It attracted 2.03 million votes in 2014, is regarded as 'the world's greatest music democracy' and is pretty much the only thing on Australian radios on Australia Day between the odd 'Khe Sanh'. Whether you 'get into it' or not, triple j's Hottest 100 has some serious reach, and this year, they're putting that blanket coverage to bloody good use. As part of this year's Hottest 100, triple j have teamed up with Indigenous school mentoring program AIME, for some hardcore fundraising. Aiming to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students, AIME and triple j are encouraging Hottest 100 voters to donate right after they've popped their favourite songs in the voting form — votes open this Thursday, December 10. On Australia Day, you can also use your Hottest 100 rager or hushed barbecue as a fundraiser for AIME. In the lead up to the launch of the 2015 Hottest 100, we're stoked to announce a new partnership with triple j. Posted by AIME on Monday, December 7, 2015 It's all for a damn good cause, and you'll still get to screech about your favourite artist being played too early dammit. By donating in the Hottest 100, you'll be helping the hardworking AIME crew help 10,000 Indigenous kids finish school at the same rate as non-Indigenous students by 2018. Now that's worth getting all flustered about — albeit alongside whether Major Lazer tops the lot or not. It's not the first time triple j has worked with AIME; they've given big love to the crew around events like Homeground and NAIDOC week in the past. Here's hoping it rubs off on their listeners. Kyran Wheatley and Gen Fricker on triple j breakfast for #NAIDOCweek Posted by AIME on Thursday, July 9, 2015 Voting opens this Thursday, December 10. Via triple j.
A wise person once said that you can never have too many brownies. Okay, that was most definitely us, but we're certain I Heart Brownies would agree. They're doing their best to keep Brisbanites devouring their tasty bites, after all. Not content with ranking among the city's must-visit market stalls, and then opening their own bakery and cafe, they're bringing their delicious morsels straight to your mouth. In a move that will make you heart their 100 percent gluten-free brownies even more, the baking wizards now deliver. You know what that means: you no longer have to get off the couch to get your brownie fix, other than to rush to the front door when they arrive, that is. That urge you're feeling — it's the urge to give them a call right now and order all the sweet treats you could dream of. With Turkish delight, Nutella and peanut butter and jelly offerings among their Belgian black cocoa and couverture chocolate-laden range, plus jaffa, cherry coconut and salted caramel as well, that reaction is understandable. In just as excellent news, I Heart Brownies deliver seven days a week, with their fees varying based on your distance away from the CBD. Given that you can also get booze and doughnuts ferried to you, too, it really is a glorious time to be alive. Find the I Heart Brownies Bakery and Café at Shop 7 Bakery Lane, 694 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, or visit their website and Facebook page for more information.
Before craft and microbreweries popped up on every corner of the city, the combination of Brisbane and beer meant one thing: XXXX. The company's Milton brewery loomed large over the inner west, with tours providing a taste of their tipples, and the Alehouse combining yeasty beverages with tasty food. Of course, the building hasn't moved (and taking a tour still features high on local booze-lovers' to-do lists), however the bar and restaurant at the end of the beer-coloured rainbow has recently had a facelift. Prepare to find a completely different Alehouse next time you want to sit back, relax and enjoy the freshest XXXX on tap. Fans of drinking outdoors — i.e. everyone — can flock to the all-new beer garden, while anyone seeking something a little more intimate can hole up in the inside dining room. Thanks to Brisbane-based design firm Elm Interiors, the whole place has been decked out with a rustic meets industrial feel. Think classic feature pieces, plenty of greenery and a vibe that knows how to make you feel welcome. Extended trading hours from Monday to Saturday means that there's now more chances to enjoy the all-day Alehouse experience — and their new menu, too. With pub staples such as beer-battered fish with hand-cut chips, grain-fed beef burgers, sirloin with bearnaise sauce and roasted salmon, perhaps beer won't be the only thing luring patrons to this iconic, 135-year-old brewery. Find the XXXX Brewery Alehouse on the corner of Black and Paten streets, Milton, or check out their website for more information.
