PIGEONHOLE Theatre is holding a benefit night of “Playhouse Creatures” before going, as the only Australian representative, to the Mondial du Theatre in Monaco in August. At The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre, 8pm, Friday, August 11 only. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or call the box office on 6275 2700.

Events:

THE final fundraising event for the Australian International Chopin Piano Competition, coming up from September 10–17, is “Dinner with Monsieur Chopin” at the Polish Australian White Eagle Club on August 12. All details at friendsofchopin.org.au

Talk:

“SPIRAL” is a non-denominational group of people who meet regularly to hear guest speakers and sometimes music. They’re seeking new members, helpers and guest speakers. Next up will be Peter Freer talking about The Canberra Croquet Club’s long history. Uniting Church, Gillies Street, Curtin at 10am, August 10, inquiries to yeatsb@iinet.net.au

Workshops and classes:

CANBERRA Men’s Choir is holding its annual “All Men Aloud” singing workshop with Leanne McKean at the Harmonie German Club, 49 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah, from 1pm-4pm this Sunday, August 13. Small fee of $20. Register to canberramenschoir@gmail.com

SOUTHERN Tablelands Arts is hosting a professional development course on August 11 and 18 called “Website Building for Creatives” in the Goulburn-Mulwaree, Wingecarribee, and Queanbeyan-Palerang and Hilltops local government areas. Bookings to trybooking.com/QXYN

CIT Adult Short courses are held every first weekend of the month all year round at Canberra Glassworks. Costs apply and to find out more, email education@canberraglassworks.com.au

Arts Business:

BERNIE Ayers Collection Sale, which will run for two weeks, includes works by Ben Quilty and Reko Rennie. At Aarwun Gallery, Shop 11 Federation Square, Gold Creek. All inquiries to 0407 778022.

CREATIVE Partnerships Australia is offering 12 arts fundraising mentorships for Australian arts organisations in 2017/18. Over 10 months mentors and mentees will work together to set organisational fundraising goals while developing skills and methodology. Applications close on August 18. Further details via creativepartnershipsaustralia.org.au

ENTRIES are open for John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing, with $10,000 on offer for the best produced script and professional support for the best un-produced script entered each year. Valued at $15,000, the prize will be presented in early December for an original essay of up to 3000 words that addresses a significant aspect of contemporary Australian life. The winning essay will be published in The Saturday Paper on December 23. Submissions are open until September 18, to thehorneprize.com.au

GARY France’s Groove Warehouse in Hume is expanding its percussion business and now offers daytime adult classes and keyboard lessons at 5/1 Sawmill Circuit, Hume. Information and enrolments to groovewarehouse.com.au

“MAMMA Mia!” The musical, inspired by ABBA’s classic songs, has seen over 60 million people all around the world pack in for the show. Tickets are now on sale for a new Aussie production that will premiere at the Canberra Theatre from November 24 to December 10. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

ENTRIES are open for the Digital Portraiture Award 2017, to go on show at the National Portrait Gallery from December 1. Entrants have until midnight on September 17 to submit their digital portraits. The winner of the Award will receive $10,000 cash and an artistic residency valued at $15,000 at State Library of Queensland’s community makerspace, The Edge. All details at dpa.portrait.gov.au

THE 10th Queanbeyan Art Society’s Charity Fine Art Show will take place in City Walk Canberra between King O’Malley’s Pub and the merry-go-round, from September 23 to October 2. Entries are now welcome, inquiries to the president of the society, Barry Cranston, at 0439 392709.

YOUNG Canberrans with ideas for projects, events or activities, which focus on social inclusion can now apply for the ACT government’s Youth InterACT grants of up to $1500. The grants are available for initiatives that will support young people in Canberra. Initiatives previously funded include an event celebrating Pacific Island culture and workshops creating art from recycled materials. The grants are open to Canberrans aged 12-25 and organisations that support young Canberrans. Applications will close at midnight on September 3. Information at communityservices.act.gov.au/ocyfs/youth-interact/grants

AINSLIE and Gorman Arts Centres offers supported office accommodation for artists, creatives, as well as arts organisations and music-based organisations and individuals. Inquiries to agac.com.au

Literature:

AT the Dead Poets Dinner, diners are invited to read one or two poems by dead poets whose work they admire, in any language. At ANU’s Graduate House from 6.30pm, Wednesday, August 23. Booking to gpage40@bigpond.net.au close August 16.

