Louise Owens has also been inspired by travel in remote places, and her latest exhibition of sculptural installations, paintings and works on paper is a response to recent trips through far western NSW and Victoria, the Flinders Ranges and Central Australia. "The over-arching story about life and death informs her art practice," says the gallery. "Her environmental concerns serve as a vehicle for delving into and seeking answers to philosophical questions relating to our responsibilities. Responding to a place by letting the integrity of the stories and materials found there give her artwork a deeper meaning." Also showing at M16 is Rasha Ajaj's new show Madonna, exploring the theme of mothers in mourning – a large-scale projection of images in a variety of media. "Taking Mary Madonna as the archetypal image of the mourning mother, Ajaj's images shift between suggestions of painted Madonnas and documentary news imagery of mothers mourning." And Canberra-based photographer Parisa Applegarth uses experiences from her nomadic upbringing to drive her work, with photographs of the land and people of Western Australia. Mirage, by Louise Owen, Madonna, by Rasha Ajaj and A Dream Within a Dream, by Parisa Applegarth, are showing at M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith, until May 24.

Printmaker Kati Thamo has drawn on her Eastern European heritage to explore how narratives unfold in her latest show at Beaver Galleries. "Interweaving her own personal experiences with older family stories, myths and fables, Kati creates new stories and meanings that reflect on the passing of time and place," says the gallery. And glass artist Maureen Williams uses blown glass as a three-dimensional canvas for her abstract paintings, creating work that explores "... the path that we take throughout our lives, the land and our relationships. Both real and imaginary views of the land and ourselves within it create fragments of a sense of place and being." Retold, by Kati Thamo, and Fragments of a larger picture, by Maureen Williams, are showing at Beaver Galleries, 81 Denison Street, Deakin, until May 26.

There's a thought-provoking new exhibition opening this week at ANCA Gallery, featuring works by two very different but complementary artists – ANU grads Alex Lewis and Jemima Parker. "The exhibition creates a new and direct interchange of ideas between two distinct but aligned art practices. Presented are abstract objects that are at once otherworldly and familiar, structured and minimal forms. Both artists investigate objects, space and their relationship to the body, each arousing curiosity and provoking a sense of wonder." Almost Familiar, by Alex Lewis and Jemima Parker, opens at ANCA Gallery, 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson, on May 13 and runs until May 31.

Strathnairn Arts in West Belconnen is calling for applications for its 2016 exhibition program: "Strathnairn Arts presents at least 12 exhibitions each year of local, interstate and international artists working in a variety of mediums. With a cafe and supporting retail services, Strathnairn Arts enjoys high visitor numbers and offers exhibitors professional support for their exhibitions. Our two homestead galleries provide intimate exhibition spaces. Our winter exhibition programme in the Woolshed offers a unique large space with opportunities for site specific works." For more information, visit strathnairn.com.au or email info@strathnairn.com.au. Applications close Friday, June 12.

Gallery manager Claire Primrose is showing her own work at Form in Queanbeyan this month, inspired by various locations in the Australian landscape. "I am interested in recreating the surfaces, textures and colours evocative of a particular place, although each work is a culmination of many different images, spaces and experiences, achieved through memory and experimentation," she says. "I work outside on location and incorporate elements of my surroundings. I gather soil and water samples from these field trips and use these samples in my work. I am interested in the interplay between my chosen medium (spray enamel) with the natural elements I have collected." Memory Mapping, by Claire Primrose, opens at Form Studio and Gallery, 1/30 Aurora Avenue, Queanbeyan, on May 11 and runs until May 31. The works will be showing alongside Forest Subjective, a series of landscape-inspired paintings by Kerry Johns.

Recently departed head of the Gold and Silversmithing Workshop at the ANU Johannes Kuhnen has been spending his newfound free time creating a new body of work, now on show at Bilk in Manuka. In a significant departure from his previous work, Kuhnen has created a series of brooches, pendants and rings inspired by the Colour Fields paintings of the 1940s and '50s, as well as the work of minimalist artist Robert Mangold. Using sedimentary and volcanic rocks and stones as his principle material, Kuhnen has created "flat planes with subtle combinations [of] colour, using the natural appearance of the stones as his palette … While sourced from the landscape, these works are not of the landscape." Instead, the materials are a move away from his previous work in other materials. Painting in Stone, by Johannes Kuhnen, is showing at Bilk Gallery, Palmerston Lane, Manuka, until June 6.

It's hard to know, at the moment, where best to put your money and support and thoughts. But Vanuatu is as good a place as any, right? Tuggeranong Arts Centre is hosting a fundraising art auction this week, with works by artists including Byrd, Alex Asch, Mariana del Castillo, Ian Robertson, GW Bot, Melinda Young and Annika Harding. The aim of the event is to raise more than $10,000 to help rebuild Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam. All of the proceeds will be donated to Care Australia's Cyclone Pam appeal, and the works will remain on show until May 30. VanuARTu kicks off at 6pm on Thursday, May 14, at Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street, Greenway. For more information about Care and their Cyclone Pam appeal, vsee care.org.au.