Dreaming Mum again by Leah King-Smith

 In 2018 to accompany the Bowness Photography Prize exhibition, MGA launched an annual exhibition series to showcase and explore the practice of a past winner or finalist.

© Leah King-Smith. Baby, 2018, from the series, Dreaming Mum again. Chromogenic print, 105.0 x 86.0 cm, courtesy of the artist.
© Leah King-Smith. Baby, 2018, from the series, Dreaming Mum again.
Chromogenic print, 105 x 86 cm, courtesy of the artist.

Leah King-Smith is both a previous Bowness Photography Prize finalist and an MGA collection artist. King-Smith is a Queensland-based artist with a photographic practice extending across three decades. This exhibition presents the series, Dreaming Mum again, which includes King-Smith’s Bowness Photography Prize work from 2018. The series depicts the artist’s mother placed back into the context of her ancestral lands through her signature process of layering photographs.

© Leah King-Smith. Couple, 2018, from the series, Dreaming Mum again. Chromogenic print, printed 2019, 93.0 x 93.0 cm, courtesy of the artist.
© Leah King-Smith. Couple, 2018, from the series, Dreaming Mum again.
Chromogenic print, printed 2019, 93 x 93 cm, courtesy of the artist.

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July

Sydney: Until 31 Dec 2025. PIX, Australia’s first pictorial news weekly, is brought to life in this exhibition, showcasing its archived images and stories for the very first time.

Sydney: 15 May – 19 October. Showcasing 100 incredible images, this remarkable exhibition offers a window into the astonishing variety of life on our planet – and the critical importance of preserving it.

August

Leica Store Gallery in both Sydney & Melbourne present a unique photographic dialogue between Steve McCurry and Jessie Brinkman Evans. Until late October.

Ballarat: 23 August – 19 October 2025. This year’s theme is Lifeforce, and it ties into an eight-week program of exhibitions, public art, talks, and workshops across more than 100 venues throughout Ballarat.

September

Melbourne: until 9 November. Man Ray and Max Dupain is the first major Australian exhibition to consider these two influential 20th century photographers side by side.

Melbourne: 13 September – 9 November 2025. Featuring selected finalists for the 2025 William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize.

October

Melbourne: 16 Oct – 26 Oct 2025. Conceptual photography exhibition.

Brisbane: 25 Oct – 4 Nov 2025. Jakob uses his late Grandfather's film camera alongside his own modern DSLR to create layered photographic works that blend analogue and digital, past and present, memory and re-imagination.

Melbourne: Oct 31 – Nov 6. Chimera is a photographic investigation into the shifting landscape of beauty in the age of artificial intelligence and social media.

November

Sydney: 17 Nov – 23 Nov 2025. This collection of photographs offers a glimpse into the lives of the community of Varanasi, capturing the spirit of its people and the beauty often found in ordinary moments.