The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and National Portrait Gallery (NPG) are both stunning art galleries on an international scale. The NGA is home to over 12,000 works of art from all over the world while the NPG holds an impressive collection of portraiture of influential Australians. The NPG building won the Sir Zelman Cowan Award for Public Architecture in October 2009. Imagine holding your conference amongst images of Australia’s most outstanding individuals with a keynote speech from the Federal Minister for the Arts. Visible across Lake Burley Griffin from the NGA, NPG and Parliament House, is the iconic Australian War Memorial commemorating the service and sacrifice of Australians at war. The Australian spirit in fighting those wars is captured in this beautiful Art Deco memorial building. The Roll of Honour records the names of more than 102,000 Australians who have died in war while the exhibition spaces display the fascinating, and often uplifting, stories of Australians in war and peacetime. There is no other place like the Australian
War Memorial and it’s impossible not to be moved as you take in the remarkable tales in the shadow of impressive wartime machinery and absorb such an important aspect of Australia’s history. The story continues to unfold at the recently transformed Royal Australian Mint where visitors can witness one of the world’s strongest robots, the National Archives of Australia where the preservation of physical and digital documentation is world renowned and the National Science and Technology Centre, Questacon, which is filled with brilliant and interactive displays and people. As the country evolves, so too does its story. Recent additions to Canberra’s extraordinary collection of national treasures include the National Arboretum and the Canberra Glassworks housed in one of Canberra’s oldest buildings, the renovated Kingston Powerhouse. As Australia’s only cultural centre solely dedicated to contemporary glass art, it’s a remarkable experience to watch the artists at work and discuss with them their techniques and insights.
The Australian story is about succeeding over adversity. When the improbable seems impossible, Australians simply try harder. This attitude is exemplified throughout our sporting heritage too. At Australia’s sporting powerhouse, the Australian Institute of Sport, you can view memorabilia and iconic images from Australia’s sporting triumphs, as well as today and tomorrow’s sporting heroes preparing for their next challenge. With access to these superb venues with mind-expanding collections and some of the most interesting and knowledgeable people in the country, there’s no other place in Australia as rich in culture and knowhow as Canberra.
11