When the indigenous actress and director, Leah Purcell, took out her mother's tattered copy of Henry Lawson's short stories, she had no idea that the script she would bang out in seven days would be named Book of the Year in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards Monday night.

Japanese photographer Q. Sakamaki shares images of private everyday moments, some of them tragic.

Angela Tiatia and Debbie Ding are an interesting choice of artists to explore wartime experiences

The work is strongly informed by the artist having grown up in the Torres Strait.

• Art review

This is a beautiful and joyous exhibition that pulsates with life and urgency, writes Sasha Grishin

An artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat has sold for a record $US110.5 million at auction in New York.

Among the endless queues and the superficial whimsy, the majority of the works at the 57th Venice Biennale explored some age-old themes.

A new play space at the National Gallery of Australia is a hand's on experience for children

What's on in the Canberra arts scene

Visitors to this year's Botanica exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden are drawn almost irresistibly to Angela Lober's remarkable depiction of a Gymea lily that faces them as they walk in the door.

A tool for drawing and painting in three dimensions is set to revolutionise art and design, writes Peter Munro.

Joanna Buckley's The Light and the Ground at Abbotsford Convent will have one of the historic site's buildings covered in gold leaf.

• Living Cities Forum

The best ideas are being canvassed here and now by the world's experts.

• Art review

Vincent van Gogh never loses the ability to thrill and disturb his audience.

Renowned photographer says he was "shocked" by the social issues confronting Australia's rural communities.

Arone Meeks is finding ways to reconnect with his past and forge his future

 A collaboration between photographer Lorna Sim and contemporary dancer Eliza Sanders has resulted in an alluring exhibition entitled Enigma. Sim's challenge was to capture a perfect moment in a spontaneous dance. Not an easy quest, given Sanders is rarely constrained by norms and takes a fearless approach to her dance.

• gallery

An exhibition by Rennie Ellis showcases the lost glory of Kings Cross in the early 1970s.

• Obituary

Celebrated ABC broadcaster debated with family and friends what his final message to the world should be.

An original May Gibbs painting will find a new home at the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature in Canberra

Tracey Moffatt appears to have a hit on her hands with 'My Horizon' at the world's most prestigious art event.

American photographer Robin Schwartz photographed her daughter in a series of interactions with different animals. The series, Schwartz says, is a way to showcase the individuality of animals and their importance in our lives.

There is a breathtaking clarity in everything Michael Zavros paints, but nothing is quite what it seems.

This new exhibition explores Vincent Van Gogh's attempts to find God in nature.