THREE new exhibitions sees emerging Canberra artists using  animals as metaphor to explore human interactions, connection to place and social constructs.

THE  shows are  “Habitual Creatures” by Tom Buckland, Rebecca Selleck and Sian Watson, “Pigs and Dogs” by Shan Crosbie, and  “Dis-Place” by Daniel Savage, whose photos  use taxidermy native animals as a metaphor for the position of people with a disability.   All at Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen, ACT Gallery hours: 10:00am–4:00pm Tuesday–Sunday. June 24 –July 17.

Events:

THE 35-year-old Yarralumla Midwinter Show is at the Yarralumla Uniting Church centre, Denman Street, Yarralumla, on and the show will be open on: Friday, June 24 (10-8), Saturday 25 June 25 (10-5) and Sunday 26 June 26 (12-5). The opening at 6pm on June 24 will be followed by a parade.

DARRYL’S Den is a go-ahead community studio that provides services and activities to children and adults with disabilities that include art and craft, specialised massage, gym and Tai Chi. They’re over the moon at having won an IKEA make-over and are holding an Open Day to show off the results. At 80 Beaurepaire Cr, Holt from 2pm on June 26. All welcome.

THE next Mother Tongue showcase will feature poet Anita Patel and an open mic session is coming up at Belconnen Arts Centre, 2-4pm, Sunday June 26.   All languages and abilities welcome, no experience required. FREE event, all welcome.

THE ACT Storytellers Guild is presenting “A Room in June”, an evening of stories with music by the Canberra Harmony Chorus on Saturday, June 25 at 7pm at the St James Uniting Church Hall, Gillies Street Curtin. Stories are suitable for adults and older children. Cost $15 including refreshments.

Talks:

THE FRIENDS of the ANU Drill Hall Gallery are holding their JUNE event in the Alan Barton Forum,  Level 2 College of Business and Economics ANU (next door to Drill Hall) At 5.30 pm this Friday, June 24. Terence Maloon and Nigel Lendon will hold a discussion on seeing the Romanian works of sculptor Constantin Brancusi in situ.  Winter soup and slide show and  drinks. Kingsley Street Parking station open  5–8pm for parking (anywhere but the roof top area).

PARLIAMENT House has a FREE conversation this Sunday with the creative and conservation team behind Hannie Rayson’s play “Extinction”.  Rayson, Nadia Tass, Lizzy Corke and actor Ngaire Dawn Fair will be joined by leading scientist Professor David Lindenmayer from ANU to discuss how science, citizen science and drama can intersect in the issues around species extinction, conservation and climate change. Facilitator is president and chair of Woodland and Wetlands Trust, Alison French- Russell. Parliament House, Theatre this   Sunday, June 26 2 – 3.40pm.

AUSTRALIAN Decorative & Fine Arts Society Molonglo Plains invites members & visitors to its June lecture “Matthew Flinders: Indomitable Explorer” by Australian lecturer Emeritus Curator Paul Brunto. Comfort Inn Airport International, 57 Yass Road, Queanbeyan, 2pm, Thursday  June 23,  followed by afternoon tea at the. Members and visitors welcome.  For membership inquiries and visitor bookings contact Lucy Costas on 04370538529 or adfasmembersmolonglo@gmail.com

Arts business:

A PROPOSED documentary by Michael Kraaz with Canberra’s Ronin Films will focus on the early Aeroplane Jelly Cinema advertisements made by pioneering Australian animator Eric Porter.  He’s started a crowd funding campaign at  pozible.com/project/195679

THE GRIFFYN Ensemble is running a 100-day fundraising campaign to help support musicians to travel to Canberra, purchase sheet music, and work with collaborators.  All donations are tax-deductable.   Donations can be made through the Australian Cultural Fund with the following link: australianculturalfund.org.au

M16 ARTSPACE reminds everyone that  arts minded people can donate to M16 before June 30 and receive a tax deduction. It’s easy to donate, just follow the link and you’ll get a tax receipt. australianculturalfund.org.au

ON A similar note, the National Portrait Gallery tell us it is endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a Tax Deductible Recipient, which means cash donations over $2 are fully tax-deductible. For further information on the Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund, please see portrait.gov.au/friends or contact the Gallery’s Circle of Friends Coordinator Jody Barnett on 02 6102 7022 or jody.barnett@npg.gov.au

