K-fest, Techno Picnic, the Wonderful World Festival and so much more: 65+ things to do this weekend
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Here’s how to make the most of your bumper weekend in Canberra.
From family-friendly events to blockbuster exhibitions, live music, markets and more, there’s plenty to see and do. Read on!
Don’t miss…
The Canberra Times Marathon Festival
After a year of early morning training runs in the dark, Canberra’s marathon season is here. The Canberra Times Marathon Festival, presented by TCS, returns across two action-packed days with distances to suit every runner–from the Kids Dash and 5km through to the Half Marathon and full 42.2km Marathon on closed city roads. All distances (excluding the Kids Dash) are AIMS-certified, and with more than 12,000 participants expected, this is one of the biggest sporting events on the Canberra calendar. A three-day Festival Expo adds gear, giveaways, and inspiration for runners of all levels.
Friday 10 until Sunday 12 April | John Dunmore Lang Place, Parkes | solemotive.com
K-fest: Korean Cultural Festival
The National Museum of Australia transforms into a vibrant celebration of Korean culture this Saturday evening, with K-fest bringing together the sights, sounds, and flavours of hallyu in one spectacular free event. Under lanterns and against the backdrop of Lake Burley Griffin, guests can enjoy traditional and contemporary performances, explore a curated marketplace of Korean crafts, fashion, and beauty, and savour delicious food. The evening also includes extended viewing of the hit Hallyu! The Korean Wave exhibition. Created with support from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, this is a beautiful showcase of Canberra’s multicultural community at its finest.
Saturday, 11 April, 4 pm–8.30 pm | National Museum of Australia, Acton | nma.gov.au
Canberra and Region Heritage Festival
Autumn in Canberra signals the return of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival, inviting locals to explore the stories and spaces that shaped the capital. With a focus on mid-century innovation, the program spans guided tours, exhibitions and hands-on experiences across the region. It’s a chance to see familiar landmarks through a fresh lens while uncovering lesser-known histories.
Saturday, 11 April–Sunday, 10 May, Various times | Various locations | environment.act.gov.au
Wonderful World Festival
For one week this April, Canberra’s city centre transforms into a playground, a stage, and a spectacle – a festival for all generations that celebrates creativity, discovery, and the vibrant spirit of our city. The Wonderful World Festival unfolds across streets, parks, and plazas from 7 to 12 April, with Garema Place at its heart: a stage alive with wondrous shows, surrounded by installations, performances, and unexpected moments of joy. Local businesses, cafes, restaurants, and theatres all become part of the experience. Each day reveals something new to see, taste, and explore. Just show up and let the city do the rest.
Until Sunday, 12 April | Canberra City Centre | inthecity.com.au
Techno Picnic
Proof that the best parties don’t need a late-night finish or a babysitter. Techno Picnic is a lakeside daytime series bringing international melodic techno headliners to the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, curated by the experienced crew behind Escape Ferocity and The Vault. The inaugural edition features Swiss producer Natascha Polké – who sings, plays keys, and delivers cranking techno all at once – alongside Doppel, back from the rainforest to launch his new album Harvest, and Club Junque’s lush melodic soundscapes. BYO picnic blanket and esky, or tap into the cocktail bar and premium food stalls on site. The whole thing wraps at 8 pm, because Sunday is still a school night.
Sunday, 12 April, 12 pm–8 pm | FYI – weather forecast has seen this edition move to The Vault, Dairy Road | technopicnic.com
Cypher Brewing Co. IIIxIII: Level 3 Unlocked
Gungahlin’s favourite craft brewery is turning three, and it’s marking the occasion in serious style. Cypher Brewing Co.’s IIIxIII: Level 3 Unlocked is a three-day anniversary celebration featuring three brand-new collaboration beers–a Triple West Coast IPA with BentSpoke and Jervis Bay Brewing, a Pastry Stout with Dangerous Ales and Seeker Brewing, and a Hazy IPA with Kicks Brewing and Future Brewing. Friday kicks off with the official launch and live music, Saturday brings an outdoor stage full day with the Canberra Bass Babes and Mi Tierra Band, and Sunday wraps up family-style with live music, face painting, a jumping castle, and fairy floss.
Friday 10 until Sunday 13 April | Cypher Brewing Co., Gungahlin | cypherbrewing.com.au/reservations
Hop Into Colour at IKEA
For a low-key, no-cost Easter activity that makes a great accompaniment to a family lunch, IKEA Canberra is offering free Easter placemat colouring in the restaurant from Saturday 4 April through to Tuesday 21 April.
Available for children aged three to 12, it’s a simple and joyful activity that keeps little ones happily occupied while the grown-ups enjoy a Swedish meatball in peace.
Until Tuesday 21 April | 1030 Majura Road, Pialligo | ikea.com/au
& Juliet
All the world’s a stage. This one’s yours. What if Juliet’s story didn’t end with Romeo? What if she had the chance to live, to love, and to write a new chapter – one that was truly hers?
Free-Rain Theatre Company presents & Juliet – the smash-hit musical that reimagines Shakespeare’s most famous heroine with a vibrant new future and a pop-powered twist. Set to an electrifying soundtrack of global anthems from legendary songwriter Max Martin, this award-winning production bursts with songs you already know and love, including… ‘Baby One More Time’, ‘Since U Been Gone’, ‘Roar’, ‘I Want It That Way’, ‘It’s My Life’, and ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling!’
With a witty and heart-filled script by Emmy®-winning writer David West Read (Schitt’s Creek), & Juliet is unapologetically theatrical and endlessly entertaining. Renaissance meets pop royalty, heartbreak meets empowerment, and Shakespeare shares the stage with Anne Hathaway. Don’t miss this explosive, feel-good sensation as Free-Rain Theatre Company brings one of the world’s most celebrated new musicals to Canberra!
Until Sunday 26 April | The Q, Queanbeyan | theq.net.au
Special Events and Festivals
The Lost Wonders of the City at Verity Lane Market
Running nightly throughout the Wonderful World Festival, The Lost Wonders of the City transforms Verity Lane Market into a playful family discovery hub after dark. Each evening from 6 pm, free drop-in experiences unfold across the laneway–from laughter-filled trivia nights and roaming magic and juggling performances to interactive gameshow rounds and live music with audience-requested songs and heartfelt dedications. On Saturday afternoon, the program slows to something gentler with a supervised animal petting garden. It’s a week-long invitation to stumble upon something unexpected, connect with strangers, and let the kids lead the way.
