The Margaret Preston exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria is one of those must see exhibitions for anyone with an interest in Australian art. There’s about 200 works and there’s loads to enjoy and to think about!
Margaret Preston at NGV
Category Archives: cultural
Max Dupain and Ansel Adams together
Bayside Art Gallery exhibition
Last week we travelled across Melbourne to the Bayside Art Gallery in Brighton to see the National Gallery of Australia’s travelling exhibition Max Dupain and Ansel Adams: In search of perfection. The exhibition opened 20th June and is open till 30 August 2026.
The God We Made: The Threat and Promise of Artificial Intelligence
Book Review: Quarterly Essay 102, 2026
When you take to reading a book you always have some levels of expectations. With this essay I thought the author would venture into thoughts and places to expand the thinking of AI – something I now use often. Continue reading The God We Made: The Threat and Promise of Artificial Intelligence
Pegg Clarke
Australian photographer c. 1884 – 1959
We have uploaded information and links to resources to our web site on Pegg Clarke.
Asia photobooks
Updated web pages loaded
We have updated our web pages for three photographers and their photobooks.
Weird Heritage
The wonders of Ivanhoe heritage design
Somewhere in the past decade, the original Ivanhoe Town Hall had a complete make-over and the council delivered a well designed complex that consists of a new style library (a great facility), a small gallery (ok but not great), the meeting rooms for the council, and the main building became a venue – a large hall space for weddings and a range of cultural events (looked good!!)
Orwell’s Roses
Rebecca Solnit 2021
Another good read of a Rebecca Solnit book. This one was Orwell’s Roses, a series of essays that roam through a range of topics and issues that she relates back to the theme – that George Orwell planted roses at his house.
Is gullicism a real word?
word for the day maybe
It is amazing how gullible so many people are and have always been; think religion, think Trump, think Australian Prime Ministers such as Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison, think those who still listen to anything broadcasted by or published by the Murdoch empire.
Bundoora Arts Centre
A Melbourne Moment
the joys of being in Melbourne; many local government arts centres
Bundoora Arts – click here
A Spring rose
A Melbourne Moment
the joys of walking the neighbourhood
Where are the marriages?
In late 2023 when considering the purchase of our Melbourne apartment, one of the many considerations was that the building next door was a church.
Review: The Anthropocene Reviewed
Book Review: John Green’s Anthropocene Reviewed 
This book has apparently received rave reviews and is listed as a bestseller. My short response is that it is OK – but not great. I gave it six out of ten stars.
Frida Kahlo at ALDI
There’s an exhibition at Bendigo with Frida Kahlo’s personal belongings, clothing, make-up, accessories, and medical items on exhibition. Meanwhile a trip to ALDI offered an opportunity to have my own Frida memorabilia. I resisted!
Here’s a link to the Bendigo Art Gallery exhibition.
Fitzroy quiet corner
A Melbourne Moment
Camberwell Junction
A Melbourne Moment
Floribunda exhibition
Exhibition at Bunjil Place, Nee Warren
A highly recommended exhibition – about things floral. The title being Floribunda.
have we forgotten The Queen?
Many times in 2024 we walked passed a shop window that had on display many ornaments and bric-a-brac. Front and centre was the small statue of the Queen – waving whenever the sun is on her.
Visiting National Trust Como House
Exhibition: Traces of Girlhood
On Saturday 7th Sept 2024 in Melbourne, we travelled over to South Yarra to visit a National Trust property, Como House. Till 20th October it is open house on the weekend (see times below)
Exhibition Searching for Sanctuary
State Library of Victoria exhibition
The full title for this exhibition is:
Searching for Sanctuary: A journey of survival by Barat Ali Batoor
World of Books
Victoria State Library Exhibition
There are several reasons to go to the State Library of Victoria. It is a great place for research – and – they have very engaging exhibitions. One of their current exhibitions is high up in the dome (4th floor). This one is World of Books.
Melbourne and Graffiti
Graffiti as aesthetic rubbish – not art
Melbourne, in particular inner Melbourne, has a serious problem with graffiti.
(Image above – a composite photo- captured from two train journeys).
Geelong Art Gallery
Top rated three in one
This piece is about an exhibition that closed 28th July 2024. Cutting Through Time—Cressida Campbell, Margaret Preston, and the Japanese Print
Waving the flag
National Colours on display 14 July
It was the 14th July in Ivanhoe and at least one cafe was honouring this important French national day. The cafe was quiet when I took the photograph, it was after hours and one person was inside doing the clean-up.
The Royal Wave
What now for her majesty?
