reFrame-reFocus
all about photographs
EXHIBITIONS
DOCKLANDS
Magnet Gallery - Docklands
Link Map
TBA
The passing of Michael Silver is a blow for photography in this city. Michael and Susanne have been the powerhouse behind Magnet Gallery. His contribution in encouraging photographers and providing a place to show, admire and discuss photography has been an inspiration to us here at XYZ and the newsletter. May he rest in peace and may what has been achieved to date be just the start of his legacy.
Link Map
TBA
The passing of Michael Silver is a blow for photography in this city. Michael and Susanne have been the powerhouse behind Magnet Gallery. His contribution in encouraging photographers and providing a place to show, admire and discuss photography has been an inspiration to us here at XYZ and the newsletter. May he rest in peace and may what has been achieved to date be just the start of his legacy.
Kindred Camera - Docklands
Link Map
Noesis: In Visual Absence a Formula Emerges
Peta Louise Tranquille
9 to 19 May 2026
Noesis takes its title from the philosophical term for intellectual knowing — understanding that exists independently of sensory perception. The exhibition is grounded in the artist’s lived experience of aphantasia, where mental imagery is absent. When memory is accessed through photographs, what persists most clearly are objects rather than scenes; however, narrative remains central, formed through reasoning, association, and contextual understanding rather than visual replay.
Link Map
Noesis: In Visual Absence a Formula Emerges
Peta Louise Tranquille
9 to 19 May 2026
Noesis takes its title from the philosophical term for intellectual knowing — understanding that exists independently of sensory perception. The exhibition is grounded in the artist’s lived experience of aphantasia, where mental imagery is absent. When memory is accessed through photographs, what persists most clearly are objects rather than scenes; however, narrative remains central, formed through reasoning, association, and contextual understanding rather than visual replay.
INNER CITY
Hillvale Gallery - Brunswick
Link Map
Australian Lustre
Trent Mitchell
To 19 April, 2026
A collection of vibrant landscapes and sunburnt vignettes, drawn from a 15-year photographic journey across Australia. Drawing links with the idyllic holidays of his childhood, contemplating the notions of time and memory, and exploring where we belong in this, at times, strange place we call home. Building on the success of his stellar 320-page photobook Australian Lustre first published in 2024, now in it’s second edition (2025), Mitchell’s photographs are both playful and contemplative and invite the viewer’s to reflect on evolving realities and layered contradictions of the contemporary Australian landscape.
Link Map
Australian Lustre
Trent Mitchell
To 19 April, 2026
A collection of vibrant landscapes and sunburnt vignettes, drawn from a 15-year photographic journey across Australia. Drawing links with the idyllic holidays of his childhood, contemplating the notions of time and memory, and exploring where we belong in this, at times, strange place we call home. Building on the success of his stellar 320-page photobook Australian Lustre first published in 2024, now in it’s second edition (2025), Mitchell’s photographs are both playful and contemplative and invite the viewer’s to reflect on evolving realities and layered contradictions of the contemporary Australian landscape.
Isamu Sawa Photography Gallery - Collingwood
Link Map
Virtuosity - Celebrating 80 Years of Maton Guitars
Isamu Sawa
16 May to 24 may 2026
Maton Guitars is a family-owned Australian company known for its rich history in handcrafted instrument manufacturing. The brand has gained international recognition among celebrated musicians such as Tommy Emmanuel, Keith Urban, Mark Lizotte (Diesel), and Neil Finn. Their guitars are known for their unique sound, often attributed to the use of locally sourced Australian tonewoods.
During my visit to the Maton guitar factory in May 2025, I was captivated by the skilled artisans who expertly handcraft raw timber into beautiful acoustic instruments.
In celebration of the company’s 80th Anniversary in 2026, this exhibition pays tribute to their craftsmanship through a series of still-life studies.
Link Map
Virtuosity - Celebrating 80 Years of Maton Guitars
Isamu Sawa
16 May to 24 may 2026
Maton Guitars is a family-owned Australian company known for its rich history in handcrafted instrument manufacturing. The brand has gained international recognition among celebrated musicians such as Tommy Emmanuel, Keith Urban, Mark Lizotte (Diesel), and Neil Finn. Their guitars are known for their unique sound, often attributed to the use of locally sourced Australian tonewoods.
During my visit to the Maton guitar factory in May 2025, I was captivated by the skilled artisans who expertly handcraft raw timber into beautiful acoustic instruments.
In celebration of the company’s 80th Anniversary in 2026, this exhibition pays tribute to their craftsmanship through a series of still-life studies.
Red Gallery - Fitzroy
Link Map
Echoes
Diane Morgan
to 19 April 2026
Hands, so often seen as symbols of strength or labor, are also keepers of fine detail and connection. They are comforting, loving, holding, their worn lines, the way they gesture and caress, the way they reach and retreat, unfurling like fern fronds. Hands are formers and tellers of stories; calloused fingertips tell of wrenching work that has hardened them like the bark of a tree.
Hands or nature; which is the reflection and which is the reflected? This work holds a mirror to these formed parallels, drawing lines between and across ourselves. Hands not only echo the natural world, but connect us to it; spread fingers silhouetting the movement of water, and then dipping themselves into its gurgling stream, shaky fingers peeling back the bark of a tree to reveal soft, light layers underneath.
Link Map
Echoes
Diane Morgan
to 19 April 2026
Hands, so often seen as symbols of strength or labor, are also keepers of fine detail and connection. They are comforting, loving, holding, their worn lines, the way they gesture and caress, the way they reach and retreat, unfurling like fern fronds. Hands are formers and tellers of stories; calloused fingertips tell of wrenching work that has hardened them like the bark of a tree.
Hands or nature; which is the reflection and which is the reflected? This work holds a mirror to these formed parallels, drawing lines between and across ourselves. Hands not only echo the natural world, but connect us to it; spread fingers silhouetting the movement of water, and then dipping themselves into its gurgling stream, shaky fingers peeling back the bark of a tree to reveal soft, light layers underneath.