QUEANBEYAN-PALERANG Regional Council is inviting artists to express interest in creating a mural on the pylons of Queens Bridge over the Queanbeyan River. The art work will be contemporary, large in scale and highly visible, supporting the concept of the river and its foreshore as a vibrant recreational and cultural precinct. Council will fund works up to $10,000. Expressions of interest by July 11 to qcc.nsw.gov.au

IN THE City Canberra has just launched ‘Grants in the City, making $340,000 available to individuals, groups and businesses for events and projects to enrich the CBD in the next 12 month. For more information and how to apply, visit inthecitycanberra.com.au

QUEANBEYAN City Council is calling on interested stallholders to apply for a site for the inaugural Queanbeyan Christmas in July Fair to be held at the Queanbeyan Showground on Sunday, July 24 from 10am-3pm. To apply for a stallholder site visit qcc.nsw.gov.au or contact Cultural Services at Queanbeyan City Council on 6285 6170 or email cultural.services@qcc.nsw.gov.au

Film/Screen:

PALACE Cinemas and Toronto-based “Hot Docs” Canadian International Documentary Festival has a new festival of “Outstanding and Outspoken international and local documentaries commencing in Australia this month with former Canberran Richard Moore directing.” At Palace Electric, NewActon, until June 26. Bookings to palacecinemas.com.au

Workshops and classes:

YOUNG Music Society Winter Music School, “Stories in the Stars” at the Belconnen Arts Centre July 11 – 15, 9:00am to 3:30pm daily. After school care is also available. Bookings and inquiries to youngmusicsociety.org.au or 6251 8017

SINGER, songwriter and voice teacher extraordinaire Lisa Richards will introduce everyone, but especially the ‘Shy and Vocally Challenged’ to their singing voices in a fun, critique free group singing environment. You need ZERO experience singing and ZERO belief in your ability to sing. Every second Tuesday at Smith’s Alternative, Alinga St Civic. Smith’s Alternative ‘Sing Fling: Live Dangerously’. Entry $10 at the door.

THE GROOVE Warehouse has Damian Corniola, one of Australia’s most exciting drummers and educators, running a Drum Kit Holiday Programs at 1 Sawmill Circuit Hume, July 5, ages 13 – 18 inquiries to 0410 685 753.

Dance:

FRESH FUNK takes to the stage at the end of June with Let Loose, a modern urban dance remake of the classic “Footloose” story. The show will incorporate the full cast of Fresh Funk participants who can’t wait to, well, let loose. Calwell Performing Arts Centre Friday June 24, 8pm and Saturday June 25, 5pm & 8pm, bookings to trybooking.com

IN “TANGO Fridays” you can practise and improve your Argentine Tango on Fridays 7-9 PM at “Nuestra Practica y mas”, Woden Seniors Club (Hall 2). Entry $5

Prizes and Awards:

MORE than $4000 in prize money is on offer to artists and craftspeople residing in the Queanbeyan-Palerang, Snowy-Monaro and Yass Valley local government areas in the Council Regional Art Awards. Included among the prizes is a creative partnership with Form Studio and the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council which will see one talented artist awarded the Form Studio Gallery Award for Professional Practice valued at $2,000. All interested artists and craftspeople are encouraged to apply via Council’s website at qcc.nsw.gov.au with work to be presented on July 20.

THE 2016 Paul Lowin music prizes are now open for nomination. The Orchestral Prize ($25,000) is awarded for a work for modern chamber or symphony orchestra of at least 30 players and 15 independent lines. The Song Cycle Prize ($15,000) will be awarded to a work suitable for chamber performance, using no more than 1-8 independent vocal lines, accompanied by up to 10 instrumental players. Nominations are accepted from anyone, including the general public. Entries close 5pm, June 30.

Theatre:

THE Michael Jackson “HIStory” Show, at the Playhouse, June 26, bookings to  canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

THE  STC’s “Disgraced”, at The Playhouse, June 22 – 25 is a Pulitzer-prizewinning play that exploring  contemporary issues relating to Islamophobia. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

IT’s  back to the 1950s with Queanbeyan Players take on Meredith Willson’s musical “The Music Man” at The Q. Smooth-talking con-man Harold Hill (played by Gordon Nicholson) arrives in River City, in Iowa with a moneymaking scheme that involves recruiting all the boys in town to form a band. At the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, until June 25, bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

“PIGMAN’S Lament” world premiere, at The Street Theatre, sees actor Raoul Craemer exploring his darker past June 24 to July 3, bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

“CRASH Test Drama” is a project where local short plays, ranging from outlandish comedy to subtle political satire, are given a semi-staged airing. “Best of Crash Test” at the Courtyard Studio, 7pm June 25-26, bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

AGATHA Christie’s courtroom drama/thriller “Witness for the Prosecution” is staged by Canberra REP. At Theatre 3, June 16 –July 2, bookings to canberrarep.org.au or 6257 1950.

