TOPshots 2026

Venue: Museum of Australian Photography
Location: 860 Ferntree Gully Road Wheelers Hill Victoria 3150
10 Mar - 5 May, 2026
Web: https://maph.org.au/

TOPshots is an annual celebration of emerging photo-media artists selected from a large pool of entries.

Image: Darcy Hambridge 'Personali-trees'
Image: Darcy Hambridge 'Personali-trees'

2026 marks the 18th anniversary of this award and exhibition, which showcases exceptional photographic work produced by students who have completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) subjects of Art Making and Exhibiting, Art Creative Practice and Media, as well as the International Baccalaureate (IB) subject of Visual Arts and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) subject of Visual Arts.

Exhibition launch
Tuesday 17 March, 6pm to 8pm

Runs from: 10 March – 5 May 2026

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

February

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Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light

Melbourne: 28 Nov 2025 – 26 May 2026. The exhibition celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975.

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180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3006 NGV | 1 Feb - 26 May, 2026
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Unfinished Business: a 3D photography exhibition

Sydney: Until 11 April. Unfinished Business brings together the voices of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities from remote, regional, and urban communities across Australia.

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1 William St, Sydney NSW 2010 Australian Musem | 1 Feb - 19 Apr, 2026
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Trent Parke: The Christmas tree bucket

Canberra: Until 6 Sept 2026. Trent Parke’s photographic series The Christmas tree bucket 2006–09 is a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas.

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National Gallery of Australia (NGA) Parkes Place East, Parkes ACT 2600 | 2 Feb - 6 Sep, 2026
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Familial – presented by CCP

Melbourne: 11 Feb – 25 April 2026. Familial brings together six international artists whose work navigates the emotional and psychological terrain of family.

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360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria Town Hall Gallery – Hawthorn Arts Centre | 11 Feb - 25 Apr, 2026

March

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Mervyn Bishop: Close Up

Sydney: Until 7 Feb 2027. From his archive of more than 200,000 images, Close Up celebrates the historic moments and pivotal people he famously captured.

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1 Shakespeare Place Sydney NSW 2000 State Library of NSW | 1 Mar, 2026 - 7 Feb, 2027
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On the street where I live: Viva Gibb's portrait of North and West Melbourne

Melbourne: 5 March – 7 August 2026. Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, artist and social documentary photographer Viva Gibb (1945-2017) documented the suburbs of North and West Melbourne, where she lived.

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110 Swanston St Melbourne 3000 City Gallery – Melbourne Town Hall | 5 Mar - 7 Aug, 2026
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Coded Blooms | flowers have never been innocent

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.

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860 Ferntree Gully Road Wheelers Hill Victoria 3150 Australia Museum of Australian Photography | 7 Mar - 24 May, 2026

April

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Ships and Figureheads

Sydney: 15 April – 9 May 2026. An exhibition of fine art photography celebrating the intersection of maritime history and the human form.

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Level 1 – 41 Crown Street, Woolloomooloo NSW Ellipsis Gallery | 15 Apr - 9 May, 2026