Sol Gallery - Fitzroy
Link Map
The Dancer, 35mm Photography
Mia Pignataro
19 to 31 May 2026
35mm film photographs depicting a girl, replicating and using the art of Japanese rope tying as an thematic inspiration and as a reference to modern themes of fetishism and bondage. Playing with the concept of intention and perception, these images are filtered by retrospect. The subject alone in a low lit house, sometimes bound by literal ties, and in others standing still in a sullen house. Despite the intimacy fostered by her surroundings the girl at times stares directly at the camera almost occupying the viewers of an involuntary voyeurism. The composition fluctuates between mundane and overtly sexual, but remains in a subdued colour pallet, creating a false sense of uniformity and comfort. The woman depicts and suggests feelings of voyeurism questioning if innocence and beauty are born and the idea of unconsciously being our own voyeur in our most private moments.
I-Xposed
Paulino Dela Rosa Jr
19 to 31 May 2026
Nowadays whatever social media dictates becomes the standard and men’s physique has no escape on it. So many good-looking men in their Greek God like bodies most are bodybuilder, fitness influencer, actor, model, etc. I must say all are in their prime and perfection is just a click away. However this is not an accurate representation of men’s built in general, hence a larger demography is missing.
With my photography I want to represent the under represented/ordinary men in our society. To give them a chance to showcase what they have, to be confident regardless of body size, shape, and colour. We all have imperfection anyway and that what makes us unique and perfect.
Link Map
The Dancer, 35mm Photography
Mia Pignataro
19 to 31 May 2026
35mm film photographs depicting a girl, replicating and using the art of Japanese rope tying as an thematic inspiration and as a reference to modern themes of fetishism and bondage. Playing with the concept of intention and perception, these images are filtered by retrospect. The subject alone in a low lit house, sometimes bound by literal ties, and in others standing still in a sullen house. Despite the intimacy fostered by her surroundings the girl at times stares directly at the camera almost occupying the viewers of an involuntary voyeurism. The composition fluctuates between mundane and overtly sexual, but remains in a subdued colour pallet, creating a false sense of uniformity and comfort. The woman depicts and suggests feelings of voyeurism questioning if innocence and beauty are born and the idea of unconsciously being our own voyeur in our most private moments.
I-Xposed
Paulino Dela Rosa Jr
19 to 31 May 2026
Nowadays whatever social media dictates becomes the standard and men’s physique has no escape on it. So many good-looking men in their Greek God like bodies most are bodybuilder, fitness influencer, actor, model, etc. I must say all are in their prime and perfection is just a click away. However this is not an accurate representation of men’s built in general, hence a larger demography is missing.
With my photography I want to represent the under represented/ordinary men in our society. To give them a chance to showcase what they have, to be confident regardless of body size, shape, and colour. We all have imperfection anyway and that what makes us unique and perfect.
Counihan Gallery - Brunswick
Link Map
Pit Yourself Against
Ma Ei
to 19 April 2026
The artist seeks to highlight the invisible struggles and unspoken truths that people carry when they are not at peace. In these new video and photographic self-portraits, the fragility, resilience, and depth of human experience is laid bare, urging us to reflect on what it means to seek peace in a turbulent world.
Link Map
Pit Yourself Against
Ma Ei
to 19 April 2026
The artist seeks to highlight the invisible struggles and unspoken truths that people carry when they are not at peace. In these new video and photographic self-portraits, the fragility, resilience, and depth of human experience is laid bare, urging us to reflect on what it means to seek peace in a turbulent world.
Neon Parc - Brunswick
Link Map
True Love at Dawn
Anna Higgins
to 11 April 2026
Bringing together nine new large-scale works, ‘True Love at Dawn’ explores perception, memory and romantic longing. The exhibition takes its title from a short story by Yukio Mishima in which a couple seek refuge in the subtle and unstable light of dusk and dawn, where forms appear in silhouette and time seems briefly suspended, preserving the illusion of youth and innocence. Higgins situates her work within this transitional light, drawing on its atmosphere of desire, reverie and the poignancy of passing time.
Link Map
True Love at Dawn
Anna Higgins
to 11 April 2026
Bringing together nine new large-scale works, ‘True Love at Dawn’ explores perception, memory and romantic longing. The exhibition takes its title from a short story by Yukio Mishima in which a couple seek refuge in the subtle and unstable light of dusk and dawn, where forms appear in silhouette and time seems briefly suspended, preserving the illusion of youth and innocence. Higgins situates her work within this transitional light, drawing on its atmosphere of desire, reverie and the poignancy of passing time.
Leica Gallery Melbourne - Melbourne
Link Map
Fading Threads
Levin Mundinger
To 12 May 2026
“Fading Threads offers a brief glimpse into the lives of nomads at 5200 metres in the Himalayan mountain ranges. Moments from their everyday lives, that is both challenging and inspiring. The children are often sent to boarding school or join the army in the hope of new opportunities, gradually reshaping the nomadic way of life. I feel fortunate to have had this opportunity to capture and experience such a unique lifestyle and beautiful traditions.” - Levin Mundinger.
Levin’s passion for visual storytelling focuses on filmmaking, with photography remaining an integral part of his creative process. He works across commercial and documentary projects - often centred on people and natural, unscripted moments. He brings his photographic eye to his filmmaking approach, blending cinematic storytelling with an image-led, observational style.
Link Map
Fading Threads
Levin Mundinger
To 12 May 2026
“Fading Threads offers a brief glimpse into the lives of nomads at 5200 metres in the Himalayan mountain ranges. Moments from their everyday lives, that is both challenging and inspiring. The children are often sent to boarding school or join the army in the hope of new opportunities, gradually reshaping the nomadic way of life. I feel fortunate to have had this opportunity to capture and experience such a unique lifestyle and beautiful traditions.” - Levin Mundinger.
Levin’s passion for visual storytelling focuses on filmmaking, with photography remaining an integral part of his creative process. He works across commercial and documentary projects - often centred on people and natural, unscripted moments. He brings his photographic eye to his filmmaking approach, blending cinematic storytelling with an image-led, observational style.
NGV International - Melbourne
Link Map
Women Photographers 1900–1975
A Legacy of Light
Various artists
to 3 May 2026
Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975. Featuring prints, postcards, photobooks and magazines, the exhibition explores the role of photographers as image-makers, and the ways in which women artists create an image of themselves, of others, of the times – from images of the women’s suffrage movement at the turn of the twentieth century, through to the women’s liberation movement and beyond. From Melbourne to Tokyo, Paris to Buenos Aires, the exhibition showcases the works of trailblazing artists.
