ArtsNational

A Jewel In The Crown: India’s beautiful, historic and ever-changing jewels
2026-06-03 18:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Sydney)
From the infamous Koh-i-Noor Diamond to the ‘Tutti Frutti’ style created by the house of Cartier, this lecture reveals some of the world’s most magnificent jewels, featuring historical Indian gems. Originally owned by maharajas and maharanis, these treasures were recreated to adorn European royalty, aristocrats and socialites.
Dates and Locations
Wednesday 3 June Ku-ring-gai (NSW) 2pm and 6pm
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The Art of Maps: Ancient, Medieval and Modern
2026-06-04 10:00 - 11:00
This lecture discusses the development of maps of the world from the earliest civilisations to the most recent digital creations. They show gradual improvement for purposes of shipping, trade and national sovereignty. This evolution of maps includes more accurate coastlines, the addition of longitude and latitude and the placement of a consistent North; however, maps have always shown what their creators desired or hoped for. Most of all Maps ancient, medieval or modern are frequently pieces of great artistic skill and beauty.
Date and Location
Friday 13 March 2026 Mornington Peninsula (VIC)
Thursday 4 June 2026 Yarra (VIC)

Myth And Legend In Shadow Theatre
2026-06-04 18:30 - 19:30
Experience the craft and performance traditions of shadow puppetry across the world with Associate Professor Sam Bowker, an Art History and Visual Culture specialist and experienced puppeteer. From historic wayang kulit to Manual Cinema, explore the rarely seen history of one of the world’s oldest and most mysterious art forms, shadows that predate photography and television. The lecture concludes with a performance of The Flea, sung by Melinda Bowker with Sam Bowker’s captivating puppetry.
Dates and Locations
Thursday 4 June 2026 Shoalhaven (NSW)
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Dogs In Art
2026-06-05 13:30 - 15:00
Steven Miller has published widely on art and his popular ‘Dogs in Australian Art’ is now into its third expanded edition. From colonial works through to contemporary installations, in this lecture he will show how dogs have truly been ‘the best friend’ to artists, not only as subjects, but also as companions and champions. As the artist Norman Lindsay confided to the poet Hugh MacRae, ‘one can lose most human beings with less disturbance than a dog’.
Dates and Locations
Saturday 18 April Rockhampton (QLD)
Monday 27 April Coffs Coast (NSW)
Friday 5 June 2026 Blue Mountains (NSW)
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The Development Of The Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
2026-06-12 17:30 - 18:30
The pivotal role of leading art critic and historian Allan McCulloch in establishing the Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre is examined in this lecture. The Gallery moved to its current location at Civic Reserve in 1990 and now boasts a significant collection of over 1,900 artworks, including paintings, drawings , prints and sculptures, with a focus on Australian art and the cultural heritage of the Mornington Peninsula.
Dates and Locations
Friday 12 June 2026 Mornington Peninsula (VIC)
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Journey To The Titanic: A Deep Dive
2026-06-13
“I collaborated with Academy Award-winning director James Cameron on a 3D Imax film that recounts our expedition to revisit the wreckage of the Titanic. I’ll recall the exhilaration and the initial apprehension of descending nearly 14,000 feet beneath the ocean’s surface in submersible crafts. This talk features behind-the-scenes stories along with segments of my work on this amazing documentary which revealed Titanic’s eternal beauty.” Pieter de Vries, one of the leading documentary cinematographers in the world
Dates and Locations
Saturday 13 June 2026 Gold Coast (QLD)
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On The Wild Side: Filming Creatures Great and Small
2026-06-13, 2026-06-18, 2026-06-20, 2026-06-21
Pieter will share his techniques for capturing extraordinary images for Sir David Attenborough and National Geographic from playful macaque monkeys to majestic cassowaries in Australia. From playful Macaque monkeys in China to majestic Cassowaries in Northern Australia, the lecture will be illustrated with segments from Pieter’s nature documentaries.