Concerts and gigs:

CANBERRA Youth Orchestra’s “Icons 02: Dvo?ák” program is at Llewellyn Hall, 7.30pm, this Sunday, June 26. Two iconic works for piano and orchestra combine with Dvo?ák’s uplifting Symphony No. 8. Featuring Juilliard School alumni Edward and Stephanie Neeman. Bookings to premier.ticketek.com.au

ACO artistic director Richard Tognetti joins Italian cellist, conductor and composer Giovanni Sollima on “a wild joy-ride through 500 years of Italian music-making”. Llewellyn Hall, Saturday June 25, 8pm, bookings to aco.com.au

DUO Vela Flute and Guitar ensemble, Marla Smith and Daniel Nistico, will both perform and inform in an unusual classical music event at the High Court of Australia at 1:30pm on Sunday, June 26. Free, but bookings essential to hcourt.gov.au

“THE Young Ones” concert features the youth choristers and solo musicians from All Saints’ Anglican Church on the organ and other instruments. They will be joined by pre-tertiary students from the ANU Open School of Music and a chamber group from Merici College. At the Church, 9-15 Cowper St, Ainslie, 2.30pm, Sunday June 26, followed by afternoon tea in the Church Hall. Tickets at the door.

FORREST National Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Gillian Bailey-Graham, will give a ‘Winter Concert’ of varied works from the Baroque Period to the 20th Century.  Two talented young solo violinists, Donica Tran and Mila Haydon will perform with the orchestra. Wesley Uniting Church, 3pm, Sunday June 26, bookings to trybooking.com or at the door.

“For Noelene – Art Song to Broadway”  is a concert dedicated to the memory of Noelene Akeroyd. Bronwyn Riley, mezzo soprano, and Phillipa Candy, piano, will perform  a selection of songs from the 17th to the 20th centuries by composers from Handel and Faure to Rodgers and Kander. Cooinda Hall, Kangara Waters Retirement Village, 2 Joy Cummings Place, Belconnen, 2.15-3pm Sunday, June 26. Bookings to trybooking.com, or at the door.

CANBERRA City Band and the Strange Weather Gospel Choir celebrate the music of America, the nation that shaped popular music as we know it today. “Godzilla Eats Las Vegas”, Tim Murray Theatre, Canberra Grammar School, Monaro Crescent, Red Hill,  2 pm, Sunday, June 26. Bookings to  eventbrite.com.au tinyurl.com

THE SONG Company’s newest program is part-theatre, part-concert celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. “A Strange Eventful History” draws on scholar Gary Watt’s work on performance rhetoric for the Royal Shakespeare Company and his forthcoming book “Shakespeare’s Acts of Will”. Wesley Uniting Church, 6pm, Saturday June 25, bookings to songcompany.com.au

THE PHOENIX Pub in Civic has: on Thursday 23, 9pm, The Ians, Gus & Jim, on Friday 24, 9pm, Friday Night Fiesta, Funkytrop & Friends, and on Saturday 25 9:30pm, The Undermines, Aberration.

Exhibitions:

NELLIE Peoples and Zoe Brand are emerging art jewellers who have recently graduated from the Australian National University, School of Art Gold and Silversmithing Workshop. Peoples’ work includes sterling silver rings encased in crayon, while Brand’s work on show includes serial production of badges, pendants and rings as well as one off advertising boards. At Bilk Gallery for contemporary metal and glass, Palmerston Lane Manuka June 24 to July 29.

CANBERRA Museum and Gallery aims to further the enjoyment of the complexity of the nature of the Canberra region and our ‘bush capital’, in photos, paintings, sculpture, natural history illustration and drawing, scientific specimens and audio-visual material and a program of walks and talks, which can be found at cmag.com.au

CANBERRA Glassworks has “Light Translations”, of new works by Holly Grace and Lisa Cahill exploring place and identity, reflecting the natural and cultural environments of Denmark and Australia, here from the Ebeltoft Glass Museum, Denmark. Until July 17.