I have been walking passed this royal icon in this high street window for the last six months – ever since we arrived here. She waves when in the sunshine.
NGV Africa Photography
An exhibition within an exhibition
We were visiting the National Gallery of Victoria St Kilda Road when we split up with Gael heading for the paid exhibition of African fashion and I headed in the other direction to check on a couple of 17th century Dutch paintings. A few minutes later the phone tingled with a message that there was an exhibition of great photography within the fashion exhibition. Change of plan!
National Gallery of Victoria 3rd Floor
Visiting 3rd Floor NGV Fed Square
An opinion Piece about exhibitions, the visual arts, and things.
Our major public galleries now promote their special exhibition/ blockbusters to such an extent that people often overlook what else is on offer. Normally there are fantastic collection and other special exhibitions on offer.
Japanese photographs circa early 20th Century
In my spare time , I have put together a collection of early 20th century photographs from Japan – click here to see the collection (for sale)
A wonderful art gallery with a not so great café
This piece was originally uploaded in June 2023.
Before you wonder what the image above is about – it is a digitally altered photograph of the National Gallery of Australia here in Canberra. I’ll explain later in this piece.
Continue reading A wonderful art gallery with a not so great café
Gardening and farming at the National Museum
This piece was originally published in September 2022
A visit to an exhibition at the National Museum of Australia provided the extra opportunity to have a look at the new garden at the entrance and to check out again the Garden of Australian Dreams.
Continue reading Gardening and farming at the National Museum
Visiting ANU Drill Hall Gallery
This was published originally in August 2022
It was a recent photography exhibition by Catherine Rogers (closed 14th August) that brought home to me what a great space the ANU Drill Hall Gallery is.
The Niagara Café and Gundagai
recommended stopover
First a little history: Having not called by Gundagai for many years, in 2015 we called in to check out the well-known Niagara Café. It was a disappointment.
photography at the National Library of Australia
documentary photography exhibition
Viewfinder: Photography from the 1970s to Now
National Library of Australia exhibition, Friday 16 September 2022 until Monday 13 March 2023 Entry is free, curated by Matthew Jones
a link to the NLA page on the exhibition – click here
a tour of the exhibition click here
Visiting the National Gallery in Canberra
When the national Gallery opened in 1988, the exhibitions and their café became frequent destinations – a meeting place for locals, to take in the latest exhibitions while seeing old friends – the fabulous works in the permanent collections. Continue reading Visiting the National Gallery in Canberra
NGA Canberra Sculpture Garden
A place to visit often
There were few people visiting the NGA’s Sculpture Garden when I visited to enjoy the garden’s well-designed spaces and to check out the artworks.
Korean food to celebrate the Queen
It was, as I was reading an online US newspaper on Thursday, June 2, that I spotted they had the streaming of the Queen’s platinum celebration in London. How could I resist?
Marion Mahony Griffin – What A Life!
Particular major urban developments in Canberra have been promoted to be in line with the plans of Marion Mahony Griffin and Walter Burley Griffin or somehow in the spirit of the Griffins.
Marion Mahony Griffin’s vision for Canberra
and how it is being lost
When Marion Mahony Griffin provided those glorious drawings for the submission to design Canberra, she included a distant view of the mountains.
Continue reading Marion Mahony Griffin’s vision for Canberra
A day out in Braidwood
Making the time out to visit regionally
Earlier this month we ventured out for the day to meet a friend at Braidwood. She was from the south coast and so Braidwood meant we both travelled just over an hour.
Midnight Oil
Venice under stress
Click on the image above
Rijksmuseum 19th Century photography
the Rijksmuseum is presenting a major retrospective of 19th-century photography – click here
Looking for arts policy
will we ever have an arts minister?
While Australia is a great country – it has been a long time since we have experienced a government that was actually committed to its culture.
Culture Heist
Book Notice: Culture Heist, Judith White
ART VERSUS MONEY: The fight for the soul of a
great public institution
Books and Reading
click on the banner – and bookmark the page by Jan Bridges.
Anzac Parade – public art doing service
There is no doubt that Anzac Parade is very special.
Photographing Singapore’s public housing
Photographing Singapore’s public housing
There’s an article in Straits Times about photographer Koh Kim Chay and his decades of photographing the ubiquitous government flats of Singapore.
plundering the west – in photographs
Nice online exhibition of photographs – from The Washington Post – click here.