Plenty of film festivals might call Brisbane home, but only one is dedicated to showcasing the best in queer cinema. That'd be the long-running Brisbane Queer Film Festival, which not only celebrates its 17th year this February, but also offers up a whole heap of must-watch movies to mark the occasion. Take BQFF's glittering opener, for example: the '90s-made, '70s-set disco cult classic, 54: The Director's Cut. And while everyone loves a bit of Ryan Phillippe and Neve Campbell drama, that's not the only gem in the program. Here's our pick of the five best films to see at this year's BQFF — the acerbic, the emotional and the offbeat among them. GRANDMA Who hasn't wished that Lily Tomlin was their grandmother? The actress and comedian has proven a force to be reckoned with since the '60s, and does so again in the movie that makes our dreams the fictional Sage's (Julia Garner) reality. When the teenager needs help finding cash and dealing with a problem, she turns to Tomlin's feisty family matriarch. The likes of Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer, John Cho and Sam Elliott also join in the episodic antics, though Grandma's title gives away the true star of the show, offering the veteran performer a potent role and a poignant character study suited to her talents. REMEMBERING THE MAN Maybe you first discovered the real-life story of Tim Conigrave and John Caleo in 2015 Aussie feature Holding the Man. Maybe you had already read Conigrave's best-selling book of the same name. Either way, you'll want to see Remembering the Man, the latest effort to recount their tragic romance from their first meeting as Melbourne schoolboys in the late '70s to the cruel blow that the '80s AIDS epidemic served them. This time, documentarians Nickolas Bird and Eleanor Sharpe not only chart a familiar tale in factual form, but offer up previously unseen footage of and unheard details about Conigrave and Caleo's relationship. Our advice: bring tissues. EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO No one makes movies like Peter Greenaway. If you've seen The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover or The Pillow Book, then you no doubt agree — and if you haven't, Eisenstein in Guanajuato will bring you around to our way of thinking. With his usual flair and fondness for the explicit and the unsubtle, the British director hones in on another filmmaker, Soviet Battleship Potemkin helmer Sergei Eisenstein. After the titular figure made the movie all film students still study to this day, he apparently went on a Mexican odyssey, one which Greenaway recreates and fictionalises with ample experimentation of both the cinematic and sexual kind. THE NEW MAN Richard Linklater isn't the only filmmaker capable of taking his time to tell stories. Uruguayan director Aldo Garay has followed the plight of Stephania for more than two decades — from her former existence in Nicaragua as a boy called Roberto, to her current struggles for acceptance as a transwoman. Interviews and observational footage of Stephania's life intertwine to provide an intimate look at her journey, while also dissecting the political upheaval that has characterised Latin America since the 1970s. The powerful end result won the 2015 Berlin Film Festival Teddy Award winner for Best Documentary. GIRLS LOST Body swap comedies and supernatural teen exploits combine in Girls Lost — however, the Swedish feature does something a bit more interesting with the two genres than most. As based on a young adult novel, it examines sexual identity, awakenings and confusion as three outcast friends drink a strange juice and transform from girls into boys. Expect a range of genres to colour this inventive take on gender fluidity, which comes to Brisbane after making its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Expect more than the usual high school-set fare too, as well as a delicate balance of humour and honesty. The Brisbane Queer Film Festival runs from February 18 to 28 at New Farm Cinemas. Visit the festival website for the full program.
Sydney craft beer dukes Young Henrys have teamed up with the Marrickville Council to create a beer that tastes like ANZAC biscuits — just in time for the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli. The new ale's been dubbed 'Winged Victory', after a World War One memorial statue created in 1919 the council has resurrected. On Sunday, April 19, you’ll get to taste the biccie brew for the first time and see the statue's glorious unveiling at Marrickville Town Hall. "The Council approached us," Richard Adamson, co-owner of Young Henrys, said. "We thought it sounded like a really good community project. The statue is an amazing part of the area’s local history and a gift for the people." Young Henrys were given creative licence to conjure up an appropriate flavour profile. It turns out that using ANZAC biscuits for inspiration was the obvious choice. "We thought it would be a lot of fun," Adamson said. "We smoked the malt ourselves and then burned rosemary, which is a symbol of remembrance. Getting them all to balance well with spices was a bit of a challenge, but we threw caution to the wind." In addition, the hops came from both Australia and New Zealand, in honour of the soldiers who fought at Gallipoli. The statue is the work of Gilbert Doble, a local sculptor. It depicts the Goddess Nike, who, in Greek mythology, symbolised victory, success in battle and peaceful competition. And it commemorates 457 soldiers from Marrickville who died during World War One. The Winged Victory ale launch will happen at Marrickville Town Hall on Sunday 19 April at between 11am and 3pm. There's also going to be a parade and a photography exhibition on the day as part of the event. Entry is free. Image: ANZAC biscuits from Low FODMAP.