Until Saturday 11 April, from 6 pm | Verity Lane Market, Northbourne Avenue, Canberra | manager@veritylanemarket.com.au
Mr. Moose’s Wonderful Silent Disco
Mooseheads is getting a very different kind of makeover this April. Mr. Moose’s Wonderful Silent Disco transforms Canberra’s iconic venue into a colourful family wonderland for a full day of sessions during the Wonderful World Festival. Children aged 6–14 receive wireless headphones with multiple music channels–kid-friendly pop, nostalgic classics for the grown-ups, and globally diverse sounds reflecting Canberra’s multicultural community–while the room fills with bubbles, vibrant lighting, and face painting. There are special meet-and-greet opportunities with Mr. Moose himself throughout the day. Check ticket conditions carefully before purchasing, as sessions run across multiple timeslots.
Saturday, 11 April, 10 am–6 pm | Mooseheads, London Circuit, Canberra | moshtix.com.au
National Trust open day at Gungahlin Homestead
One of Canberra’s most storied properties opens its doors to the public this April as part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival. Gungahlin Homestead began as a Georgian brick building in 1862, before Edward Crace added a grand Victorian sandstone wing in 1883–and later served as a site for CSIRO wildlife research. Now ready for a new chapter, the National Trust is celebrating with guided tours, entertainment, displays, and refreshments. It’s a rare opportunity to step inside a place that carries so many layers of Canberra’s history.
Saturday, 11 April, 10 am–2.30 pm | Gungahlin Homestead, Bellenden Street | nationaltrust.org.au
Sound and Fury: Live. Art. Rapture. Party.
Canberra’s most singular performance art experience returns for its 24th incarnation, and the theme is Rapture. Presented by Chenoeh Miller of Little Dove Theatre Art, Sound and Fury is not a nightclub and it’s not a sit-down show–it’s something altogether stranger and more alive. Move between spaces, discover hidden performances, follow the music, and let the collision of live music, physical theatre, contemporary performance, and immersive installation lift you somewhere unexpected. Now welcoming 16-and-over audiences, this is a curated eruption in claret and gold. A sister event to the Wonderful World Festival.
Saturday, 11 April, 8 pm until late| Blank Cultural Platform, City Walk, Canberra | events.humanitix.com
Canberra Traditional BoatFest 2026
Heritage meets the water this April as the Canberra Traditional BoatFest returns to the Canberra Yacht Club in Yarralumla as part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival. Historic vessels and beautiful modern replicas of older designs–mostly built in timber and powered by steam, electric, petrol, or the classic combination of sail and oars–go on display for all to admire. Head down to Kingston Harbour on Saturday or Sunday morning to catch the boats out on Lake Burley Griffin before the main display opens at noon. Entry is free.
Saturday, 11 April, 12 pm–3 pm | Canberra Yacht Club, Yarralumla | canberraboating.com
Tuchasoul Nights: Kings vs Queens of Pop
Tuchasoul Nights at The Jetty – presented by the Amosa Family, a powerhouse Samoan-Australian family band with over 30 years of combined performance experience – is a fully immersive, themed music experience built around the ultimate pop music showdown: Kings vs Queens. Guests choose their side, compete, vote, and sing their hearts out to icons from Whitney Houston and Beyoncé to Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars. A welcome drink and gift on arrival, themed cocktails, a red carpet photo wall, and VIP tables make this an exceptional night out.
Saturday, 11 April, 6 pm–late | The Jetty, Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes | tuchasoul.com
Block Print & Sew Workshop
With artist/ printmaker Mary Lou Nugent and fashion designer/ maker Dena Pharaoh from Saloon Design House.
On morning arrival, choose from a selection of fabrics and block prints. Create your own unique colour palette and, with direction from Mary Lou print your own design.
In the afternoon Dena will help you select from a variety of patterns and together assist with you to sew up your creation from your fabric. Choose from a simple reversable bag, or a top, skirt or dress.
Want more information? Call Dena on 0403 986 819 or email denapharaoh3@gmail.com. Bookings can be made through www.saloondesignhouse.com
$ 150 includes all materials.
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April, 10 am–4 pm | Braidwood Regional Art Gallery (BRAG) | saloondesignhouse.com
Screen printing workshop for kids!
Join the talented Megalo Print Studio team and the wildlife conservation champions behind Egg Picnic for a fun and inspiring creative session designed especially for young makers. Children will learn the basics of screen printing and create up to four of their very own colourful 3D animals.
This workshop is the second in a series of four book‑as‑you‑go creative experiences running throughout the year, proudly hosted by the Canberra and Region Visitors Centre at beautiful Regatta Point.
Participants will need to wear enclosed shoes and tie back long hair and be accompanied by a parent/carer. Suitable for children 7 and up
Saturday, 11 April, 10 am–12.30 pm | Canberra & Region Visitors Centre, Barrine Drive, Parkes | events.humanitix.com
Zoorassic Park
Zoofest kicks off this weekend for the National Zoo and Aquarium’s ‘Zoorassic Park’.
Enjoy a fantastic day of family friendly fun with dino puppets, animatronic dinosaurs and a roving life-size Australenavator throughout Adventureland Playground. Families are welcome to bring their dancing shoes as jazz music fills the viewing park on Saturday or jump around in front of the rhinos with jumping castle fun all weekend.
There’s no better time to head to the National Zoo and Aquarium with the arrival of three brand new lion cubs, Tsenza, Mnavu and Kiazi. Take a tour, meet some of the world’s most exotic animals or become a member and enjoy new fun every single week!