“REFLECTIONS”, works from Canberra Glassworks and the Parliament House Art Collection, features nine internationally renowned glass artists who have created works that respond to the art, architecture and landscape of Parliament House. Presiding Officers’ Exhibition Area, Australian Parliament until September 11.  Participating artists include Annette Blair, Lisa Cahill, Mel Douglas, Hannah Gason, Jeremy Lepisto, Ruth Oliphant, Emilie Patteson, Kirstie Rea and Harriet Schwarzrock. Cost: Free

THE winning work from the inaugural Hindmarsh Prize, Surge 19, by Masahiro Asaka is on display in the Engine Room at Canberra Glassworks. Also, visitors to Canberra Glassworks this week will be able to see ACT School Residency artist Broni Sargeson from Dickson College working and Asialink Artist in Residence Takeyoshi Mitsui from Toyama Glass Studio, Japan at work from their studio space in the Engine Room. Canberra Glassworks, Wentworth Ave Kingston. 10am to 4pm Wed – Sun. Entry by Donation.

BEAVER Galleries have ceramics by Maria Chatzinikolaki, prints by David Frazer and painting, photography, print media, light-based work and video installation by  Alexander Boynes. 81 Denison St, Deakin, Tue to Fri 10am – 5pm & Sat and Sun 9am – 5pm until July 3.

“AFTER the Dust Storm’” is an exhibition of watercolours painted after 1994 by artist Nancy Tingey at Strathnairn Homestead Gallery 2, until July 10.

“EX LIBRIS : Celebrating the art of the bookplate” an exhibition of Megalo member’s print works inspired by the art of the bookplate, at Megalo Print Studio + Gallery in Wentworth Ave Kingston until June 25, Tuesday – Saturday 9.30am – 5pm.

BRAIDWOOD artist and teacher at St Bede’s Primary School, Julian Laffan, challenges the usual notion of bringing home a reminder of travel in an exhibition of woodcuts, each hand rendered and hand painted. Inspired by late 19th century hand painted photographs, the images capture Laffan’s recent observations of travel to Europe and the United States in 2015-2016. Suki & Hugh Gallery 38A Gibraltar Street Bungendore, runs until July 31.

TIM Johnson makes a welcome return to the Canberra art scene with his solo exhibition ‘Floating Worlds’. Against the background of Aboriginal dot painting Tim Johnson lays out his personal iconography, drawing on Buddhist, Tibetan and Chinese art. “Floating Worlds” is at the Nancy Sever Gallery, 6 Kennedy St Kingston until July 10, Wed–Sun 11am-6pm.

‘THE Void Embrace’, is the latest exhibition by Canberra artist Shellaine Godbold. The drawings and sculptures are a response to her residencies and travel in Japan and Taiwan. Moving back and forth between transparency and opacity these pieces slowly reveal their secrets to viewers. At ANCA Gallery 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson 12pm-5pm, Wednesday-Sunday until June 26.

QUEANBEYAN’S latest public art installation – 20 Indigenous street sails – have been  superimposed on 20 street flags which will line Queanbeyan’s Monaro St until July 29.

JENNIFER McEwen Mason has an exhibition, “Thirty Years in the Making”, an eclectic mix of pastels, acrylics, oils & watercolours, at Ginninderra School House, Sweet Copper Cafe, Gold Creek, Nicholls, until July 31, Thurs. & Fri. 10 am – 4 pm & Sat. & Sun. 8.30 – 4.30 pm.

PHOTOACCESS has two new exhibitions connecting the past with the present to illustrate the power of the image to communicate. “The Bends”, curated by Claire Capel-Stanley with Lucy Caldwell, is about bending time, bending bodies and bending back into the material world of photography. In “QWE3NZ”, Gabi Briggs, an Anaiah and Gumbangier woman, creates a counter-fiction to colonialism by using her body and video projection to author her own narrative as an Indigenous woman. Manuka Arts Centre, , Griffith ACT (next to the Manuka Pool) Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am to 4pm Friday 10am to 7pm Weekends 12noon to 4pm until July 17. Opening by Anne O’Hehir at 6pm Thursday June 23. “The Bends” curators in conversation, followed by an interactive workshop to create a giant cyanotype, June 25, 2pm. Free. All welcome.

