The improvements to the Joan Sutherland Theatre are the first in the Opera House's $273 million renewal program.

Arts news in Canberra.

For some Sydney families, it was their first time inside the Opera House.

They are one of the art world's great enigmas, immortalised in novels, music, dance and contemporary artworks – with even a bit part in Harry Potter. As The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are packed up for Sydney, Shona Martyn unravels the mystery of their history

Having a great time at the theatre defies logic in so many ways.

A resurgent National Gallery of Victoria, boasting attendances of 3 million in 2107, has set out to revisit the idea of a large, contemporary international exhibition – and this time it has got it right.

For a city of its huge size - 10 million people - and economic heft, Jakarta has lacked many things one might expect of a thriving Asian metropolis: a metro system, for one, as well as a major international modern and contemporary art museum.

The value of art increasingly relies on external validation, whether it's a lost masterpiece or a new commission at the NGV Triennial.

Last-minute changes by international artists to some of the key works commissioned for the exhibition have left the gallery with egg on its face – or as one artwork says, "bloody" hands.

The humble swing has entertained us for millenniums. Today we think of swings largely in terms of urban design and education, as a useful tool for developing children's motor and social skills. But its roots in our popular imagination go back much further – largely to amuse, excite and educate adults.

After all of Valda's old-timer contemporaries had died, she felt she could no longer call the band "old time" because the other members were so young.

The ambitious exhibition has works ranging from the creepy to the political, to the playful and immersive.

We've all seen it - a man does the cleaning up or looks after the kids and receives inordinate amounts of praise for it. Whatever happened to gender equality?

Visit Victoria hints it could extend the longevity of many of the artworks and projections beyond just one night.

The artistic director of the Sydney Festival says his job is "to keep provoking people to think in different ways".

Agnes Lockhart's veil graced the heads of 27 brides over the course of 66 years.

Mami Kataoka​, the artistic director of Sydney's 21st Biennale, was eight in 1973 when the inaugural biennale of contemporary art was staged to coincide with the opening of the Sydney Opera House.

The perennially youthful Australian artist is challenging art's traditional boundaries.

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The Japanese artist's popularity lies in the fact she makes viewers feel happy through her vibrant works.

The painting portrays 96-year-old Philip at Windsor Castle, wearing the sash of the Order of the Elephant, Denmark's highest-ranking honour.

The rich history of North Head provided inspiration for a new exhibition at the Manly Art Gallery & Museum.

Designers are finding new ways to highlight the challenges facing our planet.

A tiny painting worth $1.4 million is just one of several new acquisitions by the National Gallery of Australia.

The purchaser links one of the most captivating mysteries of the art world with palace intrigues in Saudi Arabia.