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April | National Zoo and Aquarium | nationalzoo.com.au
Femme Fatale
Canberra’s fiercest dancers take the stage at Gungahlin College Theatre this Sunday for Femme Fatale, a bold, high-energy showcase from Femme Rebelle. Directed and curated by Thea Kabadanis, the show draws on the iconic femme fatale archetype to weave together heels, hip hop, commercial dance, and theatrical storytelling in a celebration of power, confidence, and unapologetic femininity. The performers have completed an intensive ten-week program training with multiple choreographers, and the result promises dangerous women, revenge energy, and fearless expression delivered with serious skill. Two shows only–a 4 pm matinee and a 7.30 pm evening performance. Tickets are limited.
Sunday, 12 April, 4 pm and 7.30 pm | Gungahlin College Theatre, Gozzard Street, Gungahlin | trybooking.com
Markets
Pearce Crafters Market
Curiouser and curiouser – the Pearce Crafters Market is taking an enchanting turn this April with an Alice in Wonderland theme that promises to make the trip to Collett Place well worth the effort. Running across two days, the market brings together a wonderful lineup of local makers and artisans, including Suga Mumma’s Cakes, Soft Darlings, Ruthless Customs, Penelope Shilling, Knot Happy Jan, Nature’s Own Wonders, and Emz Art. Whether picking up something handmade and unique or simply soaking up the creative atmosphere, this is one of the most charming community market weekends in Canberra’s autumn calendar.
Saturday, 11 April, 10 am–3 pm and Sunday, 12 April, 10 am–1 pm | Pearce Community Centre, Pearce | facebook.com
Playwell Brick Market Canberra
LEGO lovers, this one’s for you. Playwell Events returns to Canberra with their ultimate Brick Market at the Pearce Community Centre–a paradise for builders of every age and experience level. Whether hunting for rare and retired sets, sourcing new and used parts by weight, or searching for that elusive minifigure to complete a collection, this is the place to find it. Vintage treasures sit alongside the latest releases in what promises to be a thoroughly satisfying morning for anyone who’s ever spent a Sunday afternoon deep in a LEGO build. Entry by gold coin at the door.
Saturday, 11 April, 9.30 am–1.30 pm | Pearce Community Centre, Pearce | facebook.com
Capital Region Farmers Market
This farmers’ market is iconic for a reason.
Go along to sample the region’s freshest produce from over 100 stallholders who bring freshly picked, grown and hand-crafted goods to Canberra and speak directly with growers and learn cooking tips while supporting the Rotary Club of Hall’s community projects.
It will make you appreciate your Saturday morning shopping trip in a whole new way.
Saturdays, 7 am-11:30 am | Exhibition Park in Canberra, Mitchell | capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au
Old Bus Depot Markets
Lovers of fine hand-crafted wares, clothing collectors, food fanatics and jewellery junkies are just a few of the people who head to Canberra’s award-winning Old Bus Depot Markets every Sunday. In a fabulous old industrial building, you’ll experience the endless colour, tastes, sounds and atmosphere that is “Canberra’s Sunday Best”.
Not your average market, each week you’ll find over 200 stalls of exceptional quality, featuring items all hand-crafted by local and regional creatives. The sheer variety means you’ll discover something unexpected every visit, whether that’s a piece of pottery that speaks to you, a stunning necklace, or the perfect vintage find. There’s simply no better way to spend your Sunday in Canberra.
Sundays, 9.30 am – 2.30 pm | 21 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston | obdm.com.au
Southside Farmers Markets
This village market is located at Canberra College, making it the perfect place to duck in to grab what you need (and maybe a few things you don’t). Order an egg and bacon roll to start the morning as you explore the best of fresh seasonal veggies, handmade pasta, pet treats and more.
Sunday 7 am -11.30 am | 2 Launceston Street, Phillip | facebook.com/SouthsideFarmersMarketCanberra
Haig Park Village Markets
Another local favourite, spend your Sunday morning browsing delicious cuisines, fresh produce, artisan products and locally handmade crafts while enjoying live music, an artists’ table and family-friendly activities.
It’s the kind of market where you can linger over breakfast, discover a new artist, and stock up on fresh produce all in one lovely morning, making it the perfect Sunday outing in leafy Braddon.
Sundays, 8 am – 2 pm | Haig Park, Girrahween Street, Braddon | haigparkvillagemarkets.com.au
Food and Drink
Fete Till Late
Fete Till Late at Sandoochie takes the simple pleasures of the classic school fete and reimagines them as a Saturday afternoon of playful nostalgia in the heart of the city. Apple bobbing, sweet and savoury temptations, and lively music create a feast for the senses that parents, grandparents, and children alike will recognise and adore. Kids play freely while adults get wonderfully sentimental. This is what community celebration looks like.
Saturday 11 April, 12 pm–5 pm | Sandoochie, Marcus Clarke Street, City | sandoochie.com.au
Bloom Stack Wonderland
Bloom Room is joining the Wonderful World Festival with something truly special: Bloom Stack Wonderland, a whimsical floral transformation of the Northbourne Avenue café designed to delight families, couples, and curious visitors alike. For the duration of the festival, the space will be styled with hanging floral installations, pastel dreamscape décor, Wonderland Corners inspired by global beauty, and a feature Bloom Wall perfect for photos. Beautifully crafted pancake creations take centre stage–with special discounts on selected kids’ pancakes–while romantic corners offer a quieter retreat for couples. It’s a feast for the eyes and the appetite in equal measure.
Until Sunday 12 April | Bloom Room CBR, Northbourne Avenue, City | bloomroomcbr.com.au
Cypher Brewing Co. IIIxIII: Level 3 Unlocked
Gungahlin’s favourite craft brewery is turning three, and it’s marking the occasion in serious style. Cypher Brewing Co.’s IIIxIII: Level 3 Unlocked is a three-day anniversary celebration featuring three brand-new collaboration beers–a Triple West Coast IPA with BentSpoke and Jervis Bay Brewing, a Pastry Stout with Dangerous Ales and Seeker Brewing, and a Hazy IPA with Kicks Brewing and Future Brewing. Friday kicks off with the official launch and live music, Saturday brings an outdoor stage full day with the Canberra Bass Babes and Mi Tierra Band, and Sunday wraps up family-style with live music, face painting, a jumping castle, and fairy floss.
