LEXI Sekuless, co-founder of Lakespeare, has left the theatre business to work as arts adviser to federal Arts Minister, Paul Fletcher. She started yesterday (February 8) and expects to be out of the acting, directing and coaching game for the next two years at least. 

BEAVER Galleries is exhibiting work by one of Canberra’s most exciting artists, Alex Asch. In “Axis”, Asch uses weathered and worn materials to recall the summer fires of 2020, saying, “The sky transformed into a blanket of orange, grey and brown. The smoke so thick it seemed to defy all reason and the world’s axis groaning under the irrational denial”. 81 Denison Street, Deakin, Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm, February 11-28.

“IS Love Racist? The Dating Game” is a perceptive new documentary released this week in the run up to Valentine’s Day. It gets under the skin of the objects of our affection to reveal our biases when it comes to choosing a partner, and asks why there’s a preference towards whiteness. Using eye-cameras to analyse onlookers’ visual responses to people of different races, a Harvard University association test is used to reveal subconscious biases. I’ve watched it and it’s a worry. 

THE new Grainger Gallery is launching two solo exhibitions by two German artists, Stefan Heyer and Stefanie Schulte, originally timed to coincide with the now-postponed Canberra Multicultural Festival as a cross-cultural exchange between Australia and Germany. Building 3.3, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick, February 11-28.

ADELAIDE’S Angela Valamanesh, famous for her drawings, ceramic objects and watercolours informed by scientific, historic and philosophical ideas, has an exhibition, “About Being Here”. It’s an exploration into the interconnectedness of life on earth, between human, animal and plants. Touring to the ANU School of Art & Design Gallery, Cnr Ellery Cres and Liversidge St, Acton, until March 12.