April Long Weekend Arts Guide

The Easter long weekend is the perfect time to visit an exhibition, watch a new film or book a quick a trip. Enjoying a few days off? Here’s what to see and do…

Explore Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum

Spend a day exploring the free exhibitions at Powerhouse Ultimo. There’s Zampatti Powerhouse, an inspiring retrospective of the renowned late Australian designer Carla Zampatti. You’ll find Sydney’s leading queer creatives on show for WorldPride 2023 in Absolutely Queer. And don’t miss Unpopular, which delves into the alternative 1990s music scene and archive of record company founder Stephen ‘Pav’ Pavlovic.

Watch a movie at the French Film Festival

The Alliance Française French Film Festival returns for another year of must-see cinema. Francophiles and movie buffs alike will love the 2023 line-up, which spans every imaginable genre and brings French film legends to Palace Cinema screens around the country — think Gérard Depardieu and Juliette Binoche, and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard.

Travel to Parrtjima — A Festival in Light

Experience Central Australia in a completely new light at Parrtjima, an Aboriginal light festival that showcases “the world’s oldest continuous culture through the newest technology”. The awe-inspiring program is free, and visitors are invited to light installations, performances, interactive workshops, films and talks. Parrtjima is held on Mparntwe (Alice Springs) from April 7-16.

Pop into Pop Masters at HOTA Gallery

The Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts is hosting the world-exclusive Pop Masters: Art from the Mugrabi Collection, New York. This major exhibition features works that have never toured Australia before by icons past and present. The line-up is larger than life — you’ll find Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat alongside Damien Hirst, Richard Prince and Tom Sachs.

Visit Melbourne Now at the NGV

Discover this year’s need-to-know names in design at Melbourne Now, a celebratory showcase of contemporary creativity at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. Over 200 projects feature in this exhibition, which aims to represent Victoria’s most influential emerging and established artists, performers, practitioners and makers.

Go behind-the-scenes at Andy Warhol and Photography

The Art Gallery of South Australia examines Andy Warhol’s artistic practice from behind and in front of the camera in Andy Warhol and Photography: A Social Media. This exclusive exhibition features more than 250 works including candid snaps of his celebrity friends, and ultimately asks: was Warhol the first social media influencer?

Be immersed in However vast the darkness…

Art is a powerful form of protest in this compelling presentation by John Curtin Gallery for Perth Festival. An award-winning project by Afghani artist Aziz Hazara, New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana’s Venice Biennale installation and the proppaNOW Aboriginal art collective unite to draw our attention to the repercussions of repression and geopolitical tension.