Until Sunday 12 April | Cypher Brewing Co., Gungahlin | cypherbrewing.com.au/reservations
The Sweet and Savoury Fondue Cruise
Take a trip to Lake Burley Griffin for a two-hour fondue experience combining rich flavours with autumn views. It’s a cosy, social way to enjoy the season.
Sunday 12 April, 2 pm–4 pm | Canberra Party Boat, Kingston | canberrapartyboat.com.au
Tipsy Tea on the Yacht Club Balcony
Settle in for an afternoon of prosecco, cocktails and grazing-style high tea overlooking the lake. Perfect for a relaxed catch-up with friends.
Sunday 12 April, 3 pm–6 pm | Canberra Southern Cross Club Yacht Club, Yarralumla | cscc.com.au
The Brunch Club at Capitol Bar & Grill
Sunday mornings in Canberra just got a serious upgrade. Capitol Bar & Grill’s Brunch Club is an all-day, unapologetically indulgent affair built for those who believe weekends deserve better than a rushed coffee and toast. The menu runs from fluffy buttermilk pancakes and classic cheeseburgers with secret sauce to miso grilled salmon and a few cheeky surprises in between. The real centrepiece, though, is the Bloody Mary cart–a Ketel One Vodka partnership that lets guests load up with crispy bacon, blue cheese olives, dill pickles, mussels, chilli, and more, built tableside by the brunch bartenders. Running every Sunday until 30 August.
Every Sunday until 30 August | Capitol Bar & Grill, Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra | qthotels.com
Sport and Wellness
Puppy Yoga
A yoga session is already good for the body and the mind–but add a room full of puppies and the whole equation changes entirely. Yoga Paws brings its popular Puppy Yoga experience to Narrabundah for a session designed to help participants stretch, reset, and connect with an adorably distracting four-legged co-practitioner. Suitable for all levels and completely organised by the hosts (including, yes, the puppies), all that’s needed is the willingness to show up and have a very good time. Bookings are essential for this one–it’s exactly as popular as it sounds.
Saturday 11 April | Sanctuary Canberra, Brockman Street, Narrabundah | yogapawsbrisbane.com
Music
AYO Symphonists: Voyage of Discovery
Australia’s finest high-school classical musicians gather in Canberra this April for a concert that promises to be one of the most moving experiences of the school holidays season. Under the baton of Singapore’s Chan Tze Law, the Australian Youth Orchestra Symphonists take audiences on a voyage of emotional discovery–from Naomi Dodd’s vibrant Run, through the romantic passion of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, into the spiritual reflection of Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin’s Awakened, and concluding with Elgar’s radiant portrait of Italy in In the South. Young musicians, formidable repertoire, and a performance not to be missed.
Saturday, 11 April, 2 pm–3.30 pm | Snow Concert Hall, Red Hill | ayo.com.au
Rufino and the Wreckage: Discotheque Tropicale
Saturday’s Carnival stage at the Wonderful World Festival closes in the most spectacular fashion possible, with Rufino and the Wreckage bringing their infectious tropical-punk-disco energy to Glebe Park. Infamous for their swagger, their flamboyance, and genuinely irresistible genre-bending grooves, Rufino and his seven-piece Wreckage weave reggae, tropikal noir, and plenty of fabulous into a party-infused dreamscape that works beautifully for every age group and dance ability. If the music doesn’t sweep the whole crowd into the tropical spirit within the first two minutes, there may simply be no hope. No bookings required.
Saturday, 11 April, 5 pm–6 pm | Glebe Park Stage, Canberra | inthecity.com.au
Sam Buckingham–Beautiful Machine Tour
Since her career-defining album Dear John in 2022, Sam Buckingham has built one of the most devoted followings on the Australian live circuit–with six sold-out national headline tours, festival appearances at Woodford, Wild Village, and Queenscliff, and supports for Paul Kelly, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Whitlams, and Ben Lee to her name. This year sees the release of Beautiful Machine, a cross-Pacific collaboration with Australian-born Nashville-based producer Clare Reynolds. Catch her bringing the new material to life at The Street Theatre in what promises to be an intimate and unforgettable night.
Saturday, 11 April, 7.30 pm–9.20 pm | The Street Theatre, Childers Street, City | thestreet.org.au
Reserve Skank of Australia: Canberra’s finest ska-reggae
Canberra’s finest ska-reggae-rocksteady band (under-40s division) takes the Glebe Park Stage on Saturday afternoon as part of the Wonderful World Festival. Inspired by Gregory Isaacs, Peter Tosh, and Eek-A-Mouse, the Reserve Skank of Australia create uplifting rootsman riddims that are as good for a deep head-nod as they are for a full-body groove. Whether you’re a long-time lover of ska and punk or discovering proper ragga for the first time, this is one of those Glebe Park sets that tends to draw people in from across the park. All ages welcome.
Saturday 11 April, 2.15 pm–3 pm | Glebe Park Stage, Canberra | inthecity.com.au
Zambezi Sounds
The Wonderful World Festival continues its Saturday program with one of Canberra’s most beloved local bands bringing the spirit of the Zambezi River to Glebe Park. Zambezi Sounds draws inspiration from the Nyami Nyami–the spiritual custodians of the river that flows between Zimbabwe and Zambia–weaving together mbira, guitar, and river drumming into a danceable mix of contemporary and traditional African rhythms and Caribbean reggae. It’s the kind of music that reaches straight through the ribcage and gets hips moving without asking permission. All ages welcome, no bookings required.
Saturday 11 April, 3:45 pm–4:30 pm | Glebe Park Stage, Canberra | inthecity.com.au
Stage and Screen
An Evening with Amy Bodossian
One-night-only cabaret at Smiths Alternative. Award-winning Melbourne performer Amy Bodossian brings her wildly honest, hilarious, and poignant original songs, spoken word, rap, and unfiltered storytelling to Canberra. She dives into the chaos and beauty of being human, exploring love, lost keys, OCD, ADHD, dating, and more.
Raw, funny, and unexpectedly moving, cabaret at its most alive.
