BILLED as an evening to commemorate the life and art of the late David Bowie, The Bowie Ball is coming up at Ainslie Arts Centre.

WITH  live music from Alice Cottee, spoken word tributes by Hannah McCann and Duncan Driver and a special performance by Venus Mantrap, “Red Door,” The Bowie Ball is at  Ainslie Arts Centre, 30 Elouera St, Braddon, 7pm Saturday February 13, bookings to agac.com.au

Events:

THE all-local Canberra Multicultural Fringe returns in 2016 under the direction of Chenoeh Miller and Gregor Murray, in Bailey’s Corner car park, opposite East Row, February 12-13.

“FUTURES” is the first in a series of six emerging arts showcases to be run in Canberra this year by “RAW: natural born artists,” with a mission to provide independent artists of all creative genres, with the tools, resources and exposure needed to inspire and cultivate creativity. At Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen, 6:30pm, Friday, February 12. Bookings to RAWartists.org or at the door

“CRIMES of Passion” puts a Valentine’s Day twist on the exhibition “Sideshow Alley: infamy, the macabre & the portrait” at at the National Portrait Gallery. Join curator Joanna Gilmour for a journey through some of the dark and twisted stories at 2pm on Sunday  February 14.This is an Auslan sign interpreted program, all welcome.

TUGGERANONG Arts Centre will host a pre-Valentine’s Day screening of the documentary “Love Between the Covers” followed by a Q&A with Canberra romance writers Rhyll Biest, Bec Fleming, Stella Francis/Estelle Muspratt, Elyse Huntington and Justine Lewis at the Centre, 137 Reed Street, Greenway, noon to 3pm, Saturday February, 13, all welcome.

THE  National Film and Sound Archive of Australia  presents the first ‘Black Chat’ for 2016 with special guest, Indigenous dancer Tammi Gissell, along with a curated selection of dance films. She will be joined by NFSA Indigenous curator Brenda Gifford, to discuss how Indigenous dance is presented on film at 6pm, Friday, February 12 in the Arc Cinema. Free. Bookings essential to trybooking.com

Theatre:

THE AUSTRALIAN Talented Youth Project performance, at The Theatre, Parliament House, 3.30pm for 4.15pm (allowing time for parking and security) February 10. Free admission, no bookings required, all welcome.

COMEDIAN Lawrence Mooney is coming to Canberra to trial material for his newest show. Best known as the host of his show “Dirty Laundry Live” on ABC TV, he’ll be up close and personal at Courtyard Studio at 7.30pm from February 3-10, bookings to canberraticketing.com.au or 6275 2700.

IN Amy Herzog’s play “4000 Miles”, the winner of the 2012 Obie for Best New American Play, 21-year-old Leo rocks up unannounced at the Manhattan apartment of his 91-year-old Jewish grandmother Vera—and stays. This couch-surfing comedy-drama is coming to The Q from February 11-13, Bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

Arts Business:

CANBERRA Museum and Gallery is calling for proposals from artists based in the ACT region to create site-specific works for its glass-walled project space facing Civic Square. Projects should be self-funded, however CMAG can assist. Installations would remain in place for approximately three months, during dates between mid-April 2017 and February 2019. Applications to Mark.Bayly@act.gov.au by COB Monday, February 29.

STEVE Brown is re-branding his Bespoke Framing business at 8 Townshend St Phillip to become ‘Canberra Artworks,’ and intends and it will be launching it from 10-4 on Saturday February 6 with an arty carnivale featuring belly dancers. All welcome. The space will house galleries, workshops, glass, framing, gifts and even performances. Brown wants to make it accessible to all artists and can be contacted at 0432 116 264.

THE Australian Rugby Choir, Canberra’s largest male community choir, is beginning its annual recruitment drive with new members’ welcome night at 7pm on Thursday February 11 in Curtin Primary School. There’s no obligation to join and prospective members get 3 free visits. More information at rugbychoir.org.au or by phoning 6291 9038.

EXHIBITION and workshop bookings are open for SoART Gallery 2016 Program the SoART Gallery, on the Princes Highway beside Narooma Kinema, provides an affordable space for individuals or groups of artists to exhibit their work and hold workshops. Space rental is $90 per week and requires a $100 bond on confirmation of booking. Rental price negotiable for non-profit, school and community groups. SoART Gallery is managed by a voluntary sub-committee of the Narooma School of Arts. Booking information and details to naroomaartscentre.com.au or infosoartgallery@gmail.com or phone 0400 442 945.

Concerts and gigs:

“WE May Never Meet Again” pays tribute to Amy Winehouse’s lifelong love of jazz in a concert led by ANU jazz graduate Joe McEvilly, Melbourne nine-piece Movement 9 and vocalist Elly Poletti. At The Street Theatre, 8pm, Friday February 12. Then Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck — Sydney trio The Necks – will be back at The Street as part of their 2016 national tour at 8pm on Saturday February, 13, bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

Exhibitions:

BELCONNEN  Arts Centre now has “Dream Machine”, a life size cardboard bus with radio blaring and headlights flickering by artist ‘byrd’ and an extended program by Indigenous artists. ALSO at BAC is “Messages from Canberra: Screen Printed Posters from Megalo,” quirky, humorous, at times shocking posters, quirky and humorous, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen, until February 28, 10am–4pm Tuesday–Sunday.

