Australia’s arts conversation today is dominated by the Archibald Prize, where Melbourne painter Richard Lewer was “sixth time lucky,” winning the $100,000 award for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder and artist Iluwanti Ken. The result has given this year’s exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales a strong focal point, with critics filing their impressions from the gallery floor as audiences take in the annual parade of portraiture. Lewer himself says the win was a shock, calling it mind-blowing, while Ken’s prominence as a senior artist from the APY Lands adds cultural weight to the moment. Beyond the gallery, the Australian arts scene has gained an unexpected new resident in acclaimed Argentinian horror writer Mariana Enriquez, now reportedly based here. And in a more playful turn, Sydney’s cultural mythology got its own spotlight as media teams descended underground in search of the city’s elusive “phantom love tunnel.”