Saturday 11 April | Smith’s Alternative, Canberra | shorturl.at/ibbz8
Giggly Wiggly Balloons–The Twisty Science Show
What do balloons and DNA have in common? Dr Chloe Lim is about to explain everything. A scientist, professional balloon artist, and Channel 7’s Blow Up finalist, Dr Chloe brings her book What Makes You Unique? to life at the Wonderful World Festival through spectacular balloon creations and playful scientific discovery about genes and what makes each of us wonderfully individual. It’s colourful, interactive, and genuinely educational–the rare kind of children’s show that has both kids and adults equally engaged from start to finish. Recommended for ages five to 12.
Sunday, 12 April | Glebe Park Stage, Canberra | inthecity.com.au
The Great Gatsby: a jazz ballet odyssey
The roaring twenties arrive at Canberra Theatre Centre this April in the most spectacular fashion imaginable. The world premiere of The Great Gatsby: A Jazz Ballet Odyssey reimagines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic through a genre-defying fusion of ballet, tap, and jazz, directed and choreographed by Joel Burke. The score weaves Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and James P Johnson’s The Charleston alongside bold new compositions, while some of the world’s greatest dancers bring Gatsby’s story to life in bedazzled costumes on spectacular sets. Glittering, exhilarating, and unlike anything Canberra has seen before.
Until Sunday, 12 April | Canberra Theatre Centre, London Circuit | bigliveco.com
Bell Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
The whispers have started. Julius Caesar has returned from battle to the roar of an adoring crowd, and the word “king” is circulating through the senate and streets of Rome once more. Fearful of where Caesar’s growing power leads, Brutus and Cassius hatch a conspiracy that will shake the republic to its foundations–and unleash a cascade of violence they can’t control. Peter Evans’ thrilling new production of Shakespeare’s great political masterpiece opens at Canberra Theatre Centre this April, with performances running through to 18 April. Complex, urgent, and as relevant as ever.
Until Saturday, 18 April | Canberra Theatre Centre, London Circuit, City | canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Linsey Pollak
Has anyone ever considered making bagpipes out of a rubber kitchen glove? Linsey Pollak has – and that’s just the beginning. Part of the Wonderful World Festival, his show Still Searching for That Sound takes audiences on a journey through a lifetime of instrument invention, from feather dusters to watering cans to carrots, using live-looping to layer these self-invented creations into music that is somehow both mind-bending and curiously beautiful. Equal parts science demonstration, personal story, and musical performance, it’s the kind of show that leaves people genuinely questioning everything they thought they knew about sound. Recommended for ages six to 112.
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April, 12.10 pm–12.50 pm | Glebe Park Stage, Canberra | inthecity.com.au
NFSA’s Autumn Film Series
Reality meets imagination this season at the National Film and Sound Archive. The Autumn Film Series presents powerful storytelling and big-screen spectacle, inviting audiences to question reality, explore new perspectives and enjoy cinema that lingers after credits roll. Magic realism, social realism and Cinema Verité explore the tension between fantasy and reality. Community-focused festivals and partnerships include the Sign on Screen Film Festival presenting sign language cinema, Upstaging Canberra screenings, Trans Day of Visibility with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Book Club at NFSA, First Nations stories, CLIPPED Music Video Festival, documentaries, Science.Art.Film series and Cult Classics. Varied dates throughout autumn.
Until Sunday 31 May | National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton | nfsa.gov.au
Talks
Meet an Electric Vehicle Owner
Sick of high petrol prices and worrying about fuel shortages next time you go to fill-up? Local community group, Electrify Canberra, is hosting a ‘Meet an EV owner’ event. This is an opportunity to have your questions about EVs answered by people who drive them. There will be a range of different models on display. Need caffeine for fuel? Local café, St. Elmo, will be open to help you out.
Saturday 11 April, 10 am–12 noon | Torrens shops | facebook.com
Exhibitions
Wangka Wakaṉutja: the story of the Papunya Literature Production Centre
Between 1979 and 1990, the Papunya Literature Production Centre produced hundreds of illustrated bilingual books–funny, moving, extraordinary documents of Pintupi-Luritja language and culture, guided by community Elders who were also pioneers of the Western Desert art movement. Many of those books have been held in the National Library’s collections ever since, and this landmark new exhibition finally brings them to life. Featuring stories, drawings, photographs, manuscripts, and oral histories drawn from multiple collections, it’s a profoundly significant celebration of Aboriginal literary culture, collective creativity, and the remarkable human effort to keep language alive across generations.
Until Sunday, 11 October | National Library of Australia, Parkes | library.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/wangka-wakanutja
2026 Exhibition of Quilts
The Queanbeyan Quilters community throws open the doors of Bicentennial Hall this April for a weekend celebration of the craft that has been bringing people together for generations. The 2026 Exhibition of Quilts showcases a beautiful range of works made by community members, alongside live demonstrations, a sales table, and a Quilters market to browse at leisure. The much-anticipated raffle is back too, with three prizes including two stunning quilts and a $300 Bunnings voucher. Refreshments are available on site, entry is $5 at the door, and children under 12 are free. Cash and EFTPOS both accepted.
Saturday, 11 April, 10 am–5 pm and Sunday, 12 April, 10 am–3 pm | Queanbeyan Bicentennial Hall, Crawford Street, Queanbeyan | facebook.com
Traces
Tuggeranong Arts Centre presents work by five artists with connections to Ngunnawal and Ngambri land. Alexander Sarsfield, Bridget Baskerville, Clementine McIntosh, Gemma Brown and Sarah Murray work across ceramics, textiles, printmaking, drawing, weaving and community-based practices. The exhibition explores material processes and connections to place and people. Brown utilises experimental processes with industrial waste and commercial ceramic materials. Baskerville submerges metal plates in bodies of water to create corrosion marks. McIntosh uses site-responsive techniques including buried textiles and plant dyes. Sarsfield shares Māori culture through communal raranga weaving practices. Murray creates large-scale gestural paintings challenging colonial landscape ideals through embodied experiences of place.