We've all been there: hankering for some street food eats, or keen on doing a spot of market shopping, but not quite sure where to head at any given moment. It's a #firstworldproblem everyone's happy to have. Yep, this is what it means to be spoiled for choice. Enter The Street Food Depot, Brisbane's new market and food truck hub, which tries to help in two ways. Basically, they're a one-stop shop when it comes to culinary-focused community events. If they're not throwing them, they're tracking them. If you've heard of The Food Truck Depot, a series of branded berths and meet-ups around town, then you're on the right track. They're just one part of the nesting doll-type setup that is The Street Food Depot. Basically, alternative, off-the-grid style gatherings that bring local growers, agriculture producers, street food vendors, food trucks, local and regional artisans, wineries, and craft beer brewers — and hungry customers, of course — together are in their wheel house. After a few get-togethers over the last few months, they'll be hosting a semi-regular Brisbane City Street Food Depot in King George Square from July 28, however that's just the beginning. From August, the James Street Community Markets will usher a host of other food options into New Farm every Friday night. Plus, other events street food, community growers and food truck events planned in the future — keep an eye on their online calendar for further details. For more information about the Street Food Depot — and to stay up to date on their upcoming events — check out their website and Facebook page.
We know. We've all done it. Home alone with a block of cheddar, a few scraps of brie and a lone Kraft Single. It all seemed so promising. When your mum/housemate/significant other returned, though, the truth became apparent. You'd made a cheese quagmire in your microwave, hadn't you? Hadn't you. Fortunately, the guys behind PappaRich, the ST Group, are now getting set to help you realise all of your cheese dreams without the weird kitchen smell three weeks later — they're bringing Malaysian chain Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart to Brisbane. With multiple stores in Kuala Lumpur and other areas of the country — plus a handful in Melbourne and Sydney, as of last year — the cheese tart connoisseurs will expand to open not one, but five Australian stores by the end of the year — four in Melbourne and one in Sydney. And now, they're heading for Pacific Fair early July. Their namesake is the cornerstone of their offering: a savoury-sweet three-cheese situation encased in a shortcrust shell, designed to be eaten either hot or cold. The cheese, while made with local produce, is based on the distinct taste and texture of the dairy products of Hokkaido. The Japanese island is known for their dairy — it produces half of Japan's total milk and a huge 90 percent of their natural cheese — and HBCT have worked tirelessly to replicate it. Malaysia has gone nuts for it, and Melbourne and Sydney have jumped firmly on board; people have been queuing out the door to get their hands on one (or 12). For those of you interested in more than just shovelling ludicrous amounts of cheese and pastry down, the tarts themselves will apparently be "displayed like precious gems, much like an elegant high-end jewellery shop". We're waiting for a self-serve option that makes you feel like you're committing a diamond heist. HBCT is planning to open further stores in QLD, however Pacific Fair is currently the only confirmed location. Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart will open at Shop No. K1017, Ground Level, Pacific Fair in early July 2017. For more info and to look out for an opening date, keep an eye on their Facebook page. Images: Tim Grey.
