Ticketed entry is in place to safely manage your visit so please book ahead. Need to cancel or rejig? Email bookings@npg.gov.au
The Darling Prize is a new annual prize for Australian portrait painters, painting Australian sitters. The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.
The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.
Experience the very best new portrait paintings and photographs from across Australia.
Using ochres collected on her country in Western Australia’s East Kimberley, Shirley Purdie’s self-portrait is a kaleidoscope of traditional Gija stories and Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) passed down to her.
Bookings requiredCelebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.
Bookings requiredThe collection display includes a wide selection of portraits that tell extraordinary stories of encounter, exploration, independence, individuality and achievement in Australia.
Revealing the backstories behind the NPG collection, Before hand features interviews with artists and sitters as well as working drawings, scrapbooks, sketches and footage taken in artists’ studios and out on location.
Bookings requiredReconnect and reflect with our new major exhibition, Australian Love Stories (in real life!) as we explore love, affection and connection in all its guises.
Bookings requiredThat’s a different name? Yep! Acknowledging how extraordinary 2020 has been, we've decided to mix it up a little and title the exhibition, ‘Living Memory: National Photographic Portrait Prize’.
An educational and fun 14-day adults’ introduction to portraiture.
Free.All visitors must pre-book for one of the daily sessions. Each day will have a limited number of people allowed.
Free. Bookings requiredMassage your grey matter with a peek inside the mind and brain as we look at portraits about consciousness, neurotechnology and dementia.
Free. Bookings requiredStand tall and be intrigued and inspired by the achievements of some remarkable women from the collection who exude strength, ambition and creativity.
Free. Bookings requiredDarling Prize finalist Liam Nunan and actor Guy Simon discuss the portrait, their friendship and the intensity of the acting life.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us for stories of humour, love, sadness and hope as we explore portraits of our history, identity and the complexities of what it means to be Australian.
Free. Bookings requiredTake a breath and enter a quieter state as we explore portraits where the sitter appears to drift off, lower their guard and give more away.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us for a live and interactive video tour through the Shirley Purdie exhibition, Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe.
Free. Bookings requiredLust and longing, drama and devotion, seduction and scandal! Delve into an enticing array of tales of the heart.
Free.Grab your paddles and join us on an adventure as we look at three artworks that inspired and recorded the roots of Australia’s environmental movement.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin Darling Portrait Prize winner Anthea da Silva as she shares her passion for life drawing and portraiture and experiments with a range of drawing and painting styles.
Free.Get all Sherlock Holmes and discover how artists accidentally (or on purpose) reveal their own character and world when they’re creating a portrait.
Free. Bookings requiredThere’s nothing quite like Storytime! Snuggle up with your favourite small person and join us for a live-streamed reading of Shaun Tan’s ‘The Lost Thing.’
Free. Bookings requiredIt’s like Oxford St online! Join us for an exploration of gender, performance and queerness as we take a look at three provocative, and sometimes transgressive, Australian icons.
Free. Bookings requiredBe the first to view our new exhibition. Join members of our team for a special tour and see the people, places and sounds that defined Australian pub rock in the 70s and 80s.
Free. Bookings requiredLearning Facilitator Carolyn Eccles will take us on a gentle wander through the National Portrait Gallery's collection, as we re-examine the meanings of the word 'home' and how we define ourselves in the places and contexts that we find it in.
Free. Bookings requiredMusic and art share many attributes – line, rhythm, dynamics, mood and storytelling, to name a few. This tour will explore some portraits that link these two art forms.
Free. Bookings requiredBe the first to view our new exhibition. Join members of our team for a special tour and see the people, places and sounds that defined Australian pub rock in the 70s and 80s.
Free. Bookings requiredBe the first to view our new exhibition. Join members of our team for a special tour and see the people, places and sounds that defined Australian pub rock in the 70s and 80s.
Free. Bookings requiredLearning Facilitator Carolyn Eccles will take us on a gentle wander through the National Portrait Gallery's collection, as we re-examine the meanings of the word 'home' and how we define ourselves in the places and contexts that we find it in.
Free. Bookings requiredCrowd surf to get up front with curator Jo “Frock on” Gilmour and exhibition manager Sheridan “The Flame” Burnett as they take you backstage on Australia’s Pub Rock scene.
