AUSTRALIAN artist Jack Irvine’s solo exhibition, “Simple Pleasures”, includes two dozen paintings completed during Melbourne’s lockdown. He asks viewers to consider the small things in life that can easily be taken for granted. The exhibition will also feature art he created for Australian surf rock trio, Skegss. At aMBUSH Gallery, ANU Kambri, opens Thursday, April 15. Free but register here. 

THE Cuban Latin Fiesta will have a Latin band, performers, food and drinks, and all proceeds will go to the Las Tunas Children’s Hospital in Cuba. Saint James Church Hall, 40 Gillies Street, Curtin, 6pm, Saturday, April 17. Tickets at the door, all welcome.

AS part of the Canberra International Music Festival’s pre-festival program, saxophonist Matt Keegan will join other top musicians to perform a musical story about his Viennese great-grandfather Heini’s escape from the Nazis in “Vienna Dreaming”. The Street Theatre, 8pm, Saturday, April 17, book here or 6247 1223.

GUITAR teachers Cam & Dan of Mojo Guitar Teachers started their business in a bedroom, but now have more than 20 teachers. Mojo can provide private tuition on guitar and drums both at home or in their Fyshwick studios. Opening at Studio 6, Building 3.3, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick, Saturday, April 17, info here or 0431 550 005.

AUSTRALIAN soprano Mirusia Louwerse, tagged by André Rieu as the “Angel of Australia”, is making a national tour saluting the music of The Seekers, performing hits like “I’ll Never Find Another You” and “The Carnival Is Over” as well as classics and her own original songs. Canberra Southern Cross Club, 8pm, Saturday, April 17. Book here. 

THE Wiggles are coming to town with Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus and newcomer Shirley Shawn the Unicorn to perform their “We’re All Fruit Salad” tour. Canberra Theatre, April 17-18. Book here or 6275 2700.

CANBERRA Strings, directed by Barbara Jane Gilby, will perform Schubert’s String Quartet No.14, “Death and the Maiden”. Written in 1824 after a period of serious illness, it’s seen as a depiction of Schubert’s struggle with his own mortality. Wesley Church, National Circuit, Forrest, 3pm, April 18, book here.

“HOMEBOUND”, by artists Joel Arthur, Emma Beer, Rory Gillen, Aidan Hartshorn, Robbie Karmel, Rosalind Lemoh and Natalie Mather, challenges the romantic stereotype of the impoverished, introverted artist, working solo in a garret as COVID-19 exposed the developing cracks in the cultural sector. Canberra Contemporary Art Space, 44 Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes, Tuesday to Sunday, 11am-5pm, until May 2.

ARTIST Leeanne Crisp has a private exhibition of her recent work, 11 works titled “Rose Mandala” from 2020 and 10 works titled “Bed of Roses” from 2016 onwards. The works are about our natural world in this region during flood, fire, drought and isolation, expressed through the female lens. At 7 Young Street, Barton, until Saturday, April 17, 10am-4pm, then next week, Monday to Wednesday, by appointment – call 0416 361134.

IN “Out of Place”, artists Hany Armanious, Boyle Family, Bonita Bub, Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley, Fiona Connor, Thomas Demand, Dale Harding, Anna Kristensen, Igor and Svetlana Kopystiansky and Jasper Jordan-Lang reflect on our increasingly precarious notions of place and belonging, in an exhibition curated by Oscar Capezio. ANU Drill Hall Gallery, Kingsley St, Acton, April 17-June 13.

LUMINESCENCE Chamber Singers’ next project is “The Little Match Girl Passion”, a 14-part song cycle by American composer David Lang, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story “The Little Match Girl”. All Saints Anglican Church, Ainslie, 7pm, Sunday, April 18. Book here. 

“UP FRONT: people and places of Canberra” is an exhibition of pen drawings by Bobby Graham, who captures the daily lives of Canberrans, at The Front, Wattle Place Lyneham, until May 9.