What would your last meal be? Many of us don't get to choose, but if you're a famous criminal on Death Row, you actually have to pick your final foods. Luckily, for most law-abiding citizens, you won't have to make that selection. But what did Ted Bundy choose? What about John Wayne Gacy — aka Killer Clown? Brisbane's Transcontinental Hotel want to take Henry Hargreaves' idea of photographing Death Row prisoners' last meals and actually let you taste them, with an upcoming dinner this September. It's a risky concept, one that was recently slammed in London. At the Last Meal Conviction Dinner on September 17, The Trans and Rocks Brewing are teaming up to offer morsels tinged with all things morbid. You'll drink craft beer while choosing to eat one of the last meals actually ordered by infamous criminals, photographed here by Hargreaves for the bittersweet No Seconds series. First, there's the Ted Bundy, featuring medium-rare steak, eggs over easy, toast with butter and hash browns. Or, perhaps you'd prefer the spread favoured by John Wayne Gacy, which includes the odd pairings of fried chicken, fries, fried shrimp and strawberries. Last but not least, you can feast on Jeffery Dillingham's ultimate request of a triple cheeseburger without mayo, eggs, fries, lasagne, garlic bread, macaroni and cheese, cinnamon rolls and nacho cheese. These men committed terrible crimes, and paid the price for their actions, but choosing their final food wasn't one of them. Tickets cost $45, which includes your choice of last meal plus one pot and three ponys of Rocks beer — aka the ideal amount of alcohol to help assuage any inner ickiness you're feeling. For those happy to embrace the serial killer thrills, dressing up is encouraged, and there'll even be prizes on offer for the best costume. The Last Meal Conviction Dinner takes place at the Trans on September 17. For more information, or to book tickets, visit their website. Images: Henry Hargreaves.
You know how they say that good things come in pairs? Someone said that, sure. Well, if you live near East Brisbane and like sweet treats of the frosty variety, then you're about to double your sweet tooth satisfaction. The suburb might still be in the thick of Mister Fitz fever, however ice cream sandwiches are no longer the only frozen dessert available on Lytton Road. Located a mere two blocks away from the popular, just-opened, Doughnut Time-adjacent parlour, Yum Gelato is giving the inner-eastern area what it needs: Italian-style cold confectionery in mouthwatering flavours such as chocolate peanut butter and brownie batter, obviously. And sorbets, milkshakes and cakes, too. And yes, squeezing your favourite scoops between a couple of cookies is an option here as well. The hole-in-the-wall-style establishment is an offshoot of the Coolum hotspot of the same name, so if you've enjoyed a tasty waffle cone while walking along one of the Sunshine Coast's best beaches, then you know what you're in for. Well, maybe. Given that the new Brissie store is run by pastry chef Nicholas Waring, expect a few surprises among its ever-growing gelato lineup. Find Yum Gelato at 11/17 Lytton Road, East Brisbane. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
Another day, another new food truck tempting our tastebuds, wallets and waistlines. This time, it's The Doughnut Bar, the latest venture from the folks behind the Chocolate Komberry Co. No longer are those dessert wizards content with just serving up a storm of their signature Cookie Monster ice cream and Snickers cruffins (yes, that's a cross between a croissant and a muffin). Now, they're also turning their talents to all things round, doughy and delicious. And we really do mean delicious, to judge an artisanal doughnut by its photo. When there are gourmet flavours such as white chocolate and Oreo and Pop-Tart on offer, we think that's a safe call. Their hand-dipped, naturally-flavoured offerings are made from a recipe that took 12 months to perfect, if you need any further evidence. The Doughnut Bar makes its debut on Brisbane's market circuit this weekend, but its first official stop is actually right in the heart of the city. The soon to be famous red and white kombi van will be popping up in the Wintergarden food court from midday on Wednesday to give everyone their first taste of their sweet creations. If you had plans for lunchtime, well, you might want to make room for pastry. Keep up to date on The Doughnut Bar's whereabouts via their Facebook page.