Link Map
Women Photographers 1900–1975
A Legacy of Light
Various artists
to 3 May 2026
Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975. Featuring prints, postcards, photobooks and magazines, the exhibition explores the role of photographers as image-makers, and the ways in which women artists create an image of themselves, of others, of the times – from images of the women’s suffrage movement at the turn of the twentieth century, through to the women’s liberation movement and beyond. From Melbourne to Tokyo, Paris to Buenos Aires, the exhibition showcases the works of trailblazing artists.
City Gallery - Melbourne
Link Map
Exhibition: On the street where I live
Viva Gibb
to 7 August 2026
On the street where I live showcases the photography of artist Viva Jillian Gibb (1945–2017). Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s she documented the suburbs of North and West Melbourne, where she lived. For nearly two decades, this was the primary focus of her work. Jewel-like portraits predominate, with her subjects set in a distinctive inner-suburban landscape. Grounded in her strong social and political convictions, Gibb created a sympathetic portrait of the community during a transformative period in Melbourne’s history.
Link Map
Exhibition: On the street where I live
Viva Gibb
to 7 August 2026
On the street where I live showcases the photography of artist Viva Jillian Gibb (1945–2017). Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s she documented the suburbs of North and West Melbourne, where she lived. For nearly two decades, this was the primary focus of her work. Jewel-like portraits predominate, with her subjects set in a distinctive inner-suburban landscape. Grounded in her strong social and political convictions, Gibb created a sympathetic portrait of the community during a transformative period in Melbourne’s history.
Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery
Link Map
wani toaishara
wani toaishara
17 April 2026 To 16 May 2026
wani toaishara (b. 1990, Bukavu, D. R. Congo, lives and works Melbourne) is an artist whose works span various mediums including image-making, performance, installation and film. His practice explores Black life and representation, dislocation and Indigeneity. Engaging with the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Africa and its diaspora, toaishara often draws on personal narratives to create works of intimacy and resonance. In his films, urban spaces play a central role, recast from the everyday into theatrical sites of exploration and reflection.
Link Map
wani toaishara
wani toaishara
17 April 2026 To 16 May 2026
wani toaishara (b. 1990, Bukavu, D. R. Congo, lives and works Melbourne) is an artist whose works span various mediums including image-making, performance, installation and film. His practice explores Black life and representation, dislocation and Indigeneity. Engaging with the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Africa and its diaspora, toaishara often draws on personal narratives to create works of intimacy and resonance. In his films, urban spaces play a central role, recast from the everyday into theatrical sites of exploration and reflection.
CITY
NGV Ian Potter Centre - Melbourne
Link Map
Artist Room
John Gollings
To August 2026
John Gollings has been a leading Australian photographer for over fifty years. This collection of his architectural photography bridges modernism and the present day, celebrating Australian architecture through a surreal lens. This approach is exemplified in one of his most iconic photographs, Kay Street Housing by Edmond and Corrigan, which captures the optimism and energy of Melbourne’s postmodern architecture movement. Shot at night with double exposures and awash with flash, Gollings imbues the suburban setting with a mythic quality through the addition of bounding kangaroos.
Link Map
Artist Room
John Gollings
To August 2026
John Gollings has been a leading Australian photographer for over fifty years. This collection of his architectural photography bridges modernism and the present day, celebrating Australian architecture through a surreal lens. This approach is exemplified in one of his most iconic photographs, Kay Street Housing by Edmond and Corrigan, which captures the optimism and energy of Melbourne’s postmodern architecture movement. Shot at night with double exposures and awash with flash, Gollings imbues the suburban setting with a mythic quality through the addition of bounding kangaroos.
NGV International - Melbourne
Link Map
Women Photographers 1900–1975
A Legacy of Light
Various artists
to 3 May 2026
Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975. Featuring prints, postcards, photobooks and magazines, the exhibition explores the role of photographers as image-makers, and the ways in which women artists create an image of themselves, of others, of the times – from images of the women’s suffrage movement at the turn of the twentieth century, through to the women’s liberation movement and beyond. From Melbourne to Tokyo, Paris to Buenos Aires, the exhibition showcases the works of trailblazing artists.
BEARING WITNESS
CONTEMPORARY ASIAN ART FROM THE NGV COLLECTION
FX Harsono, Huang Yan, Haris Purnomo, Qiu Zhijie, Prilla Tania, Xiao Lu, Yee I-Lann, Zhang Huan
to 30 August 2026
In these works, artists across Asia and its diasporas confront history and social change, transforming the body, language and visual traditions into forms of resistance. These works highlight how individuals negotiate the systems that seek to define, rename or erase them, and how art is used as both a record and resistance.
Link Map
Women Photographers 1900–1975
A Legacy of Light
Various artists
to 3 May 2026
Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975. Featuring prints, postcards, photobooks and magazines, the exhibition explores the role of photographers as image-makers, and the ways in which women artists create an image of themselves, of others, of the times – from images of the women’s suffrage movement at the turn of the twentieth century, through to the women’s liberation movement and beyond. From Melbourne to Tokyo, Paris to Buenos Aires, the exhibition showcases the works of trailblazing artists.
BEARING WITNESS
CONTEMPORARY ASIAN ART FROM THE NGV COLLECTION
FX Harsono, Huang Yan, Haris Purnomo, Qiu Zhijie, Prilla Tania, Xiao Lu, Yee I-Lann, Zhang Huan
to 30 August 2026
In these works, artists across Asia and its diasporas confront history and social change, transforming the body, language and visual traditions into forms of resistance. These works highlight how individuals negotiate the systems that seek to define, rename or erase them, and how art is used as both a record and resistance.
City Library - Melbourne
Link Map
Manifesto Melbourne
Greg Branson
3 June to 12 July 2026
Artist Greg Branson visualises the city by crafting one photograph inspired by each master - translating their distinctive styles, philosophies and ways of seeing into Melbourne’s contemporary streetscape. Branson captures the spirit of these icons within Melbourne’s own visual language.