Free. Bookings requiredDancers Tammi Gissell, Natasha Lee Rogers and Emma Laverty join to present a performance of unity and celebration of culture on Ngunnawal land. Accompanied by violinist Michael Liu.
Free.Layne Beachley, Jim Conway and Gurrumul Yunupingu’s portraits evoke both the visible and the invisible. Through the portraits and life experience of both subjects and artists in the collection, this tour will consider what is ‘invisible disability’.
Free. Bookings requiredThe aspect of someone's character that is perceived by others is made richer when we consider that it also refers to a role or character inhabited by an actor. We look at three performing artists' portraits in three contrasting media.
Free. Bookings requiredYour backstage pass to sensational stories about Canberra’s Pub Rock scene with Chris Shakallis (Young Docteurs), Julia Ford (The Framed) and Fiona Edge (keeper of the ‘Pling archive)
Free. Bookings requiredPack your snacks and get prepped for a highlights tour as we explore the idea of adventure! Along the way we’ll meet some amazing faces and journey to different times and places.
Free. Bookings requiredThere’s nothing quite like Storytime! Snuggle up with your favourite small person and join us for a live-streamed reading of Shaun Tan’s ‘The Lost Thing.’
Free. Bookings requiredExplore the different ways people connect to the land and to each other.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us online for a bilingual reading of My Story, Ngaginybe Jarragbe by Shirley Purdie.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us for a bout of FREE pub trivia – all online and live-streamed of course! There’ll be an hour of music mayhem and prizes to be won.
Free.It’s like an after party, but waaay after. Join Greg Appel (Lighthouse Keepers), Robina Gugler (co-writer of Head Full of Flames) and Fiona Edge (Keeper of the ‘Pling archive).
Free. Bookings requiredA veritable treasure trove of extraordinary artists and their creative spaces.
Free. Bookings requiredAssume ballet position one and join photographer Peter Brew Bevan – in conversation with Before hand exhibition curator, Penny Grist – as he provides insight into the private life of his portrait of dancer David McAllister.
Free. Bookings requiredCelebrate the urban environment and our interaction with it.
Free. Bookings requiredGrab your press pass and hold it tight as we dive camera-first into the mosh pit! Photographers Wendy McDougall and Stuart Spence have captured the likes of INXS, Cold Chisel, Paul Kelly, Tim Freedman and many more.
Free. Bookings requiredRemembering many of the exciting moments and extraordinary athletes of the Sydney Olympics.
Free. Bookings requiredThe internet and digital apps have opened up the world of courtship. But has digital dating made it easier to find our own Australian Love Story?
Free. Bookings requiredIt takes all sorts to create a national portrait collection – good, bad and ugly; meek and powerful; famous and utterly obscure.
Free. Bookings requiredIn their own words is an audio-guide with a difference. We let the portraits of these remarkable Australians speak for themselves.
Free.Help us celebrate diversity and the LGBTIQ+ community with a virtual tour and meet some exceptional queer icons.
Free. Bookings requiredIn this hybrid tour and making experience we will take you on a behind-the-scenes journey through the portraits and the exhibition.
Free. Bookings requiredCelebrate our First Nations Identity for NAIDOC with the National Portrait Gallery collection from the comfort of your own home.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us for a conversation with NPPP 2020 finalist Sanjeev Singh and his subject Peter McEwan as we discuss the shameful history and ultimate triumph behind this striking portrait.
Free. Bookings requiredDelve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this new international conversation series.
Free. Bookings requiredWe will explore faces inspired by portraits from the collection using movement and music.
Free. Bookings requiredCelebrate the past as we chat all things love, intimacy and sex with Nick Henderson from the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives.
Free. Bookings requiredArtist Cherry Hood shows us her unique way of making large-scale watercolour portraits.
Free. Bookings requiredWorking from a photograph of your choice, Cherry Hood will share her tips to help you hone your watercolour skills.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us for a virtual highlights tour that investigates the sometimes problematic portrayal of scientists in portraiture.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin Sandra Bruce, Director Collection & Exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery, as she explores the progressive and successful relationship of artists and couple Margel and Frank Hinder.
Free. Bookings requiredA selection of works composed during times of pandemics, epidemics, and highly contagious diseases that celebrate the beauty that can be created in, and despite, the darkest of times.
