Arts events April 21-22

The winner of the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Rod McNicol, pictured here with subject Jack Charles, in front of the winning image. The exhibition is showing at the National Portrait Gallery until May 20. Photo: Penny Bradfield

Concert

Wesley Music Centre: Friends of ANU School of Music Fundraising Concert. The Australian National University, in a joint venture with Wesley Music Foundation, will present a concert of classical and chamber music. Students from the school will play piano works including some for four hands. The Wolfgang string quartet will also play traditional chamber pieces including some composed or arranged by them. Proceeds from the concert will assist students at the School of Music through scholarships or other awards. Saturday, 4pm. Adults $30, concession (pensioners, seniors and Friends of the School of Music) $25, students/children $10. Normal discounts for Friends of Wesley will apply. Refreshments included.

Exhibitions

ANU Drill Hall Gallery: Karl Wiebke Painting 1994-2012. For Melbourne’s  Karl Wiebke, the process of painting is very much the subject of his art. This survey exhibition focuses on Wiebke’s painting oeuvre, presenting a series of works in which the artist has set up a different process to explore the objectness of painting itself, teasing out the properties and possibilities of the medium. Until May 13. Kingsley Street, Acton.
 

Australian National Capital Artists Inc: Substance. An exhibition of ceramic sculpture by Vivien Lightfoot, representing the fundamental elements that support life as it emerged from the primordial seas. Until April 22. ANCA Gallery, 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson. Ph: 6247 8736.
 

Bungendore Fine Art: Whimsical Wonders. This joint exhibition of works by Helen Hewitt and Jann Parkes showcases intricate line drawing and colourful acrylic, in paintings inspired by much loved nursery rhymes and fairy stories, often with a whimsical medieval flavour. Meet the artists Saturday, 2pm-4pm. Until April 30. Open daily 10am-4.30pm. 42 Ellendon Street, Bungendore. Ph: 6238 1640 or visit bungendorefineart.com.au.

Bungendore Wood Works Gallery: Ian McKenzie exhibition. An exhibition of his renowned woolsheds and watercolour landscapes from the Bungendore, Canberra and south coast surrounds. Until May 14, 9am-5pm daily. 22 Malbon St Bungendore. Ph: 6238 1682.

Canberra Girls Grammar School: Canberra Concerto Orchestra – Symphony Orchestra Concert. The first of three CCO-Symphony Orchestra concerts in the 2012 series will be joined by internationally acclaimed Australian flautist Sally Walker as guest soloist. She will perform the Mozart Flute Concerto with the CCO Symphony under conductor Mark Shiell. The venue has been carefully chosen to ensure audiences are able to enjoy the emotion, vibrancy and energy of the program in comfort and with acoustic clarity. Starting with Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night, followed by the Mozart Flute Concerto and Beethoven’s rousing Symphony No. 5, the program highlights the prodigious talent of the CCO’s artistic director Charlotte Winslade. April 22, 3pm-5.30pm,
Canberra Girls Grammar School Performance Hall, Melbourne Avenue, Deakin ACT. Ph: 6288 0805.
 

Canberra Glassworks: Open Work features the prodigious talent of two of Australia’s most awarded artists, Giles Bettison and Jenni Kemarre Martiniello, who are both inspired and influenced by traditional textiles practices and forms. Giles Bettison references the lace making traditions of Venice and Jenni Kemarre Martiniello the indigenous Australian traditional forms of the fish and eel traps. Until May 3. Transference. This exhibition, by Melinda Willis,
continues the artist’s continuing interest in the phenomena of glass in the urban environment and examines its reflective qualities as a perceptual experience. Until May 3. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am-4pm. 11 Wentworth Ave, Kingston. Ph: 6260 7005 or visit canberraglassworks.com.

Canberra Museum and Gallery: The Legacy of Ruth Prowse. Ruth Prowse was director of Gallery Huntly in
Canberra from 1974-2005. She developed an extensive and sophisticated collection of contemporary art. This
exhibition of works in print media and painting has been selected from 171 works donated by Ruth’s heirs. Until April 29. Artists’ Books, a selection of artists’ books from the CMAG collection. Until May 27. Canberra Gold, a selection of stories from the Canberra Gold Award, given to residents celebrating 50 years of living in the ACT. Until July 1. Hyperspace. David Jensz’s work is a sculpture incorporating trompe l’oeil – a two-dimensional image creating an illusion of three-dimensionality. Until May 6. Saturday and Sunday, noon-5pm. Corner London Circuit and Civic Square, Canberra City. Ph: 6207 3968. 

Cork Street Cafe Gundaroo: An exhibition of humorous artworks by Canberra artist Steve Roper. Saturday, 7.30am-8.30pm and Sunday, 7.30am-7.30pm. Cork Street, Gundaroo. Visit corkstreetcafe.com.au.

Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre: Emerging Contemporaries. A Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre curated exhibition of works from award-winning graduating students and selected national emerging craft practitioners and design makers. Until May 12. The Experience of Beauty. Finding inspiration within the natural environment has drawn artist Brook Morgan to work with natural materials. Her work resonates with the beauty of the materials, Casuarina needles become line drawings, and grasses are woven into quiet landscapes of subdued browns, yellows and greens. Until May 12. Open Saturday noon-4pm. Level 1 North Building, 180 London Circuit, Canberra City.

