As part of the fabulous new retrospective of works by children’s illustrator Bob Graham, Canberra Museum and Gallery has an afternoon of structured workshops tomorrow, led by local artist Jacqueline Bradley – two for kids aged 4-8 years from 12.30 to 1.30pm and 1.30-2.30pm, and then one for kids aged 8-12 from 2.30-3.30pm. After exploring the exhibition, children will have the chance to create a Bob Graham-inspired work in the CMAG studio. Entry $5 per child. A Bird in the Hand! Bob Graham: A retrospective is showing until August 24 at Canberra Museum and Gallery, Civic Square, 176 London Circuit, Civic.

The Honourable Linda Burney, deputy leader of the opposition in the NSW Legislative Assembly, will be speaking at the National Portrait Gallery tomorrow, from 2-3pm about her friend Michael Riley and his extraordinary photographic portrait series of dynamic Aboriginal men and women, on the brink of interesting and diverse lives. Entry is free.

Congratulations to Canberra artist Helen Wilson, whose work "Julien" has been chosen as a finalist in the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, one of the country’s best-known portrait awards, held biennially in Bega. This is Wilson’s third time as a finalist. As of writing, the award has yet to be announced, but the exhibition runs until July 5.

Two new shows opened at Beaver this week. In Playful Journeys, Chilean-born printmaker Christina Cordero is exhibiting works on paper demonstrating a unique style developed through years of travel and exploration: “Her imagery arises from a highly personal realm as she draws upon her past and current experiences, and translates these into an idiosyncratic visual language.” And in Precarious, ceramicist Amanda Shelsher is showing dramatic semi-autobiographical sculptures that “explore personal notions of growth, memory, desire and motherhood…investigating the precarious nature of life and the importance of protecting our mental health in times of need”.

Playful Journeys, by Christina Cordero and Precarious, by Amanda Shelsher, are showing at Beaver Galleries, 81 Denison Street, Deakin, until June 17.

Feel like a little gospel on a Sunday? The Strange Weather Gospel Choir are performing a new show at the High Court tomorrow afternoon at 1pm in the soaring main hall of the highest court in the land, in what is sure to be an uplifting experience. Entry is free.

We’ve got tickets to another great movie to give away this week – Rising From Ashes, a documentary about the first Rwandan national cycling team, narrated by Forest Whitaker. The film is in cinemas from June 5. To win one of 10 double passes, just email arts.editor@canberratimes.com.au, and put Rising From Ashes in the heading. First in (that is, first awake on a Saturday morning), best dressed…

Kilns have been firing up in Canberra as local potters prepare for the annual Winter Pottery Fair at Watson Arts Centre. There is the usual eclectic range of pottery artworks and homewares with prices to suit every budget. The fair is running until June 9, 10am-4pm Thursday to Sunday and the Monday public holiday, Watson Arts Centre, Aspinall Street, Watson.

What is it with you sluggish Canberra creative types? Just in, a serious message from the organisers of the Canberra Short Film Festival, which is now open for entries: “Deadlines are much closer than they appear. That’s why you need a plan. Or friends. Especially if they’re handy with a camera. If you’ve got a great idea for a film under 20 minutes, think big, film short, but meet the deadline of July 15. Or drag out something you’ve made over the past 18 months and send that in. Or do both! The festival accepts entries in several categories and you are free to make documentaries, music videos, highly creative short shorts, genre films or just good old kitchen-sink dramas. Just make ‘em cinematic. Think really BIG. That way – when your film gets shown on the big screen at the Dendy in September – you might just win some of the $5000 worth of prizes (and some ice-cream).” There, you’ve been warned. Visit www.csff.com.au for more details.

Two new exhibitions have just opened at Craft ACT, combining national, Aboriginal and international artists all representing place, country and home in different ways. Elements of Place: artists-in-residence is a an important show because it features Craft ACT’s first Aboriginal artist-in-residence, textile artist and Gumbayngirr woman Ceretha Skinner, and the Centre’s first international artist-in-residence, English artist Michael Brennand-Wood. Their show is a response to living in Namadgi National Park and both explore the “spiritual richness of place and land” through their craftsmanship, albeit in very different ways. And in Transplantations, touring from the University of Lincoln, 12 Australian and British jewellery artists explore their individual sense of place and cultural identity as a consequence of their personal and family experiences of transplantation – all in tangible, wearable form! Elements of Place: artists-in-residence and Transplantations are showing until July 12 at Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre, Level 1 North Building, 180 London Circuit, Civic.

Form Studio and Gallery in Queanbeyan has a new show of collages and works on paper by Julie Bradley, with sculptures by Mike MacGregor. Bradley’s works are based on “the idea of feminine and masculine traits associated with certain trees and old plant lore”, and the show draws from myths and tales that personify the tree. MacGregor complements the show with works based on a series of personal experiences, “expressed through a bronze avatar and responding to Julie Bradley's theme of the man in the forest”. Corpus is showing at Form Studio and Gallery, 1/30 Aurora Avenue, Queanbeyan, until June 23.