Familiar sites, the National Gallery of Victoria, Victoria Market, City laneways and the city’s dynamic dining culture all become meditations on light, geometry and emotion. These works are not imitation but homage: each print an exploration of how temperament and vision shape perception itself. Together, they form a collective portrait of Melbourne as muse - restless, reflective and endlessly photogenic.
Link Map
Manifesto Melbourne
Greg Branson
3 June to 12 July 2026
Artist Greg Branson visualises the city by crafting one photograph inspired by each master - translating their distinctive styles, philosophies and ways of seeing into Melbourne’s contemporary streetscape. Branson captures the spirit of these icons within Melbourne’s own visual language.
Familiar sites, the National Gallery of Victoria, Victoria Market, City laneways and the city’s dynamic dining culture all become meditations on light, geometry and emotion. These works are not imitation but homage: each print an exploration of how temperament and vision shape perception itself. Together, they form a collective portrait of Melbourne as muse - restless, reflective and endlessly photogenic.
Tolarno Galleries - Melbourne
Link Map
Holding Ceremony
Brook Andrew
21 March
Brook Andrew descends from the Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal peoples of southeast Australia and is an internationally renowned artist and curator. His studio is located in Melbourne on the traditional lands of the Kulin Nations. Brook’s creative practice centers Indigenous ways of being and offers powerful insights into contemporary conditions and the legacies of colonialism. He presents his artwork in Australia and internationally, with Wiradjuri language, and research-based museum and public space interventions being central to his practice.
Link Map
Holding Ceremony
Brook Andrew
21 March
Brook Andrew descends from the Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal peoples of southeast Australia and is an internationally renowned artist and curator. His studio is located in Melbourne on the traditional lands of the Kulin Nations. Brook’s creative practice centers Indigenous ways of being and offers powerful insights into contemporary conditions and the legacies of colonialism. He presents his artwork in Australia and internationally, with Wiradjuri language, and research-based museum and public space interventions being central to his practice.
FortyFive Downstairs
Link Map
Punchlines
Various
To 12 April 2026
Punchlines is a group exhibition exploring the use of humour in contemporary art, bringing together 38 of Australia’s funniest artists.
Spanning painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, textiles, mixed media, digital art, video art, and experimental practices, Punchlines highlights a wide range of mediums, styles, and subject matter, united by a shared impulse to find the joke, however subtle or subversive.
Link Map
Punchlines
Various
To 12 April 2026
Punchlines is a group exhibition exploring the use of humour in contemporary art, bringing together 38 of Australia’s funniest artists.
Spanning painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, textiles, mixed media, digital art, video art, and experimental practices, Punchlines highlights a wide range of mediums, styles, and subject matter, united by a shared impulse to find the joke, however subtle or subversive.
RMIT Gallery - Melbourne
Link Map
Creative Antarctica: Australian Artists and Writers in the Far South
Various
to 02 May 2026
The exhibition seeks to foster new encounters and perspectives, highlighting the transformative power of art and literature in unveiling the complexities of the South Polar region.
The exhibition examines the role artists and writers play in expanding the Antarctic narrative to afford new understandings and access to one of the world’s most remote and fragile wilderness zones. Creative Antarctica features both site specific and historically significant works of art, supported by a rich assortment of talks, panels and workshops that offer a variety of engagement opportunities, and modes of encounter with the Far South.
Surging through exits when the bell goes
Hilary Dodd
to 01 May 2026
'Surging through exits when the bell goes' explores the tension between closed systems like schools, and the placelessness of online systems, translating a design-led research project, originally materialising as a publication. It examines how digital infrastructures aestheticise and normalise control as care in schools, shaping the hidden curriculum through platforms, interfaces and everyday design cues.
Developed as a publication, the artist’s research moves through the physical and digital school, tracing how design mediates control. It is the artefact of a design-led, visual, and speculative study that examines how digital infrastructures aestheticise and normalise compliance, revealing the hidden architectures of schooling in the age of data.
Link Map
Creative Antarctica: Australian Artists and Writers in the Far South
Various
to 02 May 2026
The exhibition seeks to foster new encounters and perspectives, highlighting the transformative power of art and literature in unveiling the complexities of the South Polar region.
The exhibition examines the role artists and writers play in expanding the Antarctic narrative to afford new understandings and access to one of the world’s most remote and fragile wilderness zones. Creative Antarctica features both site specific and historically significant works of art, supported by a rich assortment of talks, panels and workshops that offer a variety of engagement opportunities, and modes of encounter with the Far South.
Surging through exits when the bell goes
Hilary Dodd
to 01 May 2026
'Surging through exits when the bell goes' explores the tension between closed systems like schools, and the placelessness of online systems, translating a design-led research project, originally materialising as a publication. It examines how digital infrastructures aestheticise and normalise control as care in schools, shaping the hidden curriculum through platforms, interfaces and everyday design cues.
Developed as a publication, the artist’s research moves through the physical and digital school, tracing how design mediates control. It is the artefact of a design-led, visual, and speculative study that examines how digital infrastructures aestheticise and normalise compliance, revealing the hidden architectures of schooling in the age of data.
Old Treasury Building - Melbourne
Link Map
Swinging Sixties
Various
Until 2027
The 1960s is remembered as a turbulent decade. In contrast to the ‘conservative’ 1950s, the sixties are associated with changing ideas, youthful rebellion and experimentation. New music, new fashions and new attitudes to authority defined ‘the generation gap’.
Making Modern Melbourne
historical photographs & Sarah Pannell
Indefinitely
An optimistic new nation was created at the dawn of the 20th century. Australia was self-governing, and Melbourne would be its temporary capital while Canberra was constructed.
This free exhibition at Old Treasury Building examines the tumultuous century that was to come, with two world wars and a Depression. But also, a ‘long boom’, multiculturalism, rights for all citizens, increased public transport and heritage laws which would protect the historic buildings we still have today!
Link Map
Swinging Sixties
Various
Until 2027
The 1960s is remembered as a turbulent decade. In contrast to the ‘conservative’ 1950s, the sixties are associated with changing ideas, youthful rebellion and experimentation. New music, new fashions and new attitudes to authority defined ‘the generation gap’.