Gorman House Arts Centre: When Wishing Still Worked. In their first show together, Sister Wives draw you into their enchanted circle where they dwell upon the female identity in these stories. Inspired by portrayals of evil stepmothers and vulnerable princesses always in need of a knight in shining armour, they look at how these fairytale stereotypes influence our expectations. Until May 12. Grow: In this scorching hot installation, we enter a sublime world. Matthew Day Perez fuses video of glass objects organically rising from a heated, liquefied landscape with a real incubator of molten mixture. It is there for you to look down into. A chamber of elements radiating with luminescent effects that give fiery impressions of a sun-like matter. Until May 12. Tell them I said something . . . Unconventional in his methods, Roh Singh makes sculpture out of intangible things. The tone of Singh’s sculptures mirrors the tones of our voices. Going up and down, in and out, expressing all of our meanings
and emotions. Until May 12. Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Gorman House Arts Centre, 55 Ainslie Avenue, Braddon, ACT.
 

M16 Artspace: Stitches In The Night. Certified organic textiles and photography by Turkish born Perth artist Zuhal Kuvan-Mills. Remains Of Fire. The impact of the fire by Perth artist Adriana Fernandes-Goncalves. Energy Selves. Small observed landscapes by M16-based artists Ian Robertson and Marje Seymour. Until May 6. Open Saturday and Sunday, noon-5pm. 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith. Ph: 6295 9438.
 

National Archives of Australia: Traversing Antarctica: the Australian experience. Our icy southern neighbour has fascinated expeditioners and scientists for more than 100 years since the 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition led by Douglas Mawson. Delve into the scientific, historical, and cultural legacy of those who navigate the extreme conditions in the name of discovery. A joint exhibition by the National Archives of Australia, the Australian Antarctic Division and the Western Australian Museum. Until September 9. Open Saturday and Sunday,  9am-5pm (except public holidays). Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes. Ph: 6212 3600.

National Library of Australia: Take a fresh look at the Treasures Gallery, the new permanent home for many of the library’s greatest treasures. New treasures have been installed in the gallery, while pages have been turned on many of the popular items, including James Cook’s Endeavour Journal and Keith Murdoch’s 1915 Gallipoli Letter. New items now on show include a World War I ‘‘Fall In’’ poster by Norman Lindsay, first draft of Mem Fox’s Possum Magic manuscript, new images by Ellis Rowan and George Raper, a typescript page from Christina Stead’s The Man Who Loved Children, letter of support to Lindy Chamberlain and a copy of a speech given by Edward Koiki Mabo in 1981. The Life of Patrick White, a new exhibition at the National Library of Australia celebrating the life and work of Australia’s only Nobel Laureate for Literature. The exhibition marks 100 years since the birth of Patrick White and looks at the man who was as famous for his writing skills as he was for
his quick temper. From his love of dogs to his recipe for haloumi souffle to unpublished manuscripts, the exhibition looks at White’s life in all its guises. The exhibition also looks at White through the places he lived, including his beloved farm Dogwoods in Castle Hill and his last home in Centennial Park, Sydney. Open Saturday and Sunday, 10am- 5pm. Ground Floor, National Library of Australia, Canberra. Ph: 6262 1111.

National Portrait Gallery: National Photographic Portrait Prize 2012. This exhibition reflects the distinctive vision of Australia’s aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects. With the
generous support of Visa, the gallery awards a prize of $25,000 for the most outstanding photographic portrait.
Until May 20. Skater: Portraits by Nikki Toole. Nikki Toole has travelled the world to photograph skateboarders. Her portraits evoke the solitary mental space experienced while skating. Until May 2. Open Saturday and Sunday, 10am-5pm. Free entry and disabled access. King Edward Terrace, Parkes. Ph: 6102 7000 or visit portrait.gov.au.

Nomad Art Gallery: Bush Animals: sculpture from the desert to the sea. An eclectic exhibition of animal sculptures by Aboriginal artists from across Australia. Bush Animals features more than 20 established and emerging Aboriginal artists who produce outstanding sculptural works depicting a variety of animals. Until April 28. Nomad Art Gallery, Shop 11M Centre, Palmerston Lane, Manuka. Ph: 6162 1512.

The Photography Room: 15, an exhibition of works by Wouter Van de Voorde featuring brooding and mysterious scenes of the Australian landscape. Until April 29. Open Saturday and Sunday, noon-6pm. 14 Foster Street, Queanbeyan. Visit thephotographyroom.com.au.
 
Potters Place: A wide range of functional homewares, colourful and decorative garden items, ceramic jewellery and unique sculptures. Open Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm. Watson Arts Centre, 1 Aspinall Street. Ph: 6241 1670 or visit canberrapotters.com.au.
 
South Hill Gallery: Interiors, an exhibition by Rudy Kistler. Until April 29. Stormy Weather, an exhibition by Zuza
Zochowski. Until April 29.  Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm. Ph: 0411 131 515 or visit southhillgoulburn.com.
 

Strathnairn Arts Association: Home or Nearly. An exhibition of oil pastel paintings by Jill Clingan. Opens tonight,
until May 20. Official opening Saturday, 2pm, featuring art director Hannah Semler. Open Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4.30pm. Strathnairn Homestead Gallery, 90 Stockdill Drive, Holt. Ph: 6254 2134.
 

Watson Arts Centre: Hyperclay – Contemporary Ceramics. This exhibition highlights the versatility of this time honoured material and, in so doing, reimagines its possibilities. Until April 29. Open Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm. Watson Arts Centre, Aspinall Street. Ph: 6241 1670 or visit canberrapotters.com.au.