Arts editor HELEN MUSA rounds up a week’s worth of arts in her latest Artsweek column.

Soul-singer Prinnie Stevens appears in Lady Sings The Blues, Vol 2, where she pays homage to Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and more. The Street Theatre, April 20.

Arts National Monaro presents a Susannah Fullerton lecture: And so to bed – the Diary of Samuel Pepys and Restoration London. C3 Auditorium, Queanbeyan, April 18.

Lawyer-poet Vesna Cvjeticanin’s book, An Unexpected Life, is a chronologically presented set of 12 stories about 12 migrant women from Canberra. Launch at Gorman Arts Centre, April 20.

Book Club at the NFSA features Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-winning film adapted from journalist Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century. A rare example of a non-fiction book adapted into a film, the screening will be followed by a discussion with writer and journalist Lech Blaine. The National Film and Sound Archive, April 21.

Former Canberran Paul Morgan has a new World War II novel, The Winter Palace, published by Penguin, which deals with the abductions and forcible transportation of children to Nazi Germany. Launch at Paperchain Bookshop, Manuka, April 24.

On Anzac Day eve, the NFSA will screen Before Dawn. Inspired by the real-life diaries of Anzac soldiers, it shines a light on the Battle of the Hindenburg Line. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Jordon Prince-Wright, April 24.

Concerts

• Robyn Mellor will present Fire, Wind & Water: Reflections on Nature, a concert with her recorder ensemble BlockSounds, at Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest, April 20.
• Countertenor Toby Cole will join Apeiron Baroque and an all-Canberra band of strings and harpsichord to present Shipwrecked, vocal works by Baroque composers and instrumental gems by Biber, Uccellini, Cazzati, Vilsmayr and Bononcini. Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, April 21.
• Aeolus Wind Trio will perform works all about love, with music by McCartney, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, Gade, Borodin, Loewe, Waller, Rota – and even Bach and Wagner. Wesley Music Centre Wednesday Lunchtime Series, April 24.

Galleries

• M16 Artspace, Griffith, has four new exhibitions opening on April 18: The Daylight Moon by Francis Cai; Life in the Old Dog, Brian Jones’ photography exhibition challenging stereotypes of senior citizens; Everlasting Happiness by Deborah White and Dark Silhouette by Helen Heslop.
• Catharsis is a group a group exhibition of local artists, including Fatima Kileen, opens at the Canberra Islamic Centre 221 Clive Steele Avenue Monash, April 19.
• Parliament House is hosting an artist talk on April 18 with famous Canberra glass artist Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello in association with the House’s current exhibition, Reflection, selected works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.
• Canberra Contemporary Art Space,Parkes, is opening Places and Spaces, an exhibition through which artists SA Adair, Easton Dunne, Katie Hayne, Rebecca Mayo (with Aunty Deidre Martin and Jacob Morris), Elliat Rich and James Young provide observations of the places and spaces around them. From April 19.
• Suki & Hugh Gallery, Bungendore, will open an exhibition of paintings, Regarding Dreams as Water Moons, by local artists Peter Jordan and Sara Freeman. Opening drinks with the artists on April 20.
• Aarwun Gallery is holding its Annual Art Auction, Federation Square, Nicholls, April 21.
• As part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival, Manning Clark House in Forrest has an exhibition of the works of 28 artists from around the region and beyond. Until May 5.
• Celebrating Earth’s Natural Riches, Nature’s Way, is an exhibition by artists Liz Hanna, Catherine Ellerton and Janine Gould. Strathnairn Homestead, April 24-May 19.