 June 2023, Disrupt, persist, invent: Australians in an ever-changing world transports visitors through decades of history using photographs, images, videos, and original objects from the National Archives of Australia (NAA) collection that highlight the many different and sometimes unexpected ways people have pushed for change.
“This exhibition really celebrates Australian stories,” says exhibition curator Catriona Donnelly.
“We’re really hoping that this exhibition will be something that gets people talking about change—change in the future, changes that have happened in the past, things that we take for granted these days like women being able to work in the public service once they’re married—by looking back at the people who were instrumental and celebrating them.”
The best part? It’s free, so you can visit as many times as you would like.
Cressida Campbell (National Gallery of Australia)
Cressida Campbell, Nasturtiums, 2002
From her molasses-rich colour palette to her ability to re-imagine kitchen scraps with the deceptive ease of a film dissolve, it’s easy to get lost within Cressida Campbell’s world.
Her latest exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) is intimately soaked in her identity, the beautiful details of painted wood blocks and a ‘hard to pinpoint’ temporal energy that will disarm and transport audiences along the way.
Exploring the work of one of Australia’s most significant contemporary artists, luckily for keen visitors the exhibition is running until Sunday 19 February 2023—showing you the beauty that exists within the everyday.
See nga.gov.au for tickets and more information.
Who Are You (National Portrait Gallery)
Seven sisters song, Kaylene Whiskey, NGV
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is never afraid to push boundaries, ask big questions and redefine expectations—and the Who Are You exhibition is, of course, no exception.
It’s the gallery’s largest exhibition to date, displaying 130 works—from film and painting to sculpture, and ceramics—that each redefines the very nature of portraiture.
“You get so tired of this seeming perception that portraiture—because it is a very ancient genre—is associated with tradition so strongly, people seem to think that there are these rules within portraiture that can’t be broken. Whereas actually, the reverse is the case,” says NPG Curator Joanna Gilmour.
“There are so many directions that you can take portraiture. And it’s not just about what someone looks like or what they’ve achieved in their lives. It’s about their identity. It’s essentially about what makes us human and what connects us all.”
Open until Sunday 29 January 2023, head along to this free exhibition (or find out more information here).
Viewfinder: Exploring the changing face of Australia (National Library of Australia)
Rainbow Angel Wings, Mardi Gras 2003. Photo: William Yang.
Those who love photography better head along to the National Library of Australia (NLA)—Viewfinder: Photography from the 1970s to Now is a fascinating glimpse into the changing face of Australia.
Featuring 125 images from the last 50 years, walk through the exhibition and you’ll see the faces and stories of migrants, shearers, dancers, miners, gardeners, surfers, and bronzed bodies at the beach. Running until Sunday 30 April, it’s the perfect free exhibition for the summer.
For more information visit nla.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/viewfinder