Making Modern Melbourne
historical photographs & Sarah Pannell
Indefinitely
An optimistic new nation was created at the dawn of the 20th century. Australia was self-governing, and Melbourne would be its temporary capital while Canberra was constructed.
This free exhibition at Old Treasury Building examines the tumultuous century that was to come, with two world wars and a Depression. But also, a ‘long boom’, multiculturalism, rights for all citizens, increased public transport and heritage laws which would protect the historic buildings we still have today!
SOUTH OF MELBOURNE
Town Hall Gallery, Hawthorn Arts Centre - Hawthorn
Link Map
Familial
Taysir Batniji, EJ Hassan, Nur Aishah Kenton, Mariela Sancari, Abigail Varneyan and Annie Wang
to 26 April 2026
‘Familial’ brings together six artists whose work traces the emotional and psychological terrain of family – of bonds and ruptures, tenderness, memory and the ache of absence. This exhibition reflects on the complexities of connection across time, presence and loss, in a meditation on love, longing and the enduring imprints our closest relationships leave behind.
Navigating the experience of distance, dislocation and ongoing uncertainty, Palestinian artist Taysir Batniji documented two years of WhatsApp calls with his mother in Gaza; each communication shaped and destabilised by conflict. Argentinian artist Mariela Sancari’s typology of portraits depicts 70-year-old men dressed in her late father’s clothes show us a deeply personal journey of processing grief for a parent who is no longer present.
Link Map
Familial
Taysir Batniji, EJ Hassan, Nur Aishah Kenton, Mariela Sancari, Abigail Varneyan and Annie Wang
to 26 April 2026
‘Familial’ brings together six artists whose work traces the emotional and psychological terrain of family – of bonds and ruptures, tenderness, memory and the ache of absence. This exhibition reflects on the complexities of connection across time, presence and loss, in a meditation on love, longing and the enduring imprints our closest relationships leave behind.
Navigating the experience of distance, dislocation and ongoing uncertainty, Palestinian artist Taysir Batniji documented two years of WhatsApp calls with his mother in Gaza; each communication shaped and destabilised by conflict. Argentinian artist Mariela Sancari’s typology of portraits depicts 70-year-old men dressed in her late father’s clothes show us a deeply personal journey of processing grief for a parent who is no longer present.
Museum of Australian Photography - Monash
Link Map
CODED BLOOMS | flowers have never been innocent
Robert Mapplethorpe, Pat Brassington, Del Kathryn Barton, Jake Preval, Meng-Yu Yan
To 24 May 2026
Flowers have long stood in for the things we couldn’t say aloud: sex, death, longing, defiance. Soft in appearance, potent in meaning, they are the great deceivers of art history. Across centuries and cultures, the bloom has operated as a colourful code, a motif that artists actively engage, reclaim and rewrite.
TOPshots 2026
Various
To 4 May 2026
OPshots is an annual celebration of emerging photo-media artists selected from a large pool of entries. 2026 marks the 18th anniversary of this award and exhibition, which showcases exceptional photographic work produced by students who have completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) subjects of Art Making and Exhibiting, Art Creative Practice and Media, as well as the International Baccalaureate (IB) subject of Visual Arts and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) subject of Visual Arts.
This exhibition was judged by artist Morganna Magee, who awarded Emmet Cooper-Flynn from Haileybury College as the winning artist, who received prize thanks to our generous exhibition supporter.
ROLLERCOASTER: winhangadurinya in motion
Brook Andrew
6 June to 30 August 2026
A major commission by Brook Andrew, one of Australia’s most influential and internationally recognised artists. Working across visual art, research and long-term collaboration, Andrew’s practice reveals and reimagines the legacies of power and representation that continue to shape how histories are produced, circulated and understood. His work brings the unseen into view, unsettling inherited narratives and proposing new ways of seeing the entanglement of historical structures with contemporary life. This practice is informed by Andrew’s perspectives as a Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal person, and by sustained engagement with archives, museums and global systems of display.
Link Map
CODED BLOOMS | flowers have never been innocent
Robert Mapplethorpe, Pat Brassington, Del Kathryn Barton, Jake Preval, Meng-Yu Yan
To 24 May 2026
Flowers have long stood in for the things we couldn’t say aloud: sex, death, longing, defiance. Soft in appearance, potent in meaning, they are the great deceivers of art history. Across centuries and cultures, the bloom has operated as a colourful code, a motif that artists actively engage, reclaim and rewrite.
TOPshots 2026
Various
To 4 May 2026
OPshots is an annual celebration of emerging photo-media artists selected from a large pool of entries. 2026 marks the 18th anniversary of this award and exhibition, which showcases exceptional photographic work produced by students who have completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) subjects of Art Making and Exhibiting, Art Creative Practice and Media, as well as the International Baccalaureate (IB) subject of Visual Arts and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) subject of Visual Arts.
This exhibition was judged by artist Morganna Magee, who awarded Emmet Cooper-Flynn from Haileybury College as the winning artist, who received prize thanks to our generous exhibition supporter.
ROLLERCOASTER: winhangadurinya in motion
Brook Andrew
6 June to 30 August 2026
A major commission by Brook Andrew, one of Australia’s most influential and internationally recognised artists. Working across visual art, research and long-term collaboration, Andrew’s practice reveals and reimagines the legacies of power and representation that continue to shape how histories are produced, circulated and understood. His work brings the unseen into view, unsettling inherited narratives and proposing new ways of seeing the entanglement of historical structures with contemporary life. This practice is informed by Andrew’s perspectives as a Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal person, and by sustained engagement with archives, museums and global systems of display.
Heidi Museum of Modern Art - Bulleen
Link Map
BRASSAÏ
BRASSAÏ
25 July – 8 November 2026
This exhibition will present the most comprehensive survey of the work of the eminent Hungarian-born, French photographer Brassaï yet to be seen in Australia. With a focus on the artist’s iconic images of the city and its people by night, the exhibition will also consider his friendship with Picasso and other leading figures of the Parisian avant-garde, his experiments with Surrealism, and his hallmark photographs of graffiti. Produced in collaboration with the artist’s estate, this survey brings together more than 150 vintage prints and offers a fascinating visual journey into the intimate world of Paris in the 1930s.