It's not every day that a city gets a new film festival — and yet, in just the last year, Brisbane has opened its doors to two. When the death of the long-running Brisbane International Film Festival saw the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival pop up as a replacement, it also inspired the Queensland Film Festival. In fact, QFF aims to help fill the void left by BIFF's cancellation, and to showcase the kind of international movie gems that no longer make it to Brisbane. The festival's full inaugural program is filled with films that will never, ever show in a multiplex near you. That includes documentaries about land-locked fisherman to comedies about submission and domination. You know the types of flicks we're talking about. Festival co-directors Dr Huw Walmsley-Evans and John Edmond are starting small, with 12 features, two shorts and three free discussion panels — including four Australian premieres — largely concentrated over a three-day period in one venue. Of course, it's quality, not quantity that matters. Given the movies on offer from July 24 to 26 at New Farm Cinemas, there's plenty of the former. Academy Award nominee and Cesar winner Timbuktu opens the festival, kicking things off with a powerful portrait of life under jihadist rule. At the other end of the spectrum, both in terms of QFF's schedule and in tone, the previously announced The Forbidden Room brings everything to a close with a delightfully unhinged love letter to the very medium of film. In between, Brisbane cinephiles can feast on features such as The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears, a freak-out horror movie that ravishes the senses and then some in its Australian premiere. There's also the Viggo Mortensen-starring colonialist Argentinian western Jauja, minimalist gem The Strange Little Cat, blockbuster French TV miniseries P’tit Quinquin, and a restoration of the landmark The Colour of Pomegranates. For movie fans that just can't wait for QFF to get started, a free screening of the otherworldly The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga precedes the festival. And for those keen on chatting and contemplating as well as watching, two discussions about film criticism talk the talk about analysing movies. Yes, it sounds like a film festival all right, as well as an ideal way to spend a cold July weekend. That's when BIFF once used to run, those with long memories might recall. Hopefully QFF can follow in its footsteps for years to come. The Queensland Film Festival runs from July 24 to 26 at New Farm Cinemas. Check out the festival website for more details.
FOMO — Australia's clash-free, one-day summer festival — is back for a fourth year. This year, it's making its return to Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and bringing the full festival to Melbourne for the first time ever. Leading the program is famed American-Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, who released her high-energy, highly acclaimed fourth album Queen just last month — which features everyone from The Weeknd to Ariana Grande, Eminem and Lil Wayne. Hot on her heels is Mississippi's Rae Sremmurd, the hip-hop trio best-known for its chart-topping hit 'Black Beatles' made in collaboration with Gucci Mane. Meanwhile, Florida's Lil Pump is heading Down Under for the first time, bringing hits 'Gucci Gang', 'Esskeetit' and songs from his yet-to-be released album Harvard Dropout, and electro music producer Mura Masa will break up the hip hop and rap with his disco tunes. Also on the schedule is Kali Uchis, making her Australian debut and performing hits off her widely acclaimed album Isolation, along with the mononymous avant-garde Sophie, Australia's own Anna Lunoe, and Dutch experimental artist San Holo, among others. FOMO will kick off on Brisbane's Riverstage on Saturday, January 5, before moving to Parramatta Park in Sydney, on Saturday, January 12, and then to Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse on Sunday, January 13. Pre-sales start at 10am local time on Wednesday, September 5 and general sales at 10am local time on Thursday, September 6. $1 from every sale is going to refugee charity Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and, if you can't afford your ticket in one fell swoop, you can opt for a payment plan, which lets you pay it off via monthly instalments. Only available for festivalgoers in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. Here's the full lineup. FOMO 2019 LINEUP Nicki Minaj Rae Sremmurd Lil Pump Mura Masa Kali Uchis San Holo Anna Lunoe Sophie Cosha Carmouflage Rose Just A Gent MIMI triple j Unearthed winners FOMO 2019 DATES Saturday, January 5 — Riverstage, Brisbane Sunday, January 6 — Elder Park, Adelaide Saturday, January 12 — Parramatta Park, Sydney Sunday, January 13 — Festival Hall, Melbourne FOMO will take place in January 2019. Tickets go on sale this week. For more info, visit fomofestival.com.au. FOMO image: Mitch Lowe
