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Arts & Culture

Yesterday

Christine Christian is resigning as the first female chair of the Victorian State Library.

‘It’s been one of the hardest things we’ve had to deal with’

Christine Christian is preparing to end her time at the State Library of Victoria, leaving behind an institution reformed in more ways than one.

This Month

Pianist Jayson Gillham.

Pianist furore leads to record losses for Melbourne Symphony

The discrimination suit bought by pianist Jayson Gillham after he was cancelled over pro-Palestinian comments helped inflict a record $3.3 million deficit on the orchestra in 2024.

Which valuation milestone did CBA surpass? Take our weekly news quiz

Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.

The Naoshima New Museum of Art is part of a sprawling art constellation on three Japanese islands.

Millions have flocked to this billionaire’s art islands

Soichiro Fukutake is the driving force behind Benesse Art Site Naoshima, a sprawling display of artworks over three Japanese islands. His crowning glory is a 10th museum by star architect Tadao Ando.

Tom Cruise performs a plane stunt in “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning”.

How they pulled off that wild ‘Mission: Impossible’ plane stunt

Creating Tom Cruise’s pivotal scene for “The Final Reckoning” required months of grit, G-force training and a little hypothermia.

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The live-action “Lilo & Stitch”.

The surprise hit that could help Disney collect $1.5b

The studio has done everything right with the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, which overnight has become one of the biggest movie windfalls in years.

Detail of “Ankara Merne – Intekwe”, 1990, by Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

New York disappointment sharpens focus on next Indigenous art auction

Lacklustre results at Sotheby’s Aboriginal Art auction in the US last month have raised questions about the impact on prices at a Sydney sale next month.

An architects’ rendering of Northbridge Music Hall, due to open in inner Perth during summer 2026-27.

Live Nation spends $30m to stop tours skipping one city

Northbridge Music Hall promises to fill a gaping hole in the West Australian capital’s live performance ecosystem.

Owen Wilson is a former pro golfer seeking redemption in “Stick”.

Owen Wilson’s charm helps land ‘Stick’ on the green

Think “Ted Lasso” with clubs in this story of a former golf pro searching for redemption that manages to be a comedy with heart without being too warm and fuzzy.

A frank take on love and money (with wealth porn)

The new movie Materialists is a fresh look at an age-old conundrum: is it better to be with someone for love or money?

IMAX chief executive Rich Gelfond, during his visit to reopen IMAX’s Sydney Darling Harbour screen in 2023.

IMAX bets that bigger, louder will win people back from streaming

The NYSE-listed maker of large-screen cinema systems will more than double its presence in Australia by 2027, hoping that premium content can save the movies.

May

Who was Australia’s richest person in 2000? Take our weekly quiz

Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.

Jack Ball with his prize-winning work Heavy Grit.

Glass, beeswax, sand help take out Australia’s other $100k art prize

Jack Ball’s photography and sculpture installation, based on queer archives, has won the rich Ramsay Prize for artists aged under 40.

In Pictures: ‘Many nations, one mob’

Dean Saffron’s photographs are a collaboration and celebration of identify.

Elisabeth Moss in a scene from The Handmaid's Tale.

The Handmaid’s Tale reveals the limits of dystopian television

Six seasons of suffering proved more than enough for many viewers of Hulu’s once zeitgeist-seizing show.

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Jane Hansen’s idea for a matched funding campaign helped Melbourne Theatre Company avoid a loss in 2024.

Rich Lister puts Melbourne Theatre Company in the black

An unusual fundraiser rescued Victoria’s largest theatre company, but donations declined at number two Malthouse after a controversial year.

Alex Rotter, Global President of Christie’s, presents Andy Warhol’s ‘Big Electric Chair’ on display during Christie’s press preview in New York this month.

Lost in New York: What happened to the trophy art market?

By the art world’s own accounting, the spring auction season in New York fell short of even its lowest target as art stars flopped. The one bright spot: women.

A second chance to make a first impression at NGV’s winter blockbuster

After its first planned showing was derailed by the pandemic, a landmark collection of French impressionist masterworks is returning to Melbourne from Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Sally Hawkins’ performance harks back to her days working with Mike Leigh.

These Aussies’ first film made $133m profit. Is their next any good?

The Adelaidean YouTubing brothers behind horror hit “Talk To Me” have gone much darker with follow-up “Bring Her Back”.

Naturalist Charles Darwin.

Charles Darwin’s nervous book launch was like no other

The naturalist knew his work on evolution would be contentious. But a new biography reveals his canny PR strategy.

Which carmaker produces the Popemobile? Take our weekly news quiz

Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.

Creative Australia chair Robert Morgan during a Senate estimates hearing at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday night.

Controversial Creative Australia chairman retires early

Robert Morgan has faced calls from artists to leave the funding body since his role in rescinding Khaled Sabsabi’s contract for the 2026 Venice Biennale.

Alison Baily Rehfisch’s 1934 painting, Oranges and lemons will feature in Dangerously Modern.

The Aussie ‘messenger girls’ who changed art

Patronised and often ignored in their lifetimes, the female artists who travelled to pre-war Europe and brought modernism back home are being celebrated in a new exhibition.

Bruce Springsteen criticised the Trump administration on the first night of his European tour in Manchester, England.

‘Corrupt administration’: Springsteen and Trump crank up the insults

The rocker and the US president have been at each other for a long time but the gloves have come off over the past year. How did it all begin?

Dark Mofo 2015 Nude Solstice Swim.

Nude swim, anyone? The arts events to see in June

Winter means arts festivals, as Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney are transformed by packed programs – including a Mozart-level genius.

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