The National at the AGNSW 2017
Exhibition Review: The National at the AGNSW 2017
To link to a review of The National at the Art Gallery of NSW – click here.
church sign
seen in Ipswich – where the cyclonic rains had descended
Philip Bentley and Group M
A history of Group M photographers by Philip Bentley
Back in 1996, Philip Bentley, Melbourne historian, wrote a thesis on the history of the Melbourne photographers, Group M.
Ballarat Foto Biennale – Portrait Prize
Martin Kantor Portrait Prize Entry
Applications close: 31st May 2017
click on image for more….
Ballarat
A place where good things happen
click on the image
Frank Hurley
photo-essay on Frank Hurley images
A selection of photographs taken from one of Frank Hurley’s books…
photography
one of the pleasures of life – relaxing and watching the birds..
Architecture
Architectural vandalism at Parliament House
They have tried before and have failed–but this time they have got their way.
What is this landscape about
Jonathan Jones on cherishing the landscape
Click on the image to see the point being made – it’s a good one!
Megalo
The visual arts in Canberra is a very active scene. It has been thus for several decades.
Versailles at the NGA–a summer of glitz, cake and unsettled staff
Usually at this time of the year, I am looking forward to the coming visual arts exhibitions at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA).
Continue reading Versailles at the NGA–a summer of glitz, cake and unsettled staff
architecture
click on image for story
The Art Newspaper – Still Wrong on The Bishop Museum
An update on the issue of a misleading article in The Art Newspaper. Click here and scroll down the page to see the latest on this story
The Art Newspaper – Wrong about The Bishop Museum
An open letter to The Art Newspaper( 29 July) plus correspondence (5 August 2016)
Over many years I have accessed the Art Newspaper and when appropriate have either passed on links or have posted articles online that have links back to the Art Newspaper.
Continue reading The Art Newspaper – Wrong about The Bishop Museum
Diane Arbus and more at the NGA
There’s a wonderful exhibition at the NGA till 30th October 2016 – Diane Arbus: American portraits.
Signs of Life and Wonder
Apparently the residents of Gungahlin have had enough of being a lower priority to other areas of Canberra.
National Gallery Singapore
click on image above for the story about this very successful new national gallery.
Blue Poles at the museum
There is talk in the art world about the National Gallery of Australia’s (NGA) changes to their permanent collection galleries and how this has included the movement of the famous Jackson Pollock painting, Blue Poles, from its long historic position downstairs to the upstairs galleries.
Australian Art at the NGA
Sometimes a visit to the National Gallery of Australia can deliver a very nice surprise.
Peace for Paris
Kingston Arts Precinct
There’s was a recent announcement that the government is calling for developers to put forward proposals to develop part of the Kingston Foreshore site as an arts precinct.
One wonders what their perception and concept of what is art precinct. Then there will be the issues that the government is looking for a commercial entity to propose an arts precinct.
Dismaland
There’s been quiet a bit of writing online about Bansky’s latest project – Dismaland.
I am not sure what to make of it as theme parks would be something I would not even contemplate visiting. But yet, when irony is the theme, would I go. Still not sure. Meanwhile here’s a bunch of reviews and comments:
First the Guardian has a couple – one here and then another here.
The New Yorker writer writes from her own experiences of her holidays on the coast. click here.
The UK Telegraph liked it – click here.
and after reading all this – and looking at the videos and pictures – I am still not convinced.
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Paul Costigan
Dickson Parklands
Fact checking statements about Dickson Parklands.
There have been inaccurate media statements and comments online by the bureaucracy and others about the actions of residents to save the Dickson Parklands.
Gateways into Canberra
I enjoy the drive between Sydney from Canberra. I do it reasonably often. The mood of the country changes according to the weather, the drought, the latest rains and the time of the day.
Celebrating Landscape Architects
Good to see the work by locals, Harris Hobbs Landscapes, being recognised.
click on the image.
Mysterious placement of public art and memorials
Over the years I have wondered about the placement of public art and memorials in and around the parliamentary zone. Here are three stories.
Continue reading Mysterious placement of public art and memorials
Arts Singapore
There’s an announcement online about a new art fair to be held in January at the same time as Art Stage Singapore, Click on the image for more on this.
Food Carts
Canberra does not have a history of food carts. The nearest would be a double decker bus that opens at night time at the top of Braddon. Another would have been the now closed Brodburgers that was a very popular red caravan packed on the side of the lake. That was its problem – it was parked on land overseen by the fairly useless National Capital Authority (NCA).
Sir John Soane
I have been to London many times. Somehow I had not managed to find my way to the Sir John Soane Museum London until my most recent trip.
photography
A few travel photographs from not quite the usual tourist destination. This time we were in Maidstone in Kent. The image above is from within the local museum.