One of Australia's most redeeming qualities is its ability to give good afternoon sun. There's something about its familiar glow that almost demands casual drinks – whether it's cracking open a cold beer after a day out in the sun, heading to the pub after a long day of work, or deciding on a whim that your backyard is perfect for a friendly barbecue. We love afternoon sessions, and we've partnered with Heineken 3 to put together a list of five places where you can grab an afternoon bev. [caption id="attachment_591023" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: @thefoxhotel via Instagram.[/caption] THE FOX Maybe you want to sip a few drinks in the main bar on Melbourne Street. Perhaps you're keen on consuming your beverages after walking up several flights of stairs. The great thing about The Fox is that it offers both, in one massive venue. Think of it as a choose-your-own-adventure kind of space, where there's no chance of selecting the wrong option. You won't just want to spend an afternoon here, you'll want to spend several. [caption id="attachment_591016" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: @riverbarkitchen via Instagram.[/caption] RIVERBAR AND KITCHEN River view: check. Stocked bar: check. Huge menu: check. Whichever way you look at it, Riverbar lives up to its name. In fact, when it comes to inner city bars with a view, it doesn't get much better than this Eagle Street Pier favourite. Staring at the water is one sure-fire way to while away an afternoon, and drinking one of their ice-cold beverages is too. DARLING & CO Darling & Co is perfect for a long lunch, or an after work drink, or a Sunday afternoon drink, or any kind of drink. That's because there's always sunshine, whether it's in the dog-friendly garden or in the terrace. There are cosy booths, and communal dining table inside that seats 300 diners. It's the type of establishment you can head to for breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks or coffee, and you likely won't want to leave in between. SANTA MONICA Loud and proud in prime position on Ann and Edward Streets (and conveniently opposite Central Station), you really can't miss pizza and burger joint Santa Monica. The hardest decisions you'll have to make here is whether you get a beer straight away, or after your perfectly crispy pizza. Do you sit at a booth, or stand at one of the tables in the middle of the venue? Santa Monica is perfect for after work drinks just as much as it is for a fun work lunch. THE STOCK EXCHANGE ROOFTOP A great secret marketing campaign and sneaky renovation turned the Stock Exchange from drab to a fab. In the city centre, the rooftop now attracts a more corporate crowd and the makeover puts the whole venue a league above where it was previously. The large, square space is filled with wooden tables, hanging plants and fairy lights, giving it a casual beer garden atmosphere perfect for an after-work Heineken 3. Enjoy your summer afternoons with the new low-carb Heineken 3 – we're helping you make the most of them.
West End's massive West Village precinct continues to get bigger and bigger. The project — which is still in development — has held everything from ice cream festivals to weekend providore markets since it was approved in 2016, but this October, the $800 million project will unveil some new additions. From October, the former Peters Ice Cream Factory site will be home to The Garden Pantry and The Common. The former is a casual dining precinct that'll feature multiple eateries, plus indoor and outdoor seating. As for the latter, it's a 24-hour public space brimming with grass, trees, plants, a water installation and a field of lights. In short, the inner-city development is gaining a heap of new dining options and a lush place to hang out. The Garden Pantry's restaurant lineup will include Cheeky Poke Bar, Mr. Bunz and Salt Meats Cheese as its first tenants. That means that West Enders can expect Hawaiian-inspired bowls, pan-Asian baos and Italian, well, everything. And, it's all coming from tried-and-tested sources, with each of the three headline eateries setting up its second Brisbane locations. Because making food is as fun as eating it, West Village will also be the site of SMC's first Brisbane cooking school, which'll open its doors in the site's Factory Lane. Joining the restaurant's usual array of cheese wheel pasta dishes, all-you-can-eat pizza nights and plentiful cocktails, the cooking school will host hands-on classes on how to make gnocchi, other pastas and desserts, including gluten-free options. Unsurprisingly, in terms of decor, the new spaces will play up the garden theme — both in The Garden Pantry space, which will be decked out tropical-style, and in The Commons' greenery-filled garden area. Later this year, West Village will open Factory Lane, and add a new arts and events studio called The Bromley Room #2. The Common and The Garden Pantry and its restaurants are set to open in October at West Village, which is located at 97 Boundary Street, West End. We'll keep you updated on any new developments.
