Canberra Arts and Culture Guide: National Institutions, the NGA and the ACT Arts Scene

Canberra's arts and culture landscape is defined by its unique status as the national capital: the concentration of Australia's national cultural institutions (the National Gallery of Australia, the National Museum of Australia, the National Library of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Film and Sound Archive) in the Parliamentary Triangle and the surrounding Acton Peninsula creates a cultural campus of extraordinary scope and quality. Canberra residents have free access to the finest national collections in Australia within 15 minutes of most parts of the city, which is one of the national capital's most compelling quality-of-life advantages.

National Gallery of Australia — the NGA's collection (65,000+ works, Parkes, on the southern shore of Lake Burley Griffin) is the finest art collection in Australia and one of the finest in the Asia-Pacific region. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art collection is the world's finest public holding of Australian Indigenous art. Major international touring exhibitions (the 2011 Masterpieces from Paris Picasso/Matisse exhibition attracted 480,000 visitors) demonstrate the NGA's international exhibition ambition. Entry to the permanent collection is free.

Australian War Memorial — the War Memorial on the Anzac Parade axis (designed by Emile Sodersten and John Crust, opened 1941) is the most visited cultural institution in Australia and one of the finest war memorials in the world. The collection includes major artworks (Will Longstaff's Menin Gate at Midnight), relics of Australian military history, and the extraordinary Commemorative Roll. The Hall of Memory is Australia's most sacred secular space. Entry is free.

Belconnen Arts Centre and Canberra Theatre — the ACT's performing arts infrastructure includes the Canberra Theatre Centre (the flagship performing arts venue in the CBD), the Belconnen Arts Centre, and the Street Theatre (for independent and emerging work), hosting the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Canberra Theatre season, and a vibrant independent arts scene disproportionate to the city's size.

Gorman House Arts Centre — the heritage Gorman House site in Braddon provides studio, exhibition, and performance space for ACT visual artists and arts organisations, anchoring the Braddon creative precinct that also includes numerous commercial galleries and the Ainslie Arts Centre.

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