- When
11am to 4pm, Sunday 26 January 2025
- Entertainment
All day: Free creative activities, music, dance and workshops
Afternoon: Lakeside concert featuring Jem Cassar-Daley and Stewart Barton- Bookings
Bookings are essential for some activities and tours
Join us this Australia Day for a day of connection and reflection with story, song, creativity and cultural sharing.
Immerse yourself in music, dance, art and conversation featuring First Nations artists and presenters along with performers from diverse backgrounds.
Bring your family, friends and a picnic blanket. Join creative activities and music and dance workshops, or explore our exhibitions with curator-led tours of Tony Armstrong’s Extra-Ordinary Things, Belonging: Stories of Far North Queensland and Great Southern Land.
In the afternoon, kick back and enjoy a concert at the Lakeside Amphitheatre featuring proud Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung woman and 2024 Queensland Music Awards Best Pop Artist Jem Cassar-Daley, and award-winning Canberra singer songwriter Stewart Barton.
Entry to the Tim and Gina Fairfax Discovery Centre play and learn space is free all day.
Bookings
Bookings are essential for some activities and tours.
Host tours
See full program below for details.
Program and bookings
11 to 11.20am in the Christina and Trevor Kennedy Garden
Join local custodian Paul Girrawah House for a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony in the Christina and Trevor Kennedy Garden. Paul has multiple First Nation ancestries from the South-East Canberra region, including the Ngambri-Ngurmal (Walgalu), Pajong (Gundungurra), Wallaballooa (Ngunnawal) and Erambie/Brungle (Wiradyuri) family groups.
Wiradjuri Echoes
11.30am to 12pm – Gandel Atrium
The Wiradjuri Echoes have been a prominent presence in Canberra and its surrounding communities, showcasing and teaching Wiradjuri Dance and culture throughout the region. For them, dance is more than just movement – it is a profound expression of culture, heritage and community spirit.
Borobudur Dance Troupe
11.50am to 12.10pm and 12.45 to 12.55pm – Gandel Atrium
Borobudur Dance Troupe is a traditional Indonesian dancing group based in Canberra. They perform traditional dances from across the Indonesian archipelago to preserve and share Indonesia’s rich and diverse culture and dancing traditions.
Canberra Dragon Dance
12.10 to 12.40pm – Gandel Atrium
Canberra Dragon Dance is the professional performance arm of Moon Bear Kung Fu Academy. Featuring a diverse line-up of performers, they combine self-defence displays with wushu, lion dance, dragon dance and Chinese percussion in their inclusive, interactive performances.
Lakeside concert
2 to 4pm – Lakeside Amphitheatre
Stewart Barton
Stewart Barton grew up surrounded by music, sparking his early ambition to become a guitarist. Initially self-taught, he developed his skills through emerging Indigenous artist programs in the ACT region and the Keith Urban online guitar program. Drawing from acoustic folk, country and rock influences, Stewart brings charisma and energy to his shows, delivering captivating and high-energy performances.
Jem Cassar-Daley
Jem Cassar-Daley has been a radiant fixture on the music stage since her debut in 2021. With a voice that lingers in your soul and lyrics that transcend time, Jem’s musical journey has been nothing short of spectacular, amassing a trove of accolades and acclaim that have firmly etched her name as a rising star of the Australian indie-pop music scene.
Bush animal making with Ronnie and Coen Jordan
11.30am to 2pm – Caravan Bay window, Gandel Atrium
Make your own bush animal using natural and recycled fibres with First Nations cultural knowledge holders, Ronnie and Coen Jordan, in this drop-in activity inspired by the Tjanpi desert weavers.
Ronnie is a Pitta Pitta Wangkamahdla woman and Coen is a Pitta Pitta Wangkamahdla Muruwari Ngemba man.
Your extra-ordinary things with Naomi Zouwer
11.30am to 2pm – Defining moments wall, Gandel Atrium
Celebrate the unique stories behind your treasured objects in this drop-in workshop, where we explore storytelling through the things we cherish. Create an artwork inspired by your favourite thing to contribute to our pop-up extra-ordinary exhibition, or dive into the captivating stories in Tony Armstrong’s Extra-Ordinary Things.