Link Map
BRASSAÏ
BRASSAÏ
25 July – 8 November 2026
This exhibition will present the most comprehensive survey of the work of the eminent Hungarian-born, French photographer Brassaï yet to be seen in Australia. With a focus on the artist’s iconic images of the city and its people by night, the exhibition will also consider his friendship with Picasso and other leading figures of the Parisian avant-garde, his experiments with Surrealism, and his hallmark photographs of graffiti. Produced in collaboration with the artist’s estate, this survey brings together more than 150 vintage prints and offers a fascinating visual journey into the intimate world of Paris in the 1930s.
Ladder Space - Kew
Link Map
PPE Pandemic & Conflict Portraits
Sarah Cusack
to 2 May 2026
Digital Photograms of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worn by Australian frontline healthcare workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic. And like those worn by healthcare/aid workers in recent conflict zones.
Illuminating compassion and sacrifice shown by those continuing to serve others under extraordinary conditions. With concern of a breakdown in humanity to overwhelm the health system and workers. Violating international humanitarian law and humanitarian consequences of preventable deaths.
The Vatwa of Angola
Guy Needham
to 2 May 2026
Regarded as the first indigenous inhabitants of Angola’s Onconcua region, the Vatwa tribe remain semi-nomadic, growing crops and tending goats within the compounds that house their traditional huts. The most striking thing about the Vatwa are the women, covered in a red paste of ochre clay, animal fats and lotion that makes their skin shine in the unrelenting sun. The wearing of certain necklaces, braids and shells represents a unique mix of personal style and significant life stages. The attire makes sense considering the sparse, desolate and isolated environment.
In 2025 photographer Guy Needham spent time with them, and this curated collection of portraits is a testament to their resilience. The Vatwa of Angola is the ninth in his Tribal series which to date has included indigenous peoples in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and South America, contributing to a wider body of work designed to question what we prioritise and value in our consumption-driven lives.
Link Map
PPE Pandemic & Conflict Portraits
Sarah Cusack
to 2 May 2026
Digital Photograms of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worn by Australian frontline healthcare workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic. And like those worn by healthcare/aid workers in recent conflict zones.
Illuminating compassion and sacrifice shown by those continuing to serve others under extraordinary conditions. With concern of a breakdown in humanity to overwhelm the health system and workers. Violating international humanitarian law and humanitarian consequences of preventable deaths.
The Vatwa of Angola
Guy Needham
to 2 May 2026
Regarded as the first indigenous inhabitants of Angola’s Onconcua region, the Vatwa tribe remain semi-nomadic, growing crops and tending goats within the compounds that house their traditional huts. The most striking thing about the Vatwa are the women, covered in a red paste of ochre clay, animal fats and lotion that makes their skin shine in the unrelenting sun. The wearing of certain necklaces, braids and shells represents a unique mix of personal style and significant life stages. The attire makes sense considering the sparse, desolate and isolated environment.
In 2025 photographer Guy Needham spent time with them, and this curated collection of portraits is a testament to their resilience. The Vatwa of Angola is the ninth in his Tribal series which to date has included indigenous peoples in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and South America, contributing to a wider body of work designed to question what we prioritise and value in our consumption-driven lives.
Carlisle Street Arts Space - St Kilda
Link Map
Picturing Democracy
Bruno Benini | Ruth Maddison | Brook Andrew | Darren Sylvester | Martin Kantor | Ricky Maynard | Judith Webb | Michael Williams | Leanne Temme | Jacqueline Riva | Ben McKeown | Roderick McNicol | Martin Munz | Deborah Kelly | Sue Ford | Linda Jullyan | Rozalind Drummond | Michael Bastin | Trevor Graham | Pasqualina Grosso
23 February to 15 May 2026
In Picturing Democracy, Coulter explores and poetically creates representations of democracy, democratic processes, community participation, and connections across the City of Port Phillip.
Drawing from 4,000 photographs held within the Port Phillip City Collection, and in addition to creating his own photographs, artist and curator Ross Coulter re-imagines what democracy looks like, from the past and into the future.
Link Map
Picturing Democracy
Bruno Benini | Ruth Maddison | Brook Andrew | Darren Sylvester | Martin Kantor | Ricky Maynard | Judith Webb | Michael Williams | Leanne Temme | Jacqueline Riva | Ben McKeown | Roderick McNicol | Martin Munz | Deborah Kelly | Sue Ford | Linda Jullyan | Rozalind Drummond | Michael Bastin | Trevor Graham | Pasqualina Grosso
23 February to 15 May 2026
In Picturing Democracy, Coulter explores and poetically creates representations of democracy, democratic processes, community participation, and connections across the City of Port Phillip.
Drawing from 4,000 photographs held within the Port Phillip City Collection, and in addition to creating his own photographs, artist and curator Ross Coulter re-imagines what democracy looks like, from the past and into the future.
Cube 37 - Cube Gallery - Frankston
Link Map
Second Nature
Natalie Finney
30 April to 27 June 2026
Step into a dreamlike realm of photographic gardens and curious specimens, where illusion feels natural and the line between truth and imitation becomes delightfully uncertain. Featuring sculptural elements and video projection, this exhibition invites viewers to look closely and consider how beauty, perception and imitation merge within both nature and its manufactured reflections.
Link Map
Second Nature
Natalie Finney
30 April to 27 June 2026
Step into a dreamlike realm of photographic gardens and curious specimens, where illusion feels natural and the line between truth and imitation becomes delightfully uncertain. Featuring sculptural elements and video projection, this exhibition invites viewers to look closely and consider how beauty, perception and imitation merge within both nature and its manufactured reflections.
Latrobe Regional Gallery - Morwell
Link Map
A Country Practice
Janina Green
to 24 September 2026
A Country Practice brings new life to Janina Green’s seminal artist book – of the same title – A Country Practice, animating its pages into an immersive photographic installation that unfolds in chapters—much like the lived passages it draws from. Each section invites viewers into the shifting terrains of memory, migration, and belonging, tracing the contours of a life shaped by arrival, adaptation, and the quiet persistence of looking back.