Dates and Locations
Wednesday 1 April 2026 Chatswood (NSW)
Saturday 13 June 2026 Gold Coast (QLD)
Thursday 18 June 2026 Brisbane (QLD)
Saturday 20 June 2026 Rockhampton
Sunday 21 June 2026 Cairns (QLD)
Wednesday 24 June 2026 Toowoomba (QLD)
Friday 26 June​ 2026 Brisbane River (QLD)
​Sunday 28 June 2026 Sunshine Coast (QLD)
Thursday 5 November 2026 Yarra (VIC)
Friday 6 November 2026 Mornington Peninsula (VIC)
Wednesday 11 November 2026 Geelong (VIC)
Wednesday​ 18 November 2026 Tamworth (NSW)
Thursday 19 November 2026 Armidale (NSW)
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The Space Shuttle: A Butterfly on a Rocket
2026-06-14 04:00, 2026-06-15 18:00 - 19:30, 2026-06-17 19:30 - 20:30, 2026-06-18 10:00 - 11:00
This presentation traces NASA’s Space Shuttle program from its ambitious start to its final missions. Through Pieter’s 12-week film shoot at Cape Canaveral and
Mission Control in Houston, this documentary offers exclusive footage from unprecedented access to the Space Shuttle, Endeavour—a privilege never
before granted. Pieter will share behind-the-scenes stories and delve into the missions and the individuals who made the Space Shuttle program a defining chapter in space exploration.
Dates and Locations
Monday 13 April 2026 Newcastle (NSW)
Friday 17 April 2026 Molonglo Plains (NSW / ACT)
Monday 15 June 2026 Northern Rivers (NSW)
Wednesday 17 June 2026 Brisbane (QLD)
Thursday 18 June 2026 Brisbane (QLD)
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Clarice Beckett
2026-06-15 18:00 - 19:00
Clarice Beckett is famed as much for her misty evocations of Melbourne as she is known for her tragically short life. Cold-shouldered by much of the art establishment due to her ties to the controversial art-theorist Max Meldrum, she nonetheless held twelve solo exhibitions between 1923 and 1933. Equally tragically, much of her output was stored after her death in a rickety shed, of which at least two-thirds rotted due to the weather before being re-discovered in 1971. Andrew Gaynor has been researching Beckett since the early 2000s and has walked Beckett’s routes identifying exact locations for many of her paintings, particularly around the artist’s home suburb of Beaumaris.
Date and Location
Monday 15 June 2026 Murray River (NSW/VIC)
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Picture This! Australian New Wave Films of the 1970
2026-06-15 18:30 - 19:30
Film production took off in Australia in the 1970s, a period that came to be known as the Australian New Wave. Meet Australia’s greatest living playwright and discover some of the stars in award-winning movies made during this exciting period of cinematic renaissance.
Dates and Locations
Thursday 16 April 2026 Armidale (NSW)
Monday 15 June 2026 Newcastle (NSW)
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Dogs In Australian Art
2026-06-15 23:30 - 2026-06-16 00:00
The story of Australian art is incomplete without its wonderful canine stars. Learn their names and the stories heralded by artists since early colonial times. The deep connections Indigenous Australians have with the dingo, illustrated in cave paintings, on barks and ceremonial objects, is where it all began. Australians love their dogs – with nearly 3.5 million dogs registered, we are said to have one of the highest rates of dog ownership in the world. This talk will conclude with some of our local talented artists own work – all featuring our legendary best friends.
Dates and Locations
Monday 15 June Narrabri (NSW)
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The Art Work and Handwritten Journals Of The First Fleeters
2026-06-16 18:00 - 19:00
Of the approximately 1,400 people on the First Fleet of 1787–88, the handwritten journals of only 11 have survived. These provide eyewitness accounts of the voyage to Sydney and the first years here. They record the interaction with the Aboriginal people. Written by men of different ranks, each journal offers a unique perspective. Most were discovered only in the 20th century, and one was only acquired by the State Library of NSW as late as 1995. In 2009, the collection held in the Mitchell Library was included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Program.
Dates and Locations
Tuesday 16 June 2026 Canberra (ACT)
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Fashion and Art
2026-06-17 10:30 - 11:30
For centuries, artists have engaged with an influenced fashion. So too have art forms such as painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography.
Dates and Locations
Wednesday 17 June 2026 Geelong (VIC)
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An Intimate History of the Art Gallery of NSW
2026-06-17 18:00 - 19:00, 2026-06-18 18:00 - 19:00
Since its founding as an Academy of Art in 1871, the Art Gallery of New South Wales has evolved into a leading international art museum. Steven Miller’s publication The Exhibitionists is the first comprehensive history ever published of this much-loved institution. In his lecture on the subject he will delve into the intrigues and the passionate debates, the great talents and the big personalities that have made the Gallery what it is today.
Dates and Locations
Wednesday​ 17 June 2026 Tamworth (NSW)
Thursday 18 June 2026 Armidale (NSW)
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Cafe Society
2026-06-17 18:00 - 19:00, 2026-06-18 19:30 - 20:30
This lecture examines style icons in the inter-war years and the early 1950s: Grace Kelly, Fiana Vreeland, the Duchess of Windsor and others.