Until Saturday, 11 April | Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street North, Greenway | tuggeranongarts.com
Bean Soup
Canberra glass artist Bailey Donovan presents an immersive exhibition centred on recurring glass bean forms. The installation includes blown sculptures, wall-mounted works and colour compositions exploring relationships between domestic craft, queer identity and glass’s expressive nature. Donovan’s signature bean shapes embrace irregular silhouettes and uneven contours, offering alternatives to traditional glassblowing aesthetics focused on symmetry and technical refinement. The work references domestic textiles including gingham and crochet through cane work, colour overlays and patterning techniques. Bean clusters vary from small collectible-sized pieces to larger abstract blown forms arranged in compositions referencing kitchen jars and fabric scraps. The exhibition celebrates material exploration through humour and comfort.
Until Saturday, 11 April | Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street North, Greenway | tuggeranongarts.com
The Long Look
Five printmakers who met at the Canberra School of Art Printmaking Workshop in the late 1990s reunite for an exhibition celebrating innovative practices. Cecile Galizzo, G.W. Bot, Lizzie Hall, Craig Cameron and John Pratt share material-based approaches where etching plates and woodblocks become artworks, metal becomes drawing, and repetition transforms into methodology. The exhibition references deep consideration needed during uncertain times, bringing together old friends to celebrate making art. Works in wood, metal and paper distil years of observing and inhabiting natural landscapes and internal landscapes of myth and memory. The exhibition functions as a conversation between artists reflecting their longstanding friendships.
Until Saturday, 11 April | Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street North, Greenway | tuggeranongarts.com
DEEP END BY AMY CLAIRE MILLS
Deep End is an immersive sensory installation inviting exploration through touch, sight, and sound. The project explores the concept of accessible and adaptive ‘third spaces’. Third spaces, beyond home and work, are informal social environments that foster community and connection (Oldenburg, 1989).
However, for many Disabled people, third spaces often default to medical environments like doctors’ waiting rooms and outpatient clinics. Public pools have long served as adaptive third spaces existing somewhere between the social and the medical. Deep End invites you to wade into a future in which care, access, and disability culture are embedded in the design from the very beginning.
Until Sunday 12 April | Canberra Contemporary, 44 Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes | canberracontemporary.com.au/current
WATER BY HANDS ON STUDIO
The artworks in Water have been developed by artists from Hands On Studio, Canberra, whose practices foreground process, material engagement, and embodied ways of making.
Through diverse approaches and mediums, the artists examine water as a mutable substance that exists across multiple states — liquid, solid, and vapour — and across varied registers of meaning. Rain, sea, ice, and tap water are considered not only for their physical properties, but for the social, political, and environmental contexts in which they are encountered.
Until Sunday 12 April | Canberra Contemporary, 44 Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes | canberracontemporary.com.au/current
Curator tours: National Library Treasures Gallery
Discover the stories behind key items in the Treasures Gallery with a curator-led tour.
Tuesday, 14 April and Tuesday, 28 April, Various times | National Library of Australia, Parkes | library.gov.au
In Bloom
In Bloom explores the beauty and symbolism of flowers. Featuring more than 50 portraits from the National Portrait Gallery collection, new acquisitions and selected loans, you will discover how flowers have long been used in art to express emotion and convey messages of personal, cultural and religious significance.
The show is a weird and wonderful floral extravaganza that includes much-loved and lesser-known works from the collection. See socialites, chefs, musicians, actors, doctors and politicians who are all unified by their accompanying floral markers.
Until Sunday 19 April 2026 | National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes | portrait.gov.au
Bilong Papua New Guinea: 50 years of Independence
Bilong Papua New Guinea marks the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea’s independence and the birth of a new nation on September 16, 1975. The National Gallery holds the largest collection of Papua New Guinea urban art outside the country. Each of the works selected for Bilong Papua New Guinea presents a story, reflecting on cultural heritage, historical moments, the influence of ancestors, Christianity, kastom, societal changes and new technologies.
Until Sunday 19 April | National Gallery, Parkes Place East, Parkes | nga.gov.au
5th National Indigenous Art Triennial
The National Indigenous Art Triennial brings together commissioned work by established and emerging First Nations artists from across Australia. Artistic Director Tony Albert (Girramay/Yidinji/Kuku-Yalanji peoples), one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists, leads this iteration. After the Rain presents new immersive projects resonating with ideas of rebirth and cycles of cleansing, celebrating inter-generational legacies and cultural warriors of past, present and future. Made possible through the continued generosity of Wesfarmers Arts and key philanthropic supporters, the Triennial creates an important platform for art and ideas. Following its Kamberri/Canerra presentation, After the Rain will tour nationally.
Until Sunday, 26 April 2026 | National Gallery of Australia, Parkes Place East, Parkes | nga.gov.au
THE WEATHER AND WHAT IS by Olive Burgess
This exhibition makes central a lesbian experience within a world shaped by dualisms—mind/body, nature/culture, windy/still, useful/redundant, productive/wasted, man/woman, hetero/not. Printmaking, photography and sculptural materials hold subject Burgess’ garden as kin, alongside her body.
Full, generous, focused, and sensual, The Weather and What Is opens space for a re-imagining of intimacy, ecology, history, and embodiment beyond dominant cultural frames.
Until Sunday, 26 April | Platform, 19 Furneaux Street, Forrest | canberracontemporary.com.au
The hidden world of the small – beautiful, powerful or vulnerable
The Hidden World of the Small examines the often overlooked. Seven artists from the Tin Shed Art Group pull focus onto the minute details of life, finding the power and beauty in tiny, quiet subjects.
Through a range of mediums, the group navigates the tension between beauty and power on a small scale, uncovering moments that usually stay hidden in plain sight.
See how the smallest subjects can tell the biggest stories.
Until Monday 27 April | Strathnairn Arts Association, 90 Stockdill Drive, Holt | More information here.
Hallyu! The Korean Wave
An exhibition exploring Korea’s cultural journey to global influence through 250 objects from the V&A in London. The exhibition spans film, fashion, drama, beauty and music–from BTS to aespa, Squid Game to Parasite, glass skin to bibimbap. Visitors can discover the powerhouse behind Korea’s dramatic cultural transformation and the vibrant world of K-culture as it continues to sweep across the globe. The exhibition examines how creativity, collaboration and cultural ambition shaped Korea’s contemporary identity.