Free. Bookings requiredAhead of International Day of People with Disability, join us as we reflect on how people with disability have been represented in portraiture, how this has changed over time and what comes next.
Free. Bookings requiredCelebrate our four-legged family folk and join us for a furry tour of portraits with animals.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin curator Penny Grist in conversation with Karen Vickery, Director Access and Learning and Louise Maher, journalist and researcher as they discuss the project and share some fascinating stories from the App.
Free. Bookings requiredEver wondered how an artist’s choice of materials and technique can reveal their unique perspective?
Free. Bookings requiredWe will explore faces inspired by portraits from the collection using movement and music.
Free. Bookings requiredIn these uncertain times, with physical gatherings restricted, we can all still recall major events such as the bogong moth migration, and remain connected to each other through nature.
Free.We will explore faces inspired by portraits from the collection using movement and music.
Free. Bookings requiredTake a 30 minute tour of the Portrait Gallery exploring the collection and the building.
Free. Bookings requiredTake a 30 minute tour of the exhibition.
Free. Bookings requiredA Christmas themed concert featuring the glorious sounds of the Clarion vocal ensemble, directed by Tobias Cole.
Free. Bookings requiredProgetti Chamber Choir invites you to share in this programme of Christmas music, and in the invocation of the dawning of a new day, where light and hope are reborn.
Free. Bookings requiredA Christmas themed concert featuring the glorious sounds of the Clarion vocal ensemble, directed by Tobias Cole.
Free. Bookings requiredA space for families to mimic, reflect and explore. For all ages and abilities.
Free.Listen to the story Magic Beach by Alison Lester and create your own visual response.
Bookings requiredExplore the main collection during our ‘quiet hours’ sessions, suitable for anyone who prefers a quieter visitor experience.
Free. Bookings requiredQL2 Director Ruth Osborne, working in close collaboration with seven recent tertiary dance graduates, brings you a performance that will move through the three themes to explore creative spaces, connection to landscape and their collective story.
Free.Join us on online for a reading of Alison Lester’s Magic Beach followed by a chance to create your own visual response with items at home.
Free. Bookings requiredDelve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this international conversation series.
Free.Join us as we chat with specialists (and no doubt patient humans) from Endangered Heritage to hear about the curious processes involved in restoring and conserving art objects.
Bookings requiredYou’d be forgiven for thinking that summer was all about cricket, so prepare to be bowled over as we celebrate our warmest season with a look at a variety of portraits from the most sun-baked to the cool and quirky.
Free. Bookings requiredThink you know your Aussie pub rock? Then join us in the Gallery for a night of music mayhem!
Ben Quilty talks about portraiture as ‘a recording of a moment that reflects the sharing of a story.’
Free. Bookings requiredPhoto-media artist Anne Zahalka has been exhibiting since the early 80s. Join us (and Anne!) as we look at a few of her works in the collection and chat about her principles and practice.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin Penny Grist, Curator Exhibitions in conversation with Evert Ploeg and eX de Medici, two of Australia’s best-loved artist.
Bookings requiredFollowing on from our popular tour reflecting on how people with a disability have been represented in portraiture, join us as we look at works from the collection and contemplate inclusivity with a focus on the artists.
Free. Bookings requiredCan you believe there are over 100 portraits by photographer Greg Weight in the collection?! Join us as we talk all things portraiture with the prolific photographer himself.
Free. Bookings requiredCelebrate Norman Lindsay’s birthday with us as we explore the life and world behind the creator of this Australian children’s classic.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us in the Gallery for an intimate drawing workshop with British-Australian artist Nicholas Harding.
Bookings requiredJoin us from wherever you are for an intimate, online drawing workshop with British-Australian artist Nicholas Harding.
Free. Bookings requiredDiscover some of the artists, architects, and activists who have travelled far and wide and yet call Canberra home.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us on the red carpet to meet some of Australia’s fashion stars, known not just for striking poses, but also for their striking stories.
Free. Bookings requiredJoin us as we navigate through portraits of those who’ve explored, adventured and endured the challenges of traversing on and off our planet.
Free. Bookings requiredExplore portraiture and come face to face with Australian identity, history, culture, creativity and diversity.
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