If you're serious about your caffeinated beverages and you live in Brisbane's inner west, then prepare to add a Toowong stopover to your morning routine. Josie North isn't just Sherwood Road's newest cafe. It's a coffee lover's haven. Given that owner Matt Roggenkamp will be familiar to anyone who's frequented Kenmore roasters The Single Guys, the eatery's brew-centric focus is hardly surprising. You'll find coffee from Sydney's Reuben Hills and Melbourne's Seven Seeds and Small Batch on Josie's maiden menu, and no doubt smell their heavenly aromas wafting down the streets as well. Brissie blends may also pop up over time. Taking up residence next to Genkotsu Ramen in Clements Arcade, Josie hasn't forgotten the food side of the cafe equation, with a seasonal selection of brekkie and lunch options on offer. Not only does the eatery's range of meals suit its daytime opening hours, but it also capitalises upon Roggenkamp's days as a Single Guys chef. Yep, he's really putting his experience to work — and your coffee-craving, brunch-devouring tastebuds will thank him for it. Find Josie North at in Clements Arcade at 51 Sherwood Road, Toowong, or check out their Facebook page for more information.
With his darkly funny scripts, quirky set-pieces and kitsch cinematography, director Taika Waititi is a little like a Kiwi Wes Anderson. Following on from the success of his vampire mockumentary hit What We Do In The Shadows, Waititi's new film Hunt for the Wilderpeople offers up another feel good alternative to just about everything else that's out there. Put simply, it's fantastic. Set in the dense bushland of New Zealand's east coast, the film tells the story of Ricky Baker, a troublesome ten year old orphan who, after years of delinquency, is on his last chance before being institutionalised. That last chance comes in the form of country couple Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and Hec (Sam Neill). Bella is an unflappably positive soul, the kind of no-nonsense straight talker you can't help but love from the moment you meet her, and her approach to Ricky is enough to quickly convince him to cease his nightly attempts at escape. Hec, by contrast, is the definition of loner. Bearded and bedraggled, he's an old-school bushman whose tolerance for companionship begins and ends with his wife and their scrappy old dog. The story takes a turn, however, when Hec and Ricky find themselves stranded in the bush and unable to return until Hec's fractured leg can heal. Worse still, to the outside world, it's assumed Hec has actually kidnapped Ricky, resulting in both police and rescue teams being brought in to hunt down the perceived paedophile. So begins a touching and terrifically funny odd couple on the run story that lovingly and faithfully harks back to various NZ comedies of the 80s. As Ricky, newcomer Julian Dennison puts in an accomplished and confident performance, imbuing his character with a lovely sensitivity masked by a veneer of wannabe gangsterism. Neill, likewise, is fantastic as the crotchety old Hec, pacing his inevitable softening towards Ricky with just the right amount of snarl and sneer. The other key performance of note comes from Rachel House as Ricky's dedicated child services appointee Paula. Playing it like a hard-edged cop from a film noir, Paula considers herself a relentless pursuer akin to the Terminator, and her verbal battles with Ricky offer up an almost unceasing stream of laugh-out-loud moments. Offbeat, intimate and impressively affecting despite its farcical nature, Hunt for the Wilderpeople is one the year's strongest films to date. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Xvsjy57X0
In January next year Noma will open in Sydney for ten weeks. For that time it will likely be the only restaurant in Sydney entirely inspired by Australia’s native ingredients, landscape and climate. When he was here in 2010, Noma’s visionary chef Rene Redzepi said this: "I think this is the essence of great cuisine. I think that in any city they should have all the ethnic and multicultural cuisines, but I think that it's a poor culture if it doesn't have its own true, unique expression that can only be represented right there at the place." He was making a comparison between the restaurant food he’d eaten in Sydney and Melbourne and the indigenous feast he'd had in the Flinders Ranges. Redzepi was surprised that, given the incredible variety of native produce we have, no one outside of indigenous communities (and a tiny pocket of restaurants) were using them. A lot has changed since then. "After listening to Rene Redzepi's keynote address at the Sydney Opera House, I was completely inspired and left that night on a mission to track down Australian native produce which I could weave into my Cantonese cooking," says Kylie Kwong, owner and head-chef at Billy Kwong — the only restaurant in the world making