The Look (group exhibition)

Geelong Gallery will present a powerful new exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery – The Look. The first venue on a national tour, and the only Victorian destination, the exhibition consists of 68 portraits that provide a comprehensive line-up of identities and styles. It features subjects from all walks of Australian life; young, old; Indigenous, non-Indigenous; women and men; household names, and people who may be completely unknown to many.

Bryan Brown, 2008 by Adam Knott. Collection: National Portrait Gallery.
Bryan Brown, 2008 by Adam Knott. Collection: National Portrait Gallery.

National Portrait Gallery (NPG) Curator, Joanna Gilmour explains that The Look highlights some of the most striking contemporary photographic portraits in the NPG collection.“The guiding curatorial principle for The Look has been to celebrate a diverse group of sitters who are united in owning and rocking their distinct ‘Look’.”

Megan Gale, 2002 by Ellen Dahl. Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
Megan Gale, 2002 by Ellen Dahl. Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.

The works span five decades, from the George Spartels early 1970’s portrait by Ivan Gaal to Tilman Ruff 2019 by Nikki Toole, and include works by photographers Adam Knott, Julian Kingma, Michael Riley, Petrina Hicks, Tracey Moffatt, David Rosetzky, Ingvar Kenne, Andrew Maccoll, and many others. Famous faces in the exhibition include; Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger, Carla Zampatti, Bryan Brown, Lee Lin Chin, Megan Gale, Cate Blanchett, Rachel Griffiths, Ian Thorpe and Layne Beachley just to name a few.

Entry prices apply: Adult $11 | Concession $9 | Members $8 | Child $6 | Family $28

Noni Hazlehurst, 1977 (printed 2011) by Lorrie Graham. Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
Noni Hazlehurst, 1977 (printed 2011) by Lorrie Graham. Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.

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March

Melbourne: 7 March – 24 May 2026. Photos of flowers from the NGA collection by prominent photographers drawn such as Robert Mapplethorpe and four groundbreaking Australian photographers.

Melbourne: 10 March – 5 May 2026. TOPshots is an annual celebration of emerging photo-media artists selected from a large pool of entries.

Melbourne: 13 – 22 March 2026. Award-winning photographers Andrew Tan and Rosalind Pach invite you to explore the city as a living, shifting experience.

April

Sydney: 9 April event 6-9pm. Unfinished is a free event to show/see photo-based work in progress or recently completed personal projects run by photographers for photographers.