Until Sunday, 10 May | National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula, Acton | nma.gov.au
Between What Remains
Belconnen Arts Centre hosts this creative reunion between David Manley and Hilary Wardhaugh. Through photography and post-documentary urban landscapes, the exhibition explores trauma, memory and disconnection. Conceptually aligned yet distinct, their works invite quiet reflection on time, place and shared histories.
Until Sunday, 17 May | West Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | belcoarts.com.au
Witness
Reef and coastal ecosystems are environments of inspiration where many escape to rejuvenate, enveloped in the natural world. These teeter on the edge of flourish and destruction, resilience and fragility. Witness focuses on the pursuit to explore, experience and bear witness to these ecosystems undergoing critical change in the artist’s lifetime—with a wavering mix of awe, grief and hope. The exhibition examines environments that serve as sources of renewal while simultaneously facing unprecedented pressures. It documents the tension between beauty and vulnerability in marine and coastal landscapes.
Until Sunday, 17 May | The Nook, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | belcoarts.com.au
Chasing Alice
Annie Lok’s exhibition features the latest works in her ongoing Rabbit Holes series. Each piece features a female protagonist, the Alice, navigating carefully constructed compositions imbued with symmetry, balance, texture and colour theory. Using photo editing software, Lok manipulates personal and found imagery through filtering, warping, stretching and layering to invent a landscape for each Alice to discover. Influenced by academic interests tackling the human experience through social, political and art historical lenses, the work also serves as an escape from chronic pain following a 2021 workplace accident that left Lok with ruptured discs and neuropathy.
Until Sunday, 17 May | Window Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | belcoarts.com.au
Inhabiting Change
Fiona Heard’s exploration of impermanence invites viewers to see the present as the dynamic space between what was and what will be. Heard’s artistic process embraces the unpredictable nature of hand printing, accepting unexpected marks and reduced control to create initial imagery. The compositions are based on the landscape of southern NSW, reflecting Heard’s memory and ongoing relationship with this environment. Final artworks are built through configuration—tearing, combining and sewing images to produce the work. These pieces move beyond representation, evoking a feeling of abstracted familiarity that speaks to continuous becoming.
Until Sunday, 17 May | East Wall, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | belcoarts.com.au
Mental Health and Nature
Jennifer Adams challenges the narrow view of mental health treatment as a clinical activity within four walls, positioning experiences of nature as vital for mental health. This is Adams’s first solo exhibition in over ten years. Mental Health and Nature celebrates nature experienced locally in Canberra, nearby farmland returned to its natural environment and other Australian locations. Adams draws out shapes, adds vibrant colours and decorative elements to express her response to the natural world. Subjects include people participating in nature and their bonds with animals. The experiential exhibition wraps viewers in colours, designs and positive imagery.
Until Sunday, 17 May | Generator Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | belcoarts.com.au
Stained with Light
Sarah Murray brings together earlier work exploring embodied experiences of landscape with current work exploring the sublime, spirituality and sin. Murray has created a series of paintings in acrylic and oils that explore painterly dynamics of figuration versus representation, layering, shifting grounds, gestural mark-making and vibrant colour use. Using references to religious art-historical paintings as grounding, Murray creates vibrant, visceral compositions on traditional and non-traditional supports of sewn quilt-like canvases. Earlier work created embodied experiences of landscape through en-plein air painting, while current pieces translate themes of sublime versus grotesque and depictions of sin.
Until Sunday, 17 May | Pivot Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen | belcoarts.com.au
In real life: inventors, innovators and opportunists
Celebrate Australian innovation at National Archives’ latest exhibition in Canberra, In real life: inventors, innovators and opportunists. Explore the history of Australian invention, from First Nations creativity to 150 years of patents, designs and trademark registrations.
See life-changing inventions, iconic designs and household brand names with original design drawings and trademarks from the national archival collection alongside their real-life counterparts.
Australians from all walks of life have pursued their ideas in the laboratory, at the drafting table and in the humble backyard shed. Learn about the innovators behind advances such as the baby capsule, spray-on skin and the stump-cam. Discover the origins of everyday products and national icons such as the Victa lawnmower, Hills Hoist and ‘goon bag’.
From pedestrian crossing buttons to dual flush toilets, see how the Australian Government played a vital role in supporting inventions and designs that you regularly see, hear, use – and flush. Spark your own imagination and be inspired by stories of bold dreams, determination and Australian ingenuity.
Until Sunday 17 May | National Archives of Australia, Kings Avenue, Parkes | naa.gov.au
STAUNCH.
A powerful new exhibition opens at Craft + Design Canberra this April, introducing the STAUNCH. Collective–seven Blak artists whose work centres on culture as a practice of resistance. Each artist brings their own creative voice to questions of growth, connection, and healing, drawing from Country, community, and collaboration to open space for discussion, discourse, and genuine joy. STAUNCH. asks visitors to sit with a challenging and vital question: what does resistance truly look like, and how do we each navigate our relationship with the colony? An important and thought-provoking exhibition not to be missed.
Until Saturday, 23 May | Craft + Design Canberra, London Circuit, City | craftanddesigncanberra.org
Rewild: 2025 Artists-in-Residence Exhibition
What happens when two artists spend extended time immersed in the landscape of Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, then go behind the scenes at the National Zoo and Aquarium to explore conservation practices? The answer unfolds in Rewild, a new exhibition by Michele Grimston and Hannah McKellar developed through the 2025 Craft + Design Canberra Artist-in-Residence program. Framed by the theme of rewilding and ecological restoration, the works reflect a deep attentiveness to the natural world and its shifting relationship with humans. The exhibition opens with an artist talk on 9 April, with both artists joining Exhibitions Coordinator Stacy Jewell in conversation.
Until Saturday, 23 May | Craft + Design Canberra, London Circuit, City | craftanddesigncanberra.org
Good Neighbour
Belconnen Arts Centre presents an offsite group exhibition at SLA Display Village and Innovation Precinct, Whitlam, curated by Brooke McEachern. A printmaker, glass blower, ceramist, mark maker and knifemaker come together celebrating local makers and quiet creative lives unfolding around us. Estelle Briedis, Hugo Curtis, Jacky Lo, Isobel Rayson and Dan Venables live and work in our neighbourhoods as familiar dog-walkers, corner café regulars or simply good neighbours. Through functional objects and considered craftsmanship, the exhibition presents works feeling personal and lived-with, as though gathered over time from friends and neighbours. The collaboration highlights the creative talent existing within everyday community spaces, making visible the artistic practice happening in homes and studios throughout Canberra’s suburbs.
