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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

What's on

Friday 11 October 2024 – Sunday 11 October 2026

Paradise won, 2024 Ryan Presley
Paradise won, 2024 Ryan Presley
Paradise won, 2024 Ryan Presley
Paradise won, 2024 Ryan Presley

Ryan Presley: Paradise won

On view until May 2025

Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley's site-specific commission Paradise won is prominently positioned at the Gallery’s entrance. This ambitious new work invites conversations about the ongoing legacies of colonisation and celebrates First Nations survival and autonomy.

William Nuttall with horses in field, 2023 Noel McKenna
William Nuttall with horses in field, 2023 Noel McKenna
William Nuttall with horses in field, 2023 Noel McKenna
William Nuttall with horses in field, 2023 Noel McKenna

Darling Portrait Prize 2024

Exhibition closes 13 October

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG.

Bookings available
Alexis with moon, 2024 Amos Gebhardt
Alexis with moon, 2024 Amos Gebhardt
Alexis with moon, 2024 Amos Gebhardt
Alexis with moon, 2024 Amos Gebhardt

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024

Exhibition closes 13 October

The National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024 celebrates established and emerging artistic talent from across the country.

Bookings available
Those trees came back to me in my dreams
Those trees came back to me in my dreams
Those trees came back to me in my dreams
Those trees came back to me in my dreams

Joan Ross

Those trees came back to me in my dreams

Exhibition closes 2 February

The exhibition is a vibrant and dynamic exhibition by acclaimed contemporary artist Joan Ross. Transforming scenes from colonial artworks through a digital ‘cut and paste’ technique and her signature fluorescent yellow, Ross explores critical issues like climate change, greed and consumerism.

Some lads #1
Some lads #1
Some lads #1
Some lads #1

Some Lads

In Gallery Four

Open every day

The Some Lads series powerfully and playfully depicts Russell Page, Larrakia man Gary Lang, Muruwari man Matthew Doyle, and Graham Blanco, a descendant of the Mer (Murray Island) people.

Art Cart - children drawing in the gallery
Art Cart - children drawing in the gallery
Art Cart - children drawing in the gallery
Art Cart - children drawing in the gallery

Art Cart

Bright brooches: banksias and butterflies

10:00am, Sun 22 Sep until Sun 15 Dec

Drop into the Gallery this Spring for free creative activities inspired by our vibrant exhibition Joan Ross: Those trees came back to me in my dreams.

Lowitja O'Donoghue
Lowitja O'Donoghue
Lowitja O'Donoghue
Lowitja O'Donoghue

Gallery One

Open every day

Drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection, this salon-style hang references the lavish 18th- and 19th-century European salons where paintings were hung floor-to-ceiling.

Lowitja O'Donoghue
Lowitja O'Donoghue
Lowitja O'Donoghue
Lowitja O'Donoghue

Collection Highlights Tour

11:00am, 2:00pm, Daily from Mon 14 Oct until Sun 15 Dec

Join us in the Gallery for this free 30-minute tour of the collection, exploring portrait stories and the history of the building.

Bookings optional
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces

Little Faces

10:30am, Wed 23 Oct

Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Bookings required
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces

Little Faces

10:30am, Thu 24 Oct

Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Bookings required
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces

Little Faces

9:30am, 10:30am, Fri 25 Oct

Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Bookings required
Deborah Mailman
Deborah Mailman
Deborah Mailman
Deborah Mailman

Gallery Two

Open every day
Eagle Ross (Ross Wilson)
Eagle Ross (Ross Wilson)
Eagle Ross (Ross Wilson)
Eagle Ross (Ross Wilson)

Virtual Highlight Tour

Rock Revolution: 80s

12:30pm, Tue 5 Nov
Live online

Get ready to rock out with us this week as we journey through the epic world of Aussie rock legends from the 80s!

Bookings required
Native flowers made from paper
Native flowers made from paper
Native flowers made from paper
Native flowers made from paper

‘Waste’ paper workshop

With Jo Neville

10:00am, Sat 9 Nov

Discover the beauty that can be made from ‘waste’ paper with Jo Neville from Paper Couture.