BEAVER Galleries have Sophia Szilagyi “Drifting past” prints and Jenny Orchard “Living in the clouds” ceramics & works on paper, Denison St Deakin, Tue to Fri 10am-5pm Sat and Sun 9am-5pm until March 1.

M16 ARTSPACE Blaxland Crescent Griffith, has “Undertoe”, a photographic exhibition by Canberra artist Dörte Conroy, showcasing graphic glimpses of the ground plane around Hobart’s waterfront and in Sydney’s older areas. Afghani-Australian artist from Dandenong, Mehdi Jaghuri, presents his fourth solo exhibition, “Remember that Time”, critically exploring an array of social, political and cultural issues. Corinne Beardsley’s show “Touch” explores themes of humanity and transcendence in unfired full-bodied clay figures and video. Finally, Caitlin Kozman’s “Dry” is a photographic exhibition that aims to challenge the perception of time and experience. 12-5pm Wed-Sun. Opening, 6pm February 11, all welcome.

“VOYAGE” by one of Canberra’s most promising artists Tommy Balogh, is a culmination of a year of research and experimentation. The exhibition is a large-scale voyage  showing the colour and darkness of places normally beyond our reach. At Nishi Gallery, NewActon. Until February 21.

PHOTOACCESS has “In Sequence”, a PhotoAccess members’ exhibition, addressing the notion of sequence and narrative in photography and” Taken Spaces”, new works by Melbourne photo-media artists Madeline Bishop and Leela Schauble. Manuka Arts Centre, (next to the Manuka Pool) until Sunday February 21.

CRAFTACT: Craft and Design Centre’s exhibition, “Emerging Contemporaries” showcases the work of 2015’s outstanding graduate students and emerging craft practitioners and designer makers from across Australia. Opening at Craft + Design Centre Gallery, Level 1 North Building, 180 London Circuit 6pm today Thurs Feb 11 by Patrick Stein, designer and architect. All welcome. Also showing in the same space are solo exhibitions from local artists Mi-Kyung Myung and Meredith Hughes, opened by curator Mel George, also at Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre, 6pm today, Thursday Feb 11. Showing in the Crucible showcase are Bula’bula arts early career artists Marley and Linda Malibirr from the Ramingining community. Open Tuesday to Friday 10am-5pm + Saturday 12pm-4pm.

THE Australian Centre on China in the World has an exhibition entitled “Photographs of 1930s China” by Stanley O. Gregory, intended to complement the “Celestial Empire exhibition” at the National Library of Australia. It is a selection of rarely-seen photographs of 1930s, taken by Stanley O. Gregory, from original negatives in the NLA Collection, printed in large-format for the first time. In the China in the World Building, Fellows Lane (Building 188) ANU, until March 20, 9am–5pm, Monday to Friday, weekend viewings: February 27–28 and March 19–20, 10am–4pm. FROM the remote East Kimberley region of Western Australia comes the art of five senior Gija artists whose lives have been driven by the need to put cross-cultural communication and education into practice through art. The exhibition has been curated by the Nancy Sever Gallery and the Warmun Art Centre in WA. “Women Artists From Warmun”, at Nancy Sever Gallery, 6 Kennedy Street Kingston until March 6, Wednesday–Sunday 11am–6pm.

PHOTOGRAPHER and designer Brian Stewart has “A Golden Age: Canberra Jazz 2009-2014” at Smiths Alternative. It’s a photographic tribute to the time, the people, the venues and the music in a time when the students and teachers at the ANU School of Music, aided by other local musicians, were the driving force behind exceptional live jazz music in Canberra. At 76 Alinga Street, Civic.

THROUGHOUT February, Tuggeranong Arts Centre presents a joint exhibition of key political works in print media by Alison Alder and Bernie Slater. The 2015 recipient of Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s Emerging Artists Award, Jess Higgins, will also exhibit work from her Honours portfolio in February. Exhibition continues until Saturday February 27.

“LOVE EYES” is a show by NSW/ACT emerging artist Eliya Nikki Cohen. This is the first time Eliya will hold a solo exhibition in Canberra, and the first Canberra showing of her video installation of the same name.

GALLERY@BCS presents “Nitty Gritty – On the Front Line,” mixed media exhibition by frontline welfare workers at Belconnen Community Centre, Swanson Crt, Belconnen Mon-Fri 9am-4:30pm until February 19.

STRATHNAIRN Arts is presenting ceramics by Richilde Flavell and paintings by Harriet Mitchell. At Strathnairn Homestead Gallery, 90 Stockdill Druve Holt, Thurs – Sun 10 – 4.

JAN Matson has a solo exhibition at Ginninderra School House Gallery, her first for 8 years. This exhibition includes oil paintings of local areas such as Yass, Braidwood, Hall and Canberra and a collection of her popular poppy paintings. At 3/11 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls Thurs. & Fri. 10 am – 4pm & Sat. & Sun. 8.30 – 4.30 pm until Feb 28.