Spring has almost sprung as Canberra’s renowned Floriade gets into action on 13 September (until 12 October) with this year’s theme, Art in Bloom, highlights including artistic horticultural displays, live entertainment, markets and workshops. Located in its usual spot of Commonwealth Park daily 9.30am-5.30pm. entry is free. And a Nightfest (2-5 October), will be offering after-dark entertainment and illuminations. … Read more.
Award-winning biographer and political historian, emeritus professor, Judith Brett AM, recently discussed her latest book, Fearless Beatrice Faust: Sex, Feminism and Body Politics, with highly-acclaimed Canberra journalist, broadcaster and former ABC News Anchor, Virginia Haussegger AM, at the ANU’s Kambri Centre. A staunch civil-rights activist, advocate for women’s rights, feminist, academic, writer and intellectual, Beatrice Faust founded the Women’s Electoral Lobby in Melbourne in 1972, an organisation of women whose initiatives in the lead-up to the 1972 federal election included surveying and highlighting the stances of political candidates on issues relevant to women. … Read more.
Writer, award-winning broadcaster, lawyer and research professor at Monash University and Adelaide University’s JM Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice, Steve Vizard, gave a very interesting and informative presentation recently at the ANU’s Kambri Centre. Speaking about his latest book, Nation, Memory, Myth. Gallipoli and the Australian Imaginary, Professor Vizard described how it shows the power of symbolism and myth in unifying a nation and its citizens. … Read more.
For Canberrans (and others) making their way along the Hume Highway, Michael McGirr’s Bypass: The Story of a Road, is not only very informative, but also entertaining. Former teacher, and academic, essayist and former Jesuit priest, Michael has outlined his experience and that of his partner, Jenny, in cycling from Sydney to Melbourne some 20 years’ ago. … Read more.
The undulating hills around the delightful NSW village, Millthorpe, in the Blayney Shire (on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people), will resonate this Easter with the sounds of opera. The former artistic director of Opera Australia and opera baritone, Lyndon Terracini, and his wife, Swiss soprano Noemi Nadelmann, are hosting the inaugural Handa Opera at the Millthorpe festival. … Read more.
Canberra is surrounded by many delightful places including towns and villages in the Yass Valley on the lands of the Ngunnawal people. Roughly an hour’s drive from Canberra along the Barton Highway, the small town of Yass boasts a number of attractions: art galleries, well-kept parks and picnic spots, various accommodation options, great cafes and eateries, boutiques, home décor shops, supermarkets, pharmacies and a newsagent. … Read more.
A recent public gathering at Canberra’s Christians for an Ethical Society questioned where contemporary politics is heading, and prompted a range of views and enthusiastic responses and lively debate. Chaired by Australian politics and government expert, Emeritus Professor Dr John Warhurst AO, the forum centred on: Why has politics become so adversarial; Why can’t we communicate with each other; Why has politics gone off the rails. … Read more.
It seems de rigueur to hate banks. But there are some good ones. A former NSW State Bank in Moss Vale in the New South Wales southern highlands (Gundungurra and Dharawal lands) is now the delightful Flour Bar eatery, resplendent with light-grey walls, chic décor and modern fittings. Contrasting with a previous more sombre-looking self, it offers great coffee, cake and other sumptuous food while patrons can relax and watch the world go by through large picture windows. … Read more.
A very worth-seeing current exhibition at Canberra’s National Gallery presents the works of Ethel Carrick (1872-1952) and Anne Dangar (1885-1951), the former a gifted painter and colourist, and the latter, a painter and potter. Focusing on Dangar’s pottery and Carrick’s paintings, this retrospective exemplifies the diverse strands of artistic practice in the first half of the 20th century. … Read more.
Opening at Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery on 30 November (until 2 March 2025), Carol Jerrems: Portraits, features the works of one of Australia’s most influential photographers, the late Carol Jerrems. Comprised of more than 140 photographs, it includes photographs of leading Australian cultural figures such as: the late Roberta (Bobbi) Sykes, author and poet, indigenous rights campaigner and human and women’s rights activist; former World No 1 tennis player, Evonne Goolagong; writer, columnist, leading feminist and editor and publisher, Anne Summers; fashion designer, Linda Jackson; musician and television and radio personality, Red Symons; the late Shirley Strachan, singer, songwriter, radio and television presenter. … Read more.