CANBERRA playwright and actor, Dylan Van Den Berg has won the $10,000 Griffin Award for his play “Way Back When”. The work, chosen out of 130 entries, revolves around four Aboriginal women across the generations and, like his play “Milk”, to be shown as a work-in-progress online by The Street Theatre on August 7, refers back to Van Den Berg’s ancestors in post-colonial Tasmania. Former Canberran David Finnigan was also on the short list for his play, “44 Sex Acts in One Week.”

AARWUN Gallery is holding a party for its 20-year history and the 40th practising year of landscape artist Ken Knight, whose paintings (including works from his recent trip to Antarctica) will be on show in a huge solo exhibition running at Shop 11, Federation Square, O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls, from August 1-23. The black-tie celebratory dinner will be at the Abbey, Gold Greek, July 31. Book at aarwuncanberra@bigpond.com or 6230 2055.

THOMAS Rann, founding cellist of the Australian Piano Quartet, joins Canberra pianist Edward “Teddy” Neeman in a program celebrating the life of 19th-century cello virtuoso Count Matvei Wielhorski through works by Mendelssohn, Rubenstein, Davydov and Borodin. At Wesley Music Centre, 2pm and 3.30pm, August 2. Book at trybooking.com

JACQUI Malins’ Mother Tongue Poetry has French singer Julia Baldy and Serbian-Australian poet Vesna Cvjeticanin as featured performers in next week’s Zoom session, 7pm, Monday, July 27. At 6pm on the day, Malins will post the Zoom link on the Mother Tongue Facebook page. To share a short poem in a language other than English, email mothertonguemic@gmail.com 

THE Royal Military College Band woodwinds will perform works by Piazzolla, Simaku and Uruguayan composer Beatriz Lockhart in a lunchtime concert at Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, 12.40pm-1.20pm, July 29. Book at trybooking.com or 6232 7248.

TUGGERANONG Arts Centre has a new multi-disciplinary project, “First Response”, in which artists Martin Ollman, Marissa McDowell, Anna Georgia and Shannon Hanrahan use photography, video, film, and drawing and dance to document Canberra’s role in responding to the COVID-19 crisis and the effects on individuals and communities. At Tuggeranong Arts Centre, July 28-September 19. 

THE National Film and Sound Archive will re-open on August 1 with a new public space called “Hive” centred on a new interactive display called “Storywall” featuring a life-size projection of six NFSA experts “waiting” for visitors to interact with them using their mobile devices.