Art Month Sydney Announces Huge 2016 Program

Art Month 2016's program has landed — and, boy, does March look better already. It will be the first festival under new artistic director Barry Keldoulis, and while favourites like Collectors' Space and Art at Night will return, some new ideas will be thrown into the mix as well. One of these is this year's feature exhibition, which is designed to give an artist's insight into art and the art world. Titled Green Eyed Monster Eating its Own Tail, it features the works of Tracey Moffatt, Tom Polo, Heath Franco, Grant Stevens, Elvis Richardson, Gordon Bennett (aka John Citizen) and PJ Hickman — and gives some perspective on this very cultural landscape in which Art Month exists.

"A key start point for the exhibition is the general suspicion of the wider public in regard to the insular nature of the art world and the idea promoted by the media that the art world is elitist," Keldoulis told us. "The role of Art Month is to overturn these assumptions, and this is an exhibition that explores these ideas in an engaging and often humorous manner, succinctly saying visually what may take hours to try to explain verbally…Why not ask artists themselves for insights into the insecurities, the ego bolstering and bruising, the delights and disappointments of seeking brand-name recognition in a simultaneously supportive yet competitive environment?"

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Art Month 2016 will kick off on Tuesday, March 1, when Beau Neilson opens the doors on a party at Eveleigh Creative Precinct. Visitors will head into a never-before-entered warehouse and discovering performances. Then, it's time to get stuck into the Art at Night part of the program. On March 3, head to Alaska Projects for a twilight tour through the East Sydney precinct; on 10 March, follow the Paddington and Woollahra night trail; and on 16 March, make tracks to Chippendale and Redfern. Between 7pm and 10pm after each event, Cake Wines will be running the official Art Bar nearby, providing drinks, live music and performances. Check out the rest of the Art at Night program over here — it's all free.

Throughout the month, there'll be exhibitions, open studios, experiences, tours and talks galore. Hit Marrickville on the weekend of March 5-6 to visit 53 studios, galleries and artist-run initiatives — you’ll get to see artists doing their work, and chat to them about it. Get to Newtown on Saturday, March 12 by 10.30am to join Culture Scouts on a walking tour revealing the best of local street art. Jump on yer bike to join ARTcycle tours, which will be happening in various neighbourhoods every week. Wanna find out what's going on further afield? Curated bus tours will be travelling west, north and east.

Meanwhile, Collectors’ Space is taking over an unoccupied house. We don’t know where yet — the venue won’t be announced until mid-February — but we can tell you that you'll be getting an insider's look at collections belonging to Sally Dan-Cuthbert, Courtney Gibson, Danny Goldberg and Jasper Knight.

When you're ready to sit down and hear some wise words about art, grab a seat at a talk. On Thursday, March 3, City of Sydney public art consultant Barbara Flynn, curator and artist Glenn Barkley, Jess Cook of 107 Projects and artist Lindy Lee will get together to discuss how Sydney works as a creative community – and market. On Wednesday, March 9, hang out at The Bearded Tit alongside Kaldor Public Art Projects director John Kaldor, artist and publican Emma Price, and Jeff Khan from Performance Space to discuss whether performance art is collectable. And on March 12, find out what it's like for the sprogs, when a bunch of people — including Celia Bradshaw, Evan Hughes, Maddie Love, and Anna Shapiro — whose parents are famous art figures, reflect on their childhoods.

More than ever, Art Month is about Sydney — it's all about lifting the city's art scene up to the renown of our harbour and pretty landscape. "When you look at the art being produced in Sydney — the artists that make it, the galleries that show it, and the collectors and art lovers who enjoy it — it becomes obvious that Sydney is a dynamic engine of creativity and that the city is a global arts hub," says Keldoulis. "Art Month '16 aims to unpick the puzzle of how a city like Sydney operates as a generator of ideas and an engine of creativity. Art Month's program investigates the various parts that make up the functioning whole."

Art Month Sydney will run from March 1-20. For the full program and more information, visit their website.