Bookings required
Native flowers made from paper
Native flowers made from paper
Native flowers made from paper
Native flowers made from paper

‘Waste’ paper workshop

With Jo Neville

10:00am, Sun 10 Nov

Discover the beauty that can be made from ‘waste’ paper with Jo Neville from Paper Couture.

Bookings required
Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal)
Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal)
Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal)
Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal)

Virtual Highlight Tour

Prose and Pose: Noonuccal to Missy

12:30pm, Tue 12 Nov
Live online

Welcome lovers of verse! Explore the intersection of literature and art as we delve into the words and works of renowned Australian poets and songwriters immortalised in the National Portrait Collection.

Bookings required
Tara Louise and Ben Lanyon
Tara Louise and Ben Lanyon
Tara Louise and Ben Lanyon
Tara Louise and Ben Lanyon

Drawn in

Tara Louise and Ben Lanyon

1:00pm, Sun 17 Nov

Draw while listening to live music by Tara Louise and Ben Lanyon as they perform a groovy mix of jazz, soul and pop music.

William, Randwick
William, Randwick
William, Randwick
William, Randwick

Virtual Highlight Tour

Talking Trailblazers

12:30pm, Tue 19 Nov
Live online

Join Australian National University researcher Harry Kilcullen as they explore groundbreakers of queer art and culture in the National Portrait Collection.

Bookings required
Judith Wright with Barbara Blackman
Judith Wright with Barbara Blackman
Judith Wright with Barbara Blackman
Judith Wright with Barbara Blackman

Virtual Highlight Tour

Double portraits

12:30pm, Tue 26 Nov
Live online

Join us as we take a deep dive into the world of double portraits. What will this unique form of portraiture reveal about the sitters and the artists?

Bookings required
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces

Little Faces

10:30am, Wed 27 Nov

Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Bookings required
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces

Little Faces

10:30am, Thu 28 Nov

Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Bookings required
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces
Little Faces

Little Faces

9:30am, 10:30am, Fri 29 Nov

Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Bookings required
Bobbi Sykes, Black Moratorium, Sydney, '72, 1972 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Black Moratorium, Sydney, '72, 1972 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Black Moratorium, Sydney, '72, 1972 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Black Moratorium, Sydney, '72, 1972 Carol Jerrems

Opening Party

Carol Jerrems: Portraits

6:00pm, Fri 29 Nov

Join us for the opening of Carol Jerrems: Portraits to celebrate the work, life and legacy of one of Australia’s most influential photographers. See the exhibition for free, grab a drink and soak up the vibe of DJ Charlie Villas’ genre- and generation-bending beats.

Bookings required
Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Medical Service, 1973 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Medical Service, 1973 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Medical Service, 1973 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Medical Service, 1973 Carol Jerrems

Carol Jerrems: Portraits

Exhibition opens 30 November

Carol Jerrems: Portraits is a major exhibition of one of Australia’s most influential photographers. Jerrems’ intimate portraits of friends, lovers and artistic peers transcend the purely personal and have come to shape Australian visual culture.

Bookings available
where will the story take us, 2002-2024 (printed 2024) (detail) Katrin Koenning
where will the story take us, 2002-2024 (printed 2024) (detail) Katrin Koenning
where will the story take us, 2002-2024 (printed 2024) (detail) Katrin Koenning
where will the story take us, 2002-2024 (printed 2024) (detail) Katrin Koenning

if only we could take the time: contemporary Australian photography

Exhibition opens 30 November

This show, staged alongside the major exhibition Carol Jerrems: Portraits, spotlights the work of three contemporary Australian artists whose work sits in dialogue with Jerrems’ legacy.

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

Virtual Highlight Tour

Disability in the frame

12:30pm, Tue 3 Dec
Live online

This International Day of People with Disability, join us as we take a look at the collection and see how representation has changed over time.