Until Sunday, 13 July | SLA Display Village, Whitlam | belcoarts.com.au
Trent Parke: The Christmas tree bucket
Trent Parke’s photographic series The Christmas tree bucket 2006–09 is a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas. The series showcases Parke’s distinctive and acclaimed visual style and his skilful use of light and colour, to transcendent effect.The Christmas tree bucket is a candid, unsettling and often absurd portrait of family life—centred on the chaos, rituals and contradictions of the suburban Australian Christmas. It is a fond, insider’s view—sharp but affectionate—and one that the participants, after initial bemusement, actively embraced.
Parke draws from the legacy of postwar American photography while retaining a distinctly personal visual language, using light and colour to transform the everyday. The resulting photographs are both intimate and theatrical, sometimes hilarious, sometimes poetic and haunting. The exhibition also features a small selection of work from Parke’s black-and-white series Minutes to midnight 2003‒04 and a number of his handmade concertina photobooks, which he sees as a central part of his practice.
Until Sunday 6 September | National Gallery, Parkes Place East, Parkes | nga.gov.au
Illuminate: How Science Comes to Light
Questacon presents an interactive exhibition exploring the science of light through 13 hands-on exhibits. Visitors can experiment with light refraction, colour blending, shadow manipulation and reflection across multiple activity stations. The exhibition demonstrates how light travels, reflects and refracts, alongside displays of tools humans have developed to harness light. Activities include bending light, using sensors to create music, and working with lenses. The exhibition is designed for hands-on engagement with scientific concepts. Illuminate: How Science Comes to Light is a Museums Victoria Touring Exhibition running until November 2026.
Until Sunday, 22 November | Questacon–The National Science and Technology Centre, King Edward Terrace, Parkes | questacon.edu.au
Behind the Lines 2025: ‘Are We Rolling?’
Behind the Lines 2025: ‘Are We Rolling?’ celebrates the year’s best political cartoons.
Featuring established and emerging cartoonists from across Australia, this exhibition highlights the significant contribution they make to cultural and political debates through witty, insightful and often poignant satirical drawings.
This year our Behind the Lines theme is the cinema, acknowledging that, like some of our favourite movies, 2025 has been full of thrills and spills, romance and heartbreak, with plenty of unexpected plot twists. Australia’s cartoonists and illustrators have tackled many of the issues that made news, including the federal election, the cost of living, energy policy, interest rates, housing security, the economy, climate change and stories from overseas.
Until December 2026 | Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House | moadoph.gov.au
Gurindji Freedom Banners
A powerful new exhibition commemorating the pivotal 1966 Wave Hill Walk-off opens at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Gurindji Freedom Banners: Mumkurla-nginyi-ma parrngalinyparla–From the darkness into the light unites all ten hand-painted banners for the first time in years, telling the story of when Gurindji and neighbouring peoples, led by Vincent Lingiari AM, walked off Wave Hill Station on 23 August 1966.
Their demands for fair working conditions and return of traditional lands sparked landmark change, leading to the first handback of Aboriginal land in 1975 and paving the way for the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. The textile banners were created in 2000 by 35 Gurindji people, many walk-off participants, with one recently recreated after going missing.
Now showing until late 2026 | Museum of Australian Democracy, Old Parliament House | moadoph.gov.au
Know My Name: Kee, Jackson and Delaunay
Know My Name: Kee, Jackson and Delaunay showcases two of Australia’s leading fashion designers: Linda Jackson and Jenny Kee, in conversation with international, multidisciplinary artist Sonia Delaunay (1885–1979).
The iconic and vibrant early designs of Kee and Jackson from the 1970s and early 1980s were directly inspired by the dynamic legacy of Delaunay, who was a member of the School of Paris and co-founder of Orphism, an art movement noted for its use of intense colours and abstract, geometric forms. As well as working in traditional mediums such as painting and printmaking, Delaunay’s practice also included textile, fashion, and theatre design.
For Jackson and Kee, who were beginning their shared journey in creating clothes as works of art, the discovery of Delaunay was revolutionary. This powerful display feature a rarely-seen collection of Kee and Jackson’s garments from their archives and are shown with the National Gallery’s collection of Delaunay’s prints, drawings, textiles and costumes.
Showing now | National Gallery of Australia, Parkes Place East, Parkes | nga.gov.au
National Library of Australia Treasures Gallery
The National Library has millions of books, and the Treasures Gallery answers the frequently asked question, ‘Where are they’. They also collect other items. From maps and manuscripts to photographs and paintings, the Treasures Gallery is where you can find highlights from their vast physical and digital collections. Behind-the-scenes videos, pages from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice from the First Folio, a cedar bookcase carved by Dorothea Mackellar, photographs from the nation’s photo album, and a display of The Wiggles’ websites from 1997 to today from the Australian Web Archive are among the new additions.
Until December 2030 | National Library of Australia, Parkes | library.gov.au
Taglietti: Life in Design
Discover the world of The Global Architect, Enrico Taglietti (1926–2019), a visionary whose design principles shaped modern Australian architecture and left an indelible imprint on Canberra, the city he and his wife Franca chose to call home. Celebrating the centenary of Taglietti’s birth, Taglietti: Life in Design explores the life, philosophy, and legacy of one of Australia’s most original architects.
Trace the compelling story of Taglietti’s arrival in Australia through the groundbreaking 1955 Italy in Australia exhibition at David Jones, Sydney, which introduced the latest Milanese design to a globally curious audience and demonstrated the soft power of design diplomacy. Encounter iconic projects from Canberra’s Cinema Center to Sydney’s St Antony’s Parish Church, and gain insight into some of his extraordinary residential designs. Highlighting his collaborative spirit, international acclaim, and significant contribution to Canberra’s architectural identity, Taglietti: Life in Design is a landmark exhibition celebrating a true visionary in architecture and design.
Until 3 May | Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra City | cmag.com.au