Link Map
A Country Practice
Janina Green
to 24 September 2026
A Country Practice brings new life to Janina Green’s seminal artist book – of the same title – A Country Practice, animating its pages into an immersive photographic installation that unfolds in chapters—much like the lived passages it draws from. Each section invites viewers into the shifting terrains of memory, migration, and belonging, tracing the contours of a life shaped by arrival, adaptation, and the quiet persistence of looking back.
WESTERN MELBOURNE
Focal Point Boutique Gallery - Geelong
Link Map (Entry on Little Malop St)
Moments In Film
Various from an archive
to 2 May 2026
18 photos from movies produced before 1956. These include: the world's first use of movies in a narrative, Soldiers of the Cross by the Salvation Army in Melbourne; the World's first feature-length narrative film, The Story of the Kelly Gang; Australia's first "epic" picture, For The Term Of His Natural Life; Australia's first "talkie", Showgirl's Luck; and Australia's first colour feature film, Jedda. Some of the other films represented are 40,000 Horsemen, The Enemy Within, The Sentimental Bloke, Lovers and Luggers, Dad & Dave Come To Town, The Church and The Woman, The Broken Melody and Bush Christmas.
Link Map (Entry on Little Malop St)
Moments In Film
Various from an archive
to 2 May 2026
18 photos from movies produced before 1956. These include: the world's first use of movies in a narrative, Soldiers of the Cross by the Salvation Army in Melbourne; the World's first feature-length narrative film, The Story of the Kelly Gang; Australia's first "epic" picture, For The Term Of His Natural Life; Australia's first "talkie", Showgirl's Luck; and Australia's first colour feature film, Jedda. Some of the other films represented are 40,000 Horsemen, The Enemy Within, The Sentimental Bloke, Lovers and Luggers, Dad & Dave Come To Town, The Church and The Woman, The Broken Melody and Bush Christmas.
Gold Street Gallery - Trentham East
Link Map
The Print Exposed 2026
Benjamin Healey, Bianca Conwell, Danielle Edwards, David Weston, Diana Bloomfield, Elizabeth Opalenik, Gale Spring, Greg Soltys , Jo-Anne Cripps, Kaye Dixon, Keiko Goto, Mat Hughes, Mike Ware, Ossian Desmond-Jones, Paul Weiss, Peter Kinchington, Robert Poole, Robyn Moore, Stuart Clook, Tim Rudman and Wendy Currie
to 5th April 2026
The Print Exposed is a truly unique exhibition aimed at encouraging the understanding, and appreciation for handmade alternative/ historic photographic print processes evolved from the birth of photography.
The work selected for the exhibition will be eligible for the Mike Ware Award
Processes include: Argyrotype, Carbon Transfer, Chrysotypes, Cyanotypes, Daguerrotypes, Photogravure, Gum Bichromate, Lith, Mordançage, Opalotype, Orotone, Photopolymer Gravure, Platinum/palladium, Salt print, New Cyanotype, Simple Cyanotype, Silver gelatin and Zoukin Gake..
AG+
Chris Reid
15 April to 30 August 2026
Using various traditional silver gelatine processes I hope to convey the beauty of our world, from my homeland in Northern Ireland and my land of home in Laguna, Australia.
A camera is a tool, the darkroom a workshop and the print is life. My life is to print from the subconscious, from dreams and from the creative visions that lie in shadows of light.
Link Map
The Print Exposed 2026
Benjamin Healey, Bianca Conwell, Danielle Edwards, David Weston, Diana Bloomfield, Elizabeth Opalenik, Gale Spring, Greg Soltys , Jo-Anne Cripps, Kaye Dixon, Keiko Goto, Mat Hughes, Mike Ware, Ossian Desmond-Jones, Paul Weiss, Peter Kinchington, Robert Poole, Robyn Moore, Stuart Clook, Tim Rudman and Wendy Currie
to 5th April 2026
The Print Exposed is a truly unique exhibition aimed at encouraging the understanding, and appreciation for handmade alternative/ historic photographic print processes evolved from the birth of photography.
The work selected for the exhibition will be eligible for the Mike Ware Award
Processes include: Argyrotype, Carbon Transfer, Chrysotypes, Cyanotypes, Daguerrotypes, Photogravure, Gum Bichromate, Lith, Mordançage, Opalotype, Orotone, Photopolymer Gravure, Platinum/palladium, Salt print, New Cyanotype, Simple Cyanotype, Silver gelatin and Zoukin Gake..
AG+
Chris Reid
15 April to 30 August 2026
Using various traditional silver gelatine processes I hope to convey the beauty of our world, from my homeland in Northern Ireland and my land of home in Laguna, Australia.
A camera is a tool, the darkroom a workshop and the print is life. My life is to print from the subconscious, from dreams and from the creative visions that lie in shadows of light.
Castlemaine Art Museum - Castlemaine
Link Map
Groundswell
Arkeria Armstrong, Aunty Kerri Douglas, Melinda Harper, Judith van Heeren, Kate Just, Ruth O'Leary, Anna Read, Anna Schwann and lIka White.
To 18 October 2026
In order to effect change, you need a groundswell, a groundswell of opinion, a surge of emotion, a desire for new thinking. This exhibition celebrates artists who want to build a groundswell for change whether that be environmental, cultural, personal or political.
The exhibition pairs historical objects including embroidery, ceramics and metalwork from the CAM collection with work from contemporary artists. It builds on the CAM exhibition Wildflowers curated by Sarah Frazer and the recent MASC public art commission awarded to Laura Woodward both of which celebrate the woman founders of the Castlemaine Art Museum.
is an exhibition of profiles, slanted light, shadowy forms and occasional smiles. Paintings by Polly Hurry, Arnold Shore, W D McInnes, Hugh Ramsay, Mary Cecil Allen, A M E Bale and May Vale, among many others, explore the play of light on skin and fabric. The 19th and 20th century works from the collection form a wall of painted ghosts. Traces of once-living subjects are caught in a moment of stillness. They are not relaxed, they are posed and composed, tense, cigarette in hand, faces taut with concentration.
Link Map
Groundswell
Arkeria Armstrong, Aunty Kerri Douglas, Melinda Harper, Judith van Heeren, Kate Just, Ruth O'Leary, Anna Read, Anna Schwann and lIka White.