CANBERRA Writers Festival is coming up again for the second time in late August and bookings can now be made at canberrawritersfestival.com.au or 132 849.

FORTY original artworks from the never-before-seen CBCA Children’s Book Week collection can be seen in the Clive Price Suite, Building 1, University of Canberra, from 10am-2pm, Monday to Friday to August 30.

Dance:

CHOREOGRAPHER Liz Lea will be mustering around 150 dancers and drummers to fill Garema Place as they celebrate the stars and National Science Week in “The Galaxy Project”. Performance times are 5pm on August 10 and 3pm on August 12, everybody is welcome.

AUSDANCE ACT Open Class is continuing with advanced to professional level classes on Wednesdays from 10am-11.30am at the Belconnen Arts Centre. Evening classes on Thursdays run from 6.50pm-8.20pm at QL2’s Dance Studio, for intermediate to professional level dancers of all genres. Inquiries to 6247 9103. 

Concerts and Gigs:

SHORTIS and Simpson are staging “Under the Influence”, a tribute to the singers, songwriters and seminal moments that have inspired them. Ainslie Arts Centre, Elouera Street, Braddon, 8pm, Friday August 11. Bookings to eventbrite.com.au or 6182 0000.

CANBERRA medical specialist and pianist, Robert Schmidli, is it about to perform his annual concert from which all proceeds go to L’Arche Genesaret, community living for people with intellectual disability. He will perform works by Scarlatti, Poulenc, Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin at Wesley Music Centre, 3pm, Sunday, August 13. Bookings to trybooking.com or 6282 9066 or at the door.

THE song-writing talents of David Bridie combine with the strings of Helen Mountfort and Hope Csutoros in triple ARIA winning group My Friend The Chocolate Cake, coming to The Street theatre on Saturday, August 12. Bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

AINSLIE and Gorman are hosting Melbourne jazz band, Way Out West, led by daring trumpeter/composer Peter Knight. The band’s new album features koto virtuoso, Satsuki Odamura, and builds on the band’s long history of integrating Asian instrumentation. At the Ainslie Arts Centre, Elouera Street, Braddon, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, Thursday, August 11. Bookings to agac.com.au

ANU School of Music is hosting  the conference, “Women in the Creative Arts”, from August 10-12. The Muses Trio is ensemble in residence and will perform seven new piano trios by women composers, chosen from a global call for scores. Recital at Larry Sitsky Recital Room, ANU School of Music, 7pm-9pm, Friday, August 11. Bookings to eventbrite.com.au

PHOENIX Pub in Civic has as follows: Thursday, August 10 at 9pm, Free Entry, Piss Weak Karaoke; Friday, August 11 at 9pm, Destrends, Moaning Lisa, House Of Strangers; and Saturday, August 12 at  9pm, TEEM Selki, DYP aka Mick Dagger, Happy Axe.

IN “Latin America and Beyond”, classical guitarist Andrew Blanch performs South American guitar music, followed by the “beyond” bit, which includes works by J.S. Bach, Ross Edwards and Spaniard Francisco Tarrega. It will be presented by the Canberra Classical Guitar Society, at Wesley Music Centre, 7.30pm, this Saturday, August 12. Tickets at the door.

Theatre:

KATE Blackhurst, who directed Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit for REP” in 2014, is now directing Lally Katz’s “Neighbourhood Watch”. It’s an all-star cast. Theatre 3, to August 19. Bookings to canberrarep.org.au or 6257 1950.