Dates and Locations
Wednesday 17 June 2026 Geelong (VIC)
Thursday 18 June 2026 Melbourne (VIC)
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Florence Broadhurst: The Enigmatic Design Legend
2026-06-17 18:30 - 19:30
With her designs gracing the walls of hip nightclubs, homewares, travel goods and fashion, Florence Broadhurst has become a global phenomenon. Her vibrant wallpaper designs had all but been forgotten until her original silk printing screens were discovered by design company Signature Prints, languishing in a dusty warehouse. During her life she was the queen of reinvention, hiding her humble beginnings and passing herself off as a French couturier and an English aristocrat. She returned home to Australia to revolutionise the design industry of Sydney in the 60s and 70s, only to have it all come to a terrible end. Join Claudia Chan Shaw for a look at Florence Broadhurst’s fascinating life and the design legacy she left behind.
Dates and Locations
Wednesday 17 June 2026 Orange (NSW)
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Postal Arm: An Eccentric Return to Correspondence Courses and Drawing
2026-06-18 12:30 - 13:30, 2026-06-18 18:00 - 19:00
This lecture asks a simple question: did we, as artists and educators, replace a good network (postal) with a bad one (internet)? The lecture proceeds through a historical overview of correspondence instruction, Mail Art practices, and a comparative analysis of two very different educational experiments — Black Mountain College and the Barnes Foundation; and includes a contemporary experiment in postal drawing.
Dates and Locations
Thursday 18 June 2026 Sydney (NSW)
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Nightingales And Roses: The Art of Iran
2026-06-18 14:00 - 15:00
This lecture will focus on the cultural legacies of the Safavid and Qajar dynasties and discuss the extent to which they have informed contemporary art in Iran and the Persian diaspora. Using remarkable case studies, we will review how Iranian art has made distinctive contributions to global art histories, including architecture, textiles, painting, photography and literature. We will also discuss the “Women, Life, Freedom!” movement as a social phenomenon through creative arts. The art of Iran is complex, vast and diverse, so this is designed to provide a compelling introduction for a lifetime of exploration.
Dates and Locations
Thursday 18 June 2026 Molonglo Plains (ACT)
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Reigning Men: Fashion In Menswear 1715 To Present
2026-06-22 18:00 - 19:00
Peter McNeil will walk you through the largest exhibition of men’s fashion yet assembled, curated by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2015 (then travelling to St Louis Museum of Art 2016; Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney 2018). Men didn’t ‘fade to grey’ over 300 years, but frequently burst forth in vibrant colour, striking cuts and even body modification. Chart the rise of wool versus silk for the rich. See the dramatic appearance of French Revolutionary dress. Discov-er military corsets and calf-plumpers for men. Learn how the new fashion for cigarette smoking led to new clothes. See male pleasure in dressing, across time and place. Learn how much of the collection was created lovingly by a Swiss collector over 30 years. Expect to be surprised!
Dates and Locations
Monday 22 June 2026 Coffs Coast (NSW)
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Peggy Guggenheim: A Life of Collecting
2026-06-22 18:00 - 19:30
Describing herself by writing, “I am a museum”, Peggy Guggenheim’s life took a clear path, from setting up a commercial gallery in London, going on a single-minded shopping trip to Paris in the late 1930’s even as the German tanks were rolling in to the suburbs, to escape (with her selection of European artists) to New York and the subsequent establishment of her museum (and Arts centre), and finally the purchase of the eccentric ‘unfinished palazzo’ in Venice, her collection remains one of the most iconic assemblages of Twentieth century art in the world.
Dates and Locations
Monday 22 June 2026 Hobart (TAS)
Tuesday 23 June 2026 Launceston (TAS)
Sunday 5 July 2026 Cairns (QLD)
Wednesday 8 July 2026 Geelong (VIC)
Thursday 16 July 2026 Molonglo Plains (NSW / ACT)
Monday 20 July 2026 Fleurieu (SA)
Saturday 25 July 2026 Perth (WA)
Monday 27 July 2026 Margaret River (WA)
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Arts 1900 – 1920: Tornado of Change
2026-06-23 17:00 - 18:00
As 1900 dawned, England was celebrating Edward Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variation’ and Jospeh Conrad released ‘Lord Jim’. 1902 saw the opening of New York’s ‘Flatiron building’. Colour photographs appear in France in 1908, just prior to Picasso’s ‘Girls with a Mandolin in 1910. By 1920 Alban Berg was finalising his opera ‘Wozzec’. The Bauhaus School has opened in Weimar, Jazz was booming in New Orleans and W.B. Yeats had released ‘The Second Coming’. A veritable tornado of change.
Dates and Location
Tuesday 23 June Bowral (NSW)
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