To 18 October 2026
In order to effect change, you need a groundswell, a groundswell of opinion, a surge of emotion, a desire for new thinking. This exhibition celebrates artists who want to build a groundswell for change whether that be environmental, cultural, personal or political.
The exhibition pairs historical objects including embroidery, ceramics and metalwork from the CAM collection with work from contemporary artists. It builds on the CAM exhibition Wildflowers curated by Sarah Frazer and the recent MASC public art commission awarded to Laura Woodward both of which celebrate the woman founders of the Castlemaine Art Museum.
is an exhibition of profiles, slanted light, shadowy forms and occasional smiles. Paintings by Polly Hurry, Arnold Shore, W D McInnes, Hugh Ramsay, Mary Cecil Allen, A M E Bale and May Vale, among many others, explore the play of light on skin and fabric. The 19th and 20th century works from the collection form a wall of painted ghosts. Traces of once-living subjects are caught in a moment of stillness. They are not relaxed, they are posed and composed, tense, cigarette in hand, faces taut with concentration.
Horsham Regional Gallery - Horsham
Link Map
Ancestral Silence
Demi Kromidellis
to 24 May 2026
Demi Kromidellis’ practice explores the layered intersections of heritage, memory, and identity. As a third-generation Australian of Greek descent, she reflects on the ways diaspora continues to shape cultural belonging within Victoria, where Greek immigrant communities have long contributed to the state’s social and cultural fabric.
In 2024, Kromidellis travelled to Greece to photograph her grandparents’ homes, now abandoned and decaying. These sites, once filled with life and tradition, stand as quiet monuments to migration, cultural practice, and family history. Through the act of revisiting and reimagining these spaces, she reflects on how culture adapts, transforms, and, at times, dilutes across generations.
This Working Life: from the collection
Mark Strizic, Robert Ashton, Shane Cahill, Harold Cazneaux, Con Kroker, John Werrett, Ross Schultz, Robert Billington, Ian Ward, Joyce Evans, Matthew Sleeth, Wolfgang Sievers, John Immig, and Bruce Postle
to 24 May 2026
This Working Life, an exhibition comprised of photographs from the Horsham Regional Art Gallery collection, explores how our labours shape both daily life and national identity. Through the eyes of fourteen acclaimed Australian artists, it presents a compelling portrait of Australians at work—whether in paddocks and factories or under the fluorescent lights of offices, with tools or pen in hand.
Link Map
Ancestral Silence
Demi Kromidellis
to 24 May 2026
Demi Kromidellis’ practice explores the layered intersections of heritage, memory, and identity. As a third-generation Australian of Greek descent, she reflects on the ways diaspora continues to shape cultural belonging within Victoria, where Greek immigrant communities have long contributed to the state’s social and cultural fabric.
In 2024, Kromidellis travelled to Greece to photograph her grandparents’ homes, now abandoned and decaying. These sites, once filled with life and tradition, stand as quiet monuments to migration, cultural practice, and family history. Through the act of revisiting and reimagining these spaces, she reflects on how culture adapts, transforms, and, at times, dilutes across generations.
This Working Life: from the collection
Mark Strizic, Robert Ashton, Shane Cahill, Harold Cazneaux, Con Kroker, John Werrett, Ross Schultz, Robert Billington, Ian Ward, Joyce Evans, Matthew Sleeth, Wolfgang Sievers, John Immig, and Bruce Postle
to 24 May 2026
This Working Life, an exhibition comprised of photographs from the Horsham Regional Art Gallery collection, explores how our labours shape both daily life and national identity. Through the eyes of fourteen acclaimed Australian artists, it presents a compelling portrait of Australians at work—whether in paddocks and factories or under the fluorescent lights of offices, with tools or pen in hand.
MAMA Murray Art Museum Albury - Albury
Link Map
Mabinya, Wibiyanha, Wudhagarbinya
Ruth Davys
To 7 June 2026
Ruth Davys has produced a new moving image work, featuring the artist’s puppet alter-ego, Little Ruthie. Mabinya, Wibiyanha, Wudhagarbinya. is a companion to Davy’s current Kid’s Gallery installation, Yamandhu wudhagarbinya? and extends that work’s focus on Language sharing, bringing in Wiradjuri philosophies of yindyamarra (to show honour and respect, to be gentle) and winhanganha (to know, think and remember).
Link Map
Mabinya, Wibiyanha, Wudhagarbinya
Ruth Davys
To 7 June 2026
Ruth Davys has produced a new moving image work, featuring the artist’s puppet alter-ego, Little Ruthie. Mabinya, Wibiyanha, Wudhagarbinya. is a companion to Davy’s current Kid’s Gallery installation, Yamandhu wudhagarbinya? and extends that work’s focus on Language sharing, bringing in Wiradjuri philosophies of yindyamarra (to show honour and respect, to be gentle) and winhanganha (to know, think and remember).
WESTERN VICTORIA
Hamilton Gallery
Link Map
A SERIES OF UNWARRANTED EVENTS
Hayley Millar Baker
to 19 APRIL 2026
Hayley Millar Baker is an Aboriginal Australian contemporary artist (Gunditjmara and Djabwurrung) of Anglo-Indian descent. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and she has been a finalist in numerous prestigious art prizes. Her works are held in major public collections, including the Australian War Memorial, Melbourne Museum, and the State Library of Victoria.
Hayley works across photography, collage, and film, exploring autobiographical narratives and themes relating to her own identity. A Series of Unwarranted Events presents four collaged photographic stories of the Gunditjmara people, revealing the harsh realities of life during the beginning of colonisation.
Link Map
A SERIES OF UNWARRANTED EVENTS
Hayley Millar Baker
to 19 APRIL 2026
Hayley Millar Baker is an Aboriginal Australian contemporary artist (Gunditjmara and Djabwurrung) of Anglo-Indian descent. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and she has been a finalist in numerous prestigious art prizes. Her works are held in major public collections, including the Australian War Memorial, Melbourne Museum, and the State Library of Victoria.
Hayley works across photography, collage, and film, exploring autobiographical narratives and themes relating to her own identity. A Series of Unwarranted Events presents four collaged photographic stories of the Gunditjmara people, revealing the harsh realities of life during the beginning of colonisation.
