DANCER: A National Portrait Gallery touring exhibition

Image: Beau Dean Riley Smith, Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay nations, Bennelong 2017 (detail) from the series ‘Space in between’, Jacob Nash, Daly River © Jacob Nash
Image: Beau Dean Riley Smith, Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay nations, Bennelong 2017 (detail) from the series ‘Space in between’, Jacob Nash, Daly River © Jacob Nash

From letting loose in the lounge room to enthralling audiences on stage, this exhibition captures the experience of lives lived through dance. Drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection and incorporating the work of contemporary photographers, Dancer reflects the freedom and joy of dance and its power to connect.

The exhibition features 52 works including works from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection of dance legends Irina Baronova, Robert Helpmann, Hélène Kirsova, Graeme Murphy, Gideon Obarzanek, Anna Pavlova, Marilyn Rowe and Janet Vernon.

Dancer will be on display from Friday 7 February to Saturday 26 April, 2025.

Opening Hours:
Monday:               Closed
Tuesday - Friday: 10am - 5pm
Saturday:             10am - 2pm
Sunday:               Closed
Closed on Public Holidays

Dancer is a National Portrait Gallery touring exhibition.

This exhibition is supported but the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians.

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February

Brisbane: Until 13 July 2025. Amateur Brisbane photographer Alfred Henrie Elliott (1870-1954) extraordinary images lay dormant for decades until they were discovered only recently. This exhibition is curated by seven Brisbane photographers.

Perth: Until 18 May 2025. Henry Roy – Impossible Island draws on 40-years of recollections and observations as it brings together 113 photos taken from 1983 to 2023.

Sydney: Until 31 Dec 2025. PIX, Australia’s first pictorial news weekly, is brought to life in this exhibition, showcasing its archived images and stories for the very first time.

Sydney: Until 30 June. The photographs in Max Dupain: Student Life were taken at the University of Sydney in the early 1950s, a period of rapid change marked by the politics of the Cold War.

Sydney: Until 8 Mar 2025. While Dean’s fantasias might seem like digitally conjured dreamscapes, they are an extraordinary feat of practical effects, with subjects in actual gardens and elaborately constructed underwater sets.

Sydney: Until 27 April 2025. Ocean Photographer of the Year exhibition. Featuring 118 extraordinary images, this exhibition explores the awe-inspiring beauty and fragility of our oceans.

Canberra: Until 2 March. Drawn from the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery, the exhibition showcases more than 140 photographs, from Jerrems’ lesser-known early work to the now iconic Vale Street 1975,

In ‘Inside/Outside (U.S.A)’ James Bryans (re)captures iconic American landmarks frequently depicted in film and television, revealing the strangeness, unfamiliarity and complexity of familiar land.

Melbourne. One off event 23 February. The first solo photography exhibition from international cinematographer and producer 'The Squid' – showcasing the wild underwater dance images conveying human emotion and the magic of connection.

March

Sydney: 1–9 March. Outdoor exhibition @ The Opera House. The Lipstick Effect exhibits works by 18 acclaimed Australian female photographers with ideas from past and present.