Bookings required
Marcia Langton
Marcia Langton
Marcia Langton
Marcia Langton

Audio described tour

1:00pm, Tue 3 Dec

Join us on International Day of People with Disability as we explore the collection with audio descriptions for visitors who are blind or have low vision.

Bookings required
Portrait of Anne Summers
Portrait of Anne Summers
Portrait of Anne Summers
Portrait of Anne Summers

Exhibition Tour

Carol Jerrems: Portraits

1:00pm, Fri 6 Dec until Sun 2 Mar

Join us in the Gallery as we explore our latest exhibition Carol Jerrems: Portraits and its key themes. Discover how Jerrems’ work defined a decade and continues to shape how we think about photography today.

Bookings available

Drawn in

Coolibah Coolective

1:00pm, Sun 15 Dec

Draw while listening to live music by four-piece band Coolibah Coolective as they perform acoustic songs that tell stories about the people and places that make us who we are.

Family space creative activities
Family space creative activities
Family space creative activities
Family space creative activities

Summer Family Space

10:00am, Wed 18 Dec until Sun 2 Feb

Drop in to the family space these school holidays for free creative activities to enjoy together. All activities are inspired by the vibrant and dynamic exhibition, Joan Ross: Those trees came back to me in my dreams.

Visitors to the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024
Visitors to the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024
Visitors to the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024
Visitors to the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024

Photography in focus

Teacher Professional Learning

4:00pm, Tue 28 Jan

Join photo-historian Helen Ennis and Gallery educators as we launch our professional learning programs for 2025 with a free session that explores ways to engage students with photography.

Bookings required
1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems
1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems
1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems
1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems

Photography in focus

Virtual: Teacher Professional Learning

3:30pm, Thu 30 Jan
Live online

Join photo-historian Helen Ennis and Gallery educators as we launch our professional learning programs for 2025 with a free online session that explores ways to engage students with photography.

Bookings required
National Portrait Gallery forecourt with the Geo Face Distributor by James Angus
National Portrait Gallery forecourt with the Geo Face Distributor by James Angus
National Portrait Gallery forecourt with the Geo Face Distributor by James Angus
National Portrait Gallery forecourt with the Geo Face Distributor by James Angus

Virtual Highlight Tour

Surprise me!

12:30pm, Tue 4 Feb
Live online

For our first Virtual Highlight Tour of 2025, three of our Access and Learning team members have chosen a portrait to surprise each other and us! Join us for a lively discussion.

Bookings required
Helen Ennis
Helen Ennis
Helen Ennis
Helen Ennis

Virtual Highlight Tour

February Photography Focus

12:30pm, Tue 11 Feb
Live online

Join us for our first February Photography Focus. Helen Ennis, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University (ANU), and Harry Kilcullen, ANU researcher, delve into photography from the National Portrait Collection.

Bookings required
Bobbi Sykes, Black Moratorium, Sydney, '72, 1972 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Black Moratorium, Sydney, '72, 1972 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Black Moratorium, Sydney, '72, 1972 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Black Moratorium, Sydney, '72, 1972 Carol Jerrems

Virtual Highlight Tour

February Photography Focus: Carol Jerrems

12:30pm, Tue 18 Feb
Live online

Join us for an in-depth discussion about the work of influential photographer Carol Jerrems, whose work is on view in our major exhibition Carol Jerrems: Portraits.

Bookings required
where will the story take us, 2002-2024 (printed 2024) (detail) Katrin Koenning
where will the story take us, 2002-2024 (printed 2024) (detail) Katrin Koenning
where will the story take us, 2002-2024 (printed 2024) (detail) Katrin Koenning
where will the story take us, 2002-2024 (printed 2024) (detail) Katrin Koenning

Virtual Highlight Tour

February Photography Focus: Kumar, Koenning and Ang

12:30pm, Tue 25 Feb
Live online

Our February Photography Focus concludes with the work of three contemporary photographers – Ying Ang, Katrin Koenning and Anu Kumar – whose photographs are currently on view in if only we could take the time: contemporary Australian photography.

Bookings required

More events

Monday 12 October 2026 – Wednesday 11 October 2028
© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency