Win: A Weekend for Two in the Capital With Kaylene Whiskey and Queer Party Starters The Huxleys

In Seven Sistas Story (2021) – Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey’s idiosyncratic retelling of the cosmological Dreamtime myth – a cast of characters including Cher, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Wonder Woman and Catwoman are pursued across Anangu Country by the legendary Jakamarra man (represented by Baywatch’s David Hasselhoff). They party, wrapped in festoon lights, against a backdrop of Coca-Cola bottles, sulphur-crested cockatoos, tjala (honey ants), ngintaka (perentie lizards) and mingkulpa (bush tobacco). This is the world as Whiskey sees it: a boldly coloured place peopled by superheroes and kungka kunpu (strong women), illuminated equally by her Anangu culture, comic books and country music.

The painting features in the National Portrait Gallery’s summer 2025–26 exhibition Super Kaylene Whiskey – the first major survey of works by the three-time Archibald Prize finalist and 2018 Sulman Prize winner. The exhibition includes 80 artworks drawn from across Whiskey’s career, including the epic installation Kaylene TV, commissioned for the 2024 Biennale of Sydney, and a new, specially commissioned three-part portrait depicting Cathy Freeman winning Gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

To celebrate, the National Portrait Gallery offers Broadsheet readers the chance to win a luxe weekend for two in the capital, valued at more than $2000. Along with flight vouchers and exhibition entry, the winner will receive two tickets to a Super Kaylene Whiskey-inspired late-night queer extravaganza curated by renowned performance artists and party starters The Huxleys. There’s also a $100 Kaylene Whiskey merchandise pack.

After the party, settle in at the five-star Midnight Hotel in Braddon, the inner north’s buzzy dining, nightlife and boutique shopping district. Part of the Marriott Bonvoy’s Autograph Collection, the hotel features a stylish standalone restaurant, Braddon Merchant, and cocktail bar; a wellness centre with a sauna, pool deck and two fully equipped gyms; and a landscaped garden atrium with lounge seating. Guest rooms are kitted out with a king-size bed, a rain shower, an espresso machine and bespoke sculptural artworks by New York-born, Southern Highlands-based multidisciplinary artist Thomas Bucich.

You’ll also get a $500 dining voucher, so you can take your pick of Canberra’s restaurant scene, which punches well above its weight thanks to entrepreneurs like Chris Lucas and Matt Moran flocking to open new venues alongside hotspots like Lunetta, Pilot, Onzieme, Bar Rochford, and Such and Such.

To enter, simply submit your details here before 5pm on Friday December 12. The competition is open to residents of NSW, Victoria, the ACT and South Australia who are 18 years or older at the time of entry. The winner will be drawn at 9.30am on Monday December 15 and must be available to travel to Canberra on Friday February 20. Read the full terms and conditions here.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery.