Environmental Film Festival Australia's upcoming digital program is designed to ignite creativity and discovery at the crosshairs where science, technology, philosophy and art collide. This online program runs from October 29 to November 8 with films being screened on demand. It begins on October 29 at 7pm with a keynote address from Dr Lewis Dartnall inspired by his book The Knowledge. The book is a grand thought experiment on the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our world works and will be followed by a text-based live Q&A. Then comes a screening of the French sci-fi comedy Poissonsexe (Fishlove) by Olivier Babinet. It's about a biologist obsessed with becoming a father who is also investigating why fish can no longer reproduce, leading to an infestation of jellyfish. Other films include Spaceship Earth by Matt Wolf, the true story of eight visionaries who spent two years quarantined inside a self-engineered replica of Earth's ecosystem called BIOSPHERE 2, and Meat the Future by Liz Marshall, proposing alternatives to animal agriculture such as the growing of real meat from animal cells. There will also be speakers and workshops. More information and tickets:.effa.org.au.

aMBUSH Gallery, in partnership with Kambri at ANU, has announced the winner of The Hero's Journey Art Prize 2020. Stella Evans is a 21-year-old University of Wollongong visual arts and graphic design student from Boorowa in New South Wales. Her entry, The Road of Hope, was chosen by a panel of three independent judges to receive the $3000 cash prize. The Road of Hope was described by judge Jaklyn Babington as "a personal story detailing her family's grit and resilience in the face of extreme hardship this year". In November, a physical exhibition - featuring all entrants and the 50 finalists - will be held at aMBUSH Gallery (Kambri at ANU). In this exhibition, artworks will be printed, exhibited and sold on the artists' behalf, with no commission taken on sales.

The NAIDOC Community Art Exhibition within the Community Services #1 Gallery at 63 Boolimba Cresent, Narrabundah, will be open to the public from Monday November 2 to Friday November 6. The exhibition is made possible by the ongoing partnership between ACT Corrective Services and Community Services #1 and has been a regular community event coinciding with NAIDOC celebrations each year since 2013. The theme of NAIDOC Week 2020 is Always Was, Always Will Be, which recognises First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. This year's exhibition will include 40 works created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees incarcerated in the Alexander Maconochie Centre. All works will be on sale with the proceeds going towards the detainees' trust accounts, providing them with funds on their release to assist their successful reintegration into the community.

Opening on Friday, October 30 at 5pm are two exhibitions at Altenburg & Co. In Gallery 1 are works by Olivia Bernardoff and in Gallery 2 are works by Surya Bajracharya. Both artists are responding to 2020, its mood and impact. Gallery hours are Thursday to Monday, 10am to 4pm. Exhibitions continue until October 29, 2020. Audience numbers in the galleries are limited to 17. Gallery staff will assist and manage patrons through the exhibitions as people enter and exit the gallery spaces. 104 Wallace Street, Braidwood.