After astounding audiences in New York, Miami, Montreal, London and Las Vegas, a video installation of Hollywood glamour and pop-culture makes its Australian debut in a Canberra-exclusive showing, reports HELEN MUSA in her latest Arts in the City column.

A whirlwind of Hollywood glamour and pop-culture collage, Marco Brambilla’s video installation Heaven’s Gate spins fragments of Beyoncé, Audrey Hepburn, Leonardo DiCaprio and others into a dreamscape that both celebrates and skewers fame. After astounding audiences in New York, Miami, Montreal, London and Las Vegas, it now makes its Australian debut in a Canberra-exclusive showing at the National Film and Sound Archive from December 12.

Canberra Museum and Gallery is opening a pair of exhibitions exploring queer love, identity and resilience. LOVING: Photographs of Men in Love 1850s to 1950s unveils intimate historical images from the private archive of Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, while A Loving City: Queerberra Revisited returns to the 2015-17 Queerberra portrait series, reuniting more than 90 LGBTQIA+ Canberrans eight years after the marriage equality campaign. Canberra Museum and Gallery, from December 6.

Fresh Funk, directed by co-founder Leena Wall, marks its 25th birthday with a celebratory showcase at Erindale Theatre, revisiting some of the high-energy youth hip-hop program’s greatest hits. Erindale Theatre, December 6.

Pinchgut Opera artistic director Erin Helyard will take the baton for a program drawn from Handel’s operas, oratorios, odes and anthems. Canberra Choral Society’s grand Come and Sing performance will also feature French soprano Myriam Arbouz, a 160-voice choir, guest singers and a professional local orchestra. A Handel Celebration, Llewellyn Hall, December 13.

Canberra Mandolin Orchestra and the Canberra Recorder Orchestra, conducted by Michael Hardy and Margaret Wright, will present The Gift. The program includes Vivaldi’s Mandolin Concerto featuring Benji Moss in his solo debut, and Soren Sieg’s Uxolo – inspired by African melodies and centred on the theme of forgiveness. All Saints Church, Ainslie, December 6.

Manning Clark Singers and friends celebrate the history of vocal chamber music, with works by Monteverdi, Leonard Cohen, Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro, duets and solos from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, and carols for all to sing. Canberra Baptist Church, Kingston, December 9.