Exhibitions:

NANCY Sever Gallery is presenting “Byrd: Unreliable Narrator”, an exhibition of recent work by Canberra’s top mural and graffiti artist. The themes of Byrd’s work have grown out of a longstanding relationship with Australia’s natural environment, its fragility, management and the traces of human passage through it. 4/6 Kennedy St Kingston, Wednesday to Sunday, 11am– 6pm until September 3.

 

The 50th Anniversary exhibition for the Queanbeyan Art Society is showing until the end of August at the QAS Gallery, Trinculo Place, Queanbeyan, under the bridge on the Queanbeyan River bank.

ZOE Woods from South Australia is Ausglass Artist in Residence at Canberra Glassworks, where she is to incorporate engraving techniques and experiment with new forms. And, Art Group Creative Fellow Harriet Schwarzrock is now working full time in the Engine Room. Visitors can say hello to Zoe and Harriet in the Engine Room at Canberra Glassworks, 11 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston, from 10am–4pm, Wednesday to Sunday, until August 27. Entry by donation.

PAINTER Jennifer Manning is exhibiting moody and semi abstract landscapes in the foyer of the East Hotel, Kingston until August 18. All welcome.

JEWELLERY maker and gallery owner Xanthe Gay has owned and managed “X Gallery” for 13 years and although she has represented many artists there, now she is exhibiting her own work for the first time in a show dedicated to the late artist, Robert Foster. “Botanica Eclectica”, at X Gallery, 32 Gibraltar Street, Bungendore, until August 14.

“RETROGRADE” is an exhibition of new work by Melbourne artist Jimmy Langer. The works are direct digital experiments utilising printmaking techniques and are the result of a four-week residency at Megalo in June this year. Megalo Print Studio + Gallery 21 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am-5pm, until August 19.

MARSDEN Art Group, established in 2003 by Barbara Van Der Linden, visits the theme “Evolve”, which reflects a process of change whether in relation to humans, animals, the planet, weather, plants or thought. This year’s artists are Ian Baird, Julie Delves, Liz Dovey, Val Gee, Margaret Gordon, Susan Hey, Penina Huho, Marilyn Hutchinson, Sally Jones, Margaret Kalms, Manuel Pfeiffer, Saggu Sukhvinder, Barbara Van Der Linden and Delene White. At Watson Arts Centre, Aspinall Street, Watson, August 3-13, Thursday to Sunday, from 10am–4pm. “Meet the artist’s” afternoon tea from 1pm–3pm, Sunday, August 13. All welcome.

 

FORM Studio and Gallery now has “Branching Out”, an exploration of techniques and materials by Joan Costanzo and “The Shaping”, in which Karyn Fearnside looks at how human features are transported through genetic make-up. Both at 1/30 Aurora Street, Queanbeyan, from 10am–4pm, Tuesday to Sunday, to August 20. 

BELCONNEN Community Gallery “Springboard” series presents, “Soul of Fiji”, an exhibition resulting from a trip in February this year where CIT 2016 Photography Competition Prize Winner Lydia Downe travelled to Fiji to work alongside UN Women documenting their “Markets for Change” program. Gallery@bcs, Swanson Court, Belconnen, Monday to Friday, 9am-4.30pm to August 11.

A RARE collection, which features 52 portraits of British street people will be on display for the first time in “Dempsey’s People: a folio of British street portraits 1824-1844”. Curated by David Hansen, the exhibition will bring together 51 works painted by little-known itinerant portraitist, John Dempsey. National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes, from 10am–5pm daily, to October 22.

M16 has four exhibitions opening at 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith, at 6pm this Thursday, July 27, which will continue until August 13. “Touch” is the focus of the annual M16 Artspace Studio Artists’ 2017 exhibition, with a mighty lineup of works by Carmel McCrow, Val Gee, Angela Bakker, Sarah Murphy, Marje Seymour, Tony Curran, Jacob Potter, Bronwyn Davies, Jane Dunn, Phil Page, Fiona Little, Jodie Cunningham, Robin Setchell, Megan Jackson, Katy Mutton, Johanna Butler, Sanne Koelemij, Kate Murphy, Leanne Crisp, Di Broomhall, Derek O’Connor, Nicola Dickson, Rose Montebello, Ella Whateley, Meelan Oh, Kerry Shepherdson, Katherine Campbell, Andrea McCuaig, Elizabeth Faul and Suzanne Moss.