Venice Biennale Pavilion
There was much ado amongst the Australian arts heavies with their announcement of a new pavilion for the Venice Biennale.
Review Commonwealth Place
Review of landscape design: Commonwealth Place, Canberra
One of the local manifestations for Centenary of Federation in the year 2001 was the building of Commonwealth Place down on the side of the lake in the axis between Parliament and Mount Ainslie.
National Portrait Gallery Anzac
There’s a special exhibition at National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. This is this institution’s contribution to the Anzac centenary.
MCA Distractions
Comment on exhibition behaviour
I enjoy the exhibitions at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA). However ever since they completed their renovations and now attract more people, something has happened in how some visitors behave.
Visiting AGNSW
Visitor comment
on visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
A visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales is always worth the trouble no matter what exhibitions are on. I have often said, that this would be one of the easier jobs in the country as the audience comes no matter what the exhibition. But
Magna Carta Place Canberra
Review: Public Art/ Monument
A review of Canberra’s Magna Carta Place public art
This is a re-posting of a review I posted to RiotACT last week.
William Barak remembered?
A strange twist to a story
Architecture owns the story. That’s not necessarily a good thing!
Bendigo Art Gallery
Review – Gallery and exhibitions
A visit to the Bendigo Art Gallery
The Bendigo Art Gallery is one of the stars of Australian public art galleries. The gallery has built a great reputation through ongoing successful exhibition programs. We visited in March and were very impressed.
Taiwanese Photography
Between – Picturing 1950-1960s Taiwan
ANU Australian Centre on China in the World till 3 April 2015 
This is a highly recommended photography exhibition. It closes 3 April 2015.
A Photograph
Michael Leunig’s Violet Town signs
The fun things you see as you drive through middle Victoria. A town sign designed by Michael Leunig. (click on image to enlarge)
Equity and Corporate Boards
and how we still do not get it!
to quote from a Guardian article: There are more men named Peter in the chief executive and chair positions of companies in the ASX200 – Australia’s 200 largest listed companies – than there are women. click here for the article. and..
A Campaign to Put a Woman on the Twenty-Dollar Bill
click on the image for this great story – we wish them all the best!
Steve McCurry – Sharbat Gula
A sad story indeed about the woman in the famous Steve McCurry/National Geographic photograph. The original photograph was a 1984 cover for National Geographic.
Sharbat Gula, the subject of the original photograph, is in trouble because she remains a refugee from Afghanistan, but was carrying a Pakistan identify card.
Please click on the image to the right for the link to the story.
Dickson photograph
A sign of activity by the revolutionary arm of the Dickson Residents Group
NGA photography
Visiting the NGA collections
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) is always worth the visit to see the collection exhibitions. Right now with a major exhibition on, the other galleries are reasonably quiet which is perfect for sitting and contemplating. If you can find a seat.
National Gallery: The Film
Notice of Film Release
National Gallery: The Film (2014) by Frederick Wisemen
This film has been released and I have read numerous positive reviews and much commentary about its making. I have noted the release as I consider going to The National Gallery in London as one of the great joys in life.
National Cultural Institutions
The role for our cultural institutions
I suspect that most people have a fair idea of the individual function of our main national cultural institutions.
Dickson Parklands
Development dilemmas: part two
The future of the Dickson Parklands
This is the second of several posts on planning and development issues effecting the local residents of Dickson in Canberra. The issues are not unique to Dickson. Residential groups around the country share similar frustrations, dilemmas and challenges in dealing with planning and development bureaucracies.
Dickson Shops
Dickson Supermarket DA consultations extended
Just before Christmas the ACT Planning Authority (ACTPLA) had uploaded for comment the Development Application for the Dickson supermarket development. The original response deadline was the 27th January.
Lucky Country
Reminder of Donald Horne & The Lucky Country
click on image above
Art Gallery of NSW
The future looks great for the AGNSW
Being the best state Art Gallery in Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales looks to become even better.
I always enjoy a visit to this gallery. It doesn’t matter what special exhibitions are on. There is plenty to see and to engage with.
Dickson Shops
The debate on Dickson Shops
and how the government is squandering significant urban design opportunities
The debate continues on this significant lost opportunity to deliver good urban design in Dickson. Click on image above for a posting on RiotACT.
A Photograph
Photography of tourist behaviour
Walking through a side street in central Vienna late last year, we came across a group of people totally captured by something out of our view.
Gender Equity 2015
Comment on gender equity in 2015
No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality. The UN has invited men to sign up to assist with achieving gender equity.