We’re taking daily bookings as part of our COVID-19 Safety Plan. This is to make sure you have a safe and memorable visit without things getting too squishy.

The collection display includes a wide selection of portraits that tell extraordinary stories of encounter, exploration, independence, individuality and achievement in Australia.

In 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.

Take a 30 minute tour of the Portrait Gallery exploring the collection and the building.

Is love all you really need? If so, what kind of love? Join us for an exhilarating look at love in all its guises – from lust and longing, drama and devotion, to seduction and scandal.

Reconnect and reflect with our new major exhibition, Australian Love Stories (in real life!) as we explore love, affection and connection in all its guises.

Become an adventurer and make a gadget to help you on your journey around the Gallery! Explore the portraits on display through close looking and creative activity.

What do we call a portrait within a portrait? A portrait portrait? Portrait²? Portraitception? Join us as we peer at works within works within the collection!

Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Join Sandra Bruce, Director Collection and Exhibitions, for an exclusive preview to the exhibition.

Join us in the Gallery to as we share the stories behind the photographs, and explore how the artists have captured a year like no other.

Join us in the gallery or online for a dynamic panel discussion that interrogates some of the themes revealed in Living Memory.

That’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’.

Join award-winning photographer Forough Yavari on a journey to learn how to create intricate, gallery-style fine art portraits from scratch.

Join us for this dripsnorter of a tour to look at works with drips! We’ll ask what makes a drip?, and what do drips bring to a portrait?

Join Sandra Bruce, Director Collection & Exhibitions, for a sneak peek at our exciting new exhibition, Living Memory: National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Draw while listening to the Thames Bank Booty Band with their range of Persian and Kurdish folk, Classical oboe and Tuscan songs.

Join us as we go back to the intoxicating ‘beautiful age’ in Paris where Australian women artists enjoyed non-conventional surrounds and a new independence, firing up their artistic ambitions and bringing it all home.

Get your white coat and safety googles on to celebrate National Science Week! This year’s school theme is Food: Different by Design.

Be uplifted by the glorious sounds of the Clarion vocal ensemble directed by Tobias Cole (in the magnificent acoustics of the Gordon Darling Hall).

Join us for a visit to the studio of Living Memory finalist, Marzena Wasikowska, where she will generously share aspects of her photographic practice.

If a picture tells a thousand words, can a picture of an author tell us even more? What happens when our winning-wordsmiths are moved from page to canvas?

Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Grab your specs and join us for a look at works with words. We’ll explore a range of portraits that use text in diverse ways, and discuss why artists might choose to add it.

Join us in the Gallery as we explore the collection with our tour for visitors who are blind or have low vision.

Join photographer Grace Costa in the Gallery as she shares practical portrait-posing skills for beginner or mid-career photographers.

Explore portraits through drawing and creative activity in the galleries. For children from 4 to 8 to share with family and friends.

Have you ever had a bad day? Turn that frown upside down and listen to the story of ‘The Best Worst Day Ever’ by Sophy Henn.

Our popular art cart is back for the school (cool?) holidays! This is where you can get all creative during your visit if the mood takes you …

Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Relax and welcome the warmer weather with a program of great jazz classics and some original tunes by pianist Mike Dooley.

Create a flower using crafty materials in this hands-on workshop, hosted by craft-based designer Kitiya Palaskas. It may not smell like roses, but will be everlasting!