ALSO at M16 is “Orchestrated Chaos”, a multimedia show by Rasha Ajaj, as well as an exhibition by Hands On Studio artists, curated by Tilly Davey and Hands-On tutors. Then in Chutespace is “Let Go” by Caren Florance, which is a meditation on grieving that uses a poem by Rosemary Dobson.

“MELODRAMA in Meiji Japan” features Japanese woodblock (Kuchi-e) illustrations at the Exhibition Gallery on the ground floor of the National Library of Australia, from 10am-5pm, to August 27.

“DEFYING Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial” brings the works of 30 contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to the National Gallery of Australia until September 10.

GINNINDERRA School House Gallery has “Life Scapes”, mixed media landscapes, animals and still life by Lesa Potten, who is a veterinary surgeon from Hall, traditional local country scenes and seascapes by Col Nelson of Yass and abstract figure sculptures created from beautiful local Broome W.A. timbers by Mayin Chan, a dentist from Broome. At Sweet Copper Cafe, Gold Creek, Nicholls, Fridays 10am–4pm, Saturdays and Sundays 8.30am–4.30pm, to August 27. Official opening 3pm, Sunday, August 6.

BILK Gallery is showcasing “Place, Knowing and Being”, a recent collection of works by Christopher Robertson, that were submitted as part of his practice lead research for a PhD at the ANU. These works include flatware and furniture as well as a selection of brooches from Robertson’s prior oeuvre. Bilk Gallery for contemporary metal and glass, Palmerston Lane, Manuka until September 3.

CRAFT ACT has a solo exhibition by South Australian designer and maker Christian Hall, which includes furniture, sculpture and jewellery. Craft ACT will also feature “Emerging Contemporaries”, the Craft ACT National Award Exhibition for early career artists. At Craft ACT: Craft and Design

BEAVER Galleries now have works by ceramic artist Avital Sheffer and Nicola Dickson’s most recent work, which has been inspired by the D’Entrecasteaux expedition to Australia and the Pacific in 1792-3. Opens at 81 Denison Street, Deakin, 6pm, Thursday, August 10 and runs until August 27.

MEREDITH Hinchliffe has curated an online exhibition of work by tapestry exponent Belinda Ramson, who died in 2014. This exhibition was mounted at the American Tapestry Alliance, visit americantapestryalliance.org/exhibitions/tex_ata/belinda-ramson/

THE Australian War Memorial has as a permanent exhibition “The Holocaust: witnesses and survivors”, which includes over 85 collection items.

PhotoAccess has  in the Huw Davies Gallery as follows: “Let Me Imagine You” by Andrew Tenison; “Community Honour” by Fiona Amundsen; and “All Killer” by Jess Taylor, all continuing until Sunday, August 13 at Manuka Art Centre. Tenison will give an artist talk at 2pm on Sunday, August 13. Free event. All welcome.

CANBERRA painter Robert Boynes’ newest exhibition of work, “Modern Times”, curated by Terence Maloon, is at the ANU Drill Hall Gallery, Kingsley Street, Acton, until August 13.

“A Change Is Gonna Come” is an exhibition focusing on the 1967 Aboriginal Referendum and the 1992 MABO land rights decision by the High Court. At the National Museum of Australia, until January 30, 2018.

“KIRSTIE Rea: the land”, a 20-year survey of works by one of Canberra’s most famous glass creators, has been chosen for the reopening of the Canberra Museum and Gallery. The show runs to August 20.

KYEEMA Gallery now has “Unconventional Destinations”, a collection of photographs by Mark Cunich, at 13 Gladstone Street, Hall Village, 10.30am–5pm, Thursday to Sunday until August 20.