Naomi Zouwer is a cross-disciplinary artist, researcher and arts educator based in Canberra who explores ideas of cultural heritage, identity and the social role of personal objects.
Art of Pompeii collaborative mosaic
11.30am to 2pm – Cafe Bay window, Gandel Atrium
Travel back in time and explore the artwork of ancient Pompeii in this drop-in workshop learn about mosaics, their importance to ancient Romans, and contribute to our collaborative mosaic inspired by the Pompeii immersive experience.
Dillybags with Jessika Spencer
11.30am to 1pm – Trevor and Christina Kennedy Forecourt Garden
Weave your own miniature dillybag necklace using eco-dyed natural fibres with Jessika Spencer of Ngurru Aboriginal Weaving and Fibre Art in this special workshop.
Jessika is a Wiradjuri woman from the Sandhills of Narrungdera (Narrandera).
Recommended for ages 15 years and over. Bookings are essential.
Come and try – Canberra Dragon Dance
1 to 1.30pm – Trevor and Christina Kennedy Forecourt Garden Deck
Try your hand at Lion dance with Moon Bear Kung Fu Academy for an introduction to lion and dragon dance and Chinese percussion.
Play with your voice – world music workshop with Moya Simpson
1 to 2pm – Gandel Atrium
Experience the joy of raising your voice with many others in a world music voice workshop with singer and choir director Moya Simpson. Learn simple chants and songs from a wide variety of cultures and traditions that together represent current-day Australia. No experience necessary, absolute beginners encouraged. Places are limited, bookings essential.
Curator tours
All tours depart from the Information desk.
Places are limited, bookings are essential.
Belonging: Stories from Far North Queensland
11.30am to 12.30pm
Join Senior Curator Catherine Czerw for a tour of Belonging: Stories from Far North Queensland, where emerging and established First Nations artists from across Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait share what it means to them to belong.
Extraordinary objects from Great Southern Land
12.45 to 1.15pm
Join museum curators Dr Martha Sear and Suzanne Gibson to hear about some of the most extraordinary things in the Great Southern Land gallery, exploring stories of power, connection, life and change across the vast and vibrant Australian continent.
Tony Armstrong’s Extra-Ordinary Things
2 to 2.45pm
Join Senior Curator Dr Martha Sear as she guides you through Tony Armstrong’s Extra-Ordinary Things,an exhibition that explores how seemingly ordinary things can have extraordinary stories. Whether cherished possessions or national treasures, objects can be key to unlocking our memories.
Host tours
All tours depart from the Information desk.
Free on 26 January only, bookings are essential.
Building and architecture tour – 10 to 11am
Discover the stories and meanings hidden in the Museum building, design and landscapes.
Museum highlights tour – 1 to 2pm
An excellent introduction to the Museum, exploring highlights from each of our permanent exhibition galleries.
First Australians tour – 3 to 4pm
Learn about First Nations peoples, their history, culture and connection to Country on this guided tour.
Is the ‘Pompeii’ exhibition open?
Yes. Sessions are filling fast so we suggest booking in advance to avoid disappointment.
Is there onsite parking?
Yes, however it will be busy on the day and spots might be hard to find. Traffic management will be onsite to direct you to alternate parking places, but we encourage you to consider other options such as catching the bus, riding an e-scooter, or parking nearby and walking.
For more information, visit https://www.nma.gov.au/visit
Is the venue accessible?
Yes. Information about accessibility at the Museum can be found here: https://www.nma.gov.au/visit-us/accessibility
Please email us at programs@nma.gov.au if you have any additional questions.
Will food and drink be available?
Yes! The Museum Cafe will be open and there will also be a selection of grab-and-go food and drinks available outside.
Can I bring my own food?
Yes, but please don’t bring glass bottles or containers, hard eskies or ice bins.
Can I bring a shade structure?
No. Shade structures and umbrellas obscure the performances for other visitors.
Can I smoke or vape?
Smoking and vaping are not permitted inside the building. Outside, we ask that you respect the comfort of other visitors and use only the designated smoking areas.
What about the weather?
We will go ahead no matter what the weather! If rain is forecast, pack a poncho or raincoat.
Our carpark is regularly full in January and traffic managers will be onsite but please consider other ways of getting here.