“FAITH Fashion Fusion: Muslim Women’s Style in Australia”, a discovery of emerging modest fashion trends and the work of a new generation of Muslim fashionistas – designers and entrepreneurs – making a mark on the local fashion industry. It’s a travelling exhibition developed by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney. At the National Archives of Australia, Queen Victoria Terrace, daily until September 4.

THE NGA has “Diane Arbus: American portraits” | Open now until October 30.   36 of Arbus’ most iconic photographs are exhibited alongside a selection of photographs from the NGA collection. “Design and Nature,” glass and ceramics by Art Nouveau masters Louis Comfort Tiffany and Clément Massier and 80 objects from the NGA’s collection, is open now until March 2. And in the Contemporary Asian galleries is a new display focused on contemporary Chinese art has opened featuring provocative works by internationally renowned artists such as Ai Weiwei, Xu Zhen and Zhang Huan, open until November.

THE National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature still has “Seeing Stories”, an exhibition of framed original artworks from the John Barrow collection. Forty works from the 135 in the collection cover the years from the 1980s through the early 2000s and provide a visual documentary of an important period in the history of Australian children’s literature. At University of Canberra Hub Exhibition Space (opposite Mizzuna Café) until August 26, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 10.30am-2.30pm Sundays 1pm-4.pm.

A ‘CONFIDENT Collecting Course’ is at M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent Griffith, on June 27, showing the where, how and what of art collecting. Details at m16artspace.com.au

“MATERIAL Objects,” a furniture exhibition by Elliot Bastianon and Andrew Carvolth, is at the Nishi Gallery. Bastianon’s work is a speculation of material possibilities that draws inspiration from folded structures. Carvolth’s work looks to create a contemporary Australian vernacular through a series of thoughtful objects that celebrates regional materials and processes. All works are for sale. At 17 Kendall Lane NewActon, until June 26.

“CREATION’S Evolution” is an exhibition of paintings by Margy Duke demonstrating that “everywhere, the Universal Life Force foot prints have been left,” at gallery@bcs until June 24. Then “Aboriginal Pathways, Communities and Knowledge” is a mixed media exhibition by painter, a coil basket weaver, glass artist, and a producer of fine soft sculpture and multimedia works Lynette Talbot,  is showing in gallery@bcs in celebration of NAIDOC Week. Both at Belconnen Community Service, Swanson Ct , Belconnen, June 27 – July 15.

IN “Crafting Waste,” local designer/maker Niklavs Rubenis addresses contemporary critical concerns around design, consumption, material culture and waste. Rubenis’ exhibition features propositional and prototype furniture and lighting crafted from de-valued resources. In “Aesthetics in a Time of Emergency,” Sarah Field, Jennifer Ashley King, Jasmine Targett, Nadia Mercuri and Bethany Wheeler, primarily glass makers, explore an idea surrounding a current ‘state of emergency’ that impacts upon the individual and society collectively. In the Crucible Showcase, Canberra Potters Society Craft ACT award winner Hsin-Yi Yang presents her interlocking ceramic objects. All at Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre Gallery, Level 1, North Building, 180 London Circuit, until July 9.

“NAMASTE” is a solo exhibition by Nepal abstract artist Chettra Lal Kayastha from which all funds raised go directly towards the Foundation’s rebuilding efforts in Western Nepal. Kayastha is an award-winning artist from Pokhara, Nepal who is best known for experimenting with unique subject matter like native Himalayan birch trees (bhojpatra) and abstractions of his feelings. At Canberra Artworks, 8 Townsend Street Phillip, 9am to 5pm weekdays, 9am to 2pm Saturdays until June 24. Entry Free.

M16 ARTSPACE has Sue Chancellor, Elisa Crossing & Phil Page, Caroline Walker-Grime and Manuel Pfeiffer exhibiting until July 3,  Blaxland Crescent Griffith.

WENDY MACKLIN capture in her paintings what she calls “one of the great joys of an Australian childhood, the beach holiday.” “South Coast Summer” at Humble House Gallery, 93 Wollongong Street Fyshwick, until July 17.

THE National Portrait Gallery has a focus exhibition of portraits by Arthur Boyd, titled “Mysterious eyes: Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945.” Gallery One, National Portrait Gallery, until August 14. Open 10am–5pm daily.

“WRONG Way Time”, the art of Fiona Hall, comes to us direct from the 2015 Venice Biennale. The Canberra-only exhibition provides Australian audiences with a window into this international art event and Hall was the first artist to represent Australia in the new Australian Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. At the NGA, until July 10. FREE ENTRY.