traditional Cantonese food with Australian ingredients. At the moment, their latest menu includes wallaby cakes with Kakadu plum, crispy saltbush parcels and stir-fried spanner crab with a trio of native greens. Elsewhere, Adelaide's Orana has a dish of emu, plum pine and mountain pepper, while at Attica in Melbourne you'll find salted red kangaroo with pepperberries and bunya bunya, a starchy Queensland nut roughly comparable to a chestnut. With the exception of the above restaurants and a handful of others though, the use of native ingredients is rarely more than an occasional flourish — a few wattle seeds here and there, a lemon myrtle infusion or maybe a sight of warrigal greens. Finding a native vegetable, fruit or meat is an extreme rarity. You get the impression that Australia's portfolio of native ingredients is simply a short list of easily substitutable herbs and greens. [caption id="attachment_552283" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Billy Kwong[/caption] REVOLUTIONISING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATIVE FOODS John Newton's been researching native ingredients for his book The Oldest Foods on Earth. The history of native Australian food, with recipes. Australia has around 6000 unique edible plants and, in South East Queensland alone, there are more than 1500 different fruiting trees, he says. "We have the most fantastic native game birds. I've tasted the magpie goose — I love duck, and it's ten times better than duck. There's the bustard, there's scrub turkey, which tastes like pheasant. Beautiful." Even if only a tenth of our native ingredients tasted any good, it would be more than enough to completely revolutionise a green grocer’s shelves or an entire restaurant menu. But that particular revolution will have to wait, as there's not nearly enough farms or even knowledge of how to farm the vast majority of those ingredients. A lot of that information was lost after Europeans first arrived and started terraforming Australia for the production of beef, wheat and wool. [caption id="attachment_552284" align="alignnone" width="960"] Quay[/caption] FARMING NATIVE FOODS Picture this: you're an enterprising land owner who wants to start a farm. Given the resources and knowledge out there, you're more likely to start growing blueberries, cabbage or some common vegetable, rather than spend several years fiddling with native ingredients that have little to no backlog of info on how to actually cultivate or propagate them. Well, this has been the life of Mike and Gayle Quarmby. The owners of native food farming and distribution initiative Outback Pride have dedicated the best part of two decades to figuring out how to grow various native ingredients on a commercial scale. "We've done an enormous amount of research, development and horticultural work to actually domesticate these native food plants to get them to perform in a sustainable way," says Mike Quarmby. When they started, the majority of native produce farming consisted of simple wild harvesting, now their business is the biggest general supplier in the native food industry. Their clients include some of Australia's most innovative restaurants, chefs and grocers — and in January they'll be supplying almost their entire range of 65 ingredients to Noma Australia. [caption id="attachment_552289" align="alignnone" width="960"] Scallops with beach succulents at Orana.[/caption] SO, WHY THE STIGMA? It’s been a tough slog for the Quarmbys to get here. Aside from their trials in horticultural adventure, Quarmby says the duo has had to battle against an entrenched negativity against indigenous produce. "Australians have an inferiority complex about everything and anything related to food. ‘If it comes from overseas it must be good’. That has had a major effect,” he says. When we talked to John Newton about this, he mentioned the experience of three of Australia's early native produce pioneers: Jean-Paul Bruneteau and his restaurant Rowntrees, and Jennice and Raymond Kersh with Edna's Table. Interestingly, this first wave of restaurateurs made a big noise about using Australian native ingredients. Newton, who was working as a food critic in the '80s when the restaurants were operating, says the restauranteurs regularly faced criticism from customers solely due to the fact that they sold indigenous ingredients. "I don't know why. You could explore that in terms of racism all that you like," he says. But Newton says the worst thing to happen to the industry was a TV show called Bush Tucker Man. "Every time he puts something in his mouth he screws up. He hated it." Quarmby gave a similar review: "All due respects to Les Hidden, but he gave the impression that you only ate bush tucker if you were starving, and it tasted like shit." Quarmby says Redzepi has proven so influential because, as a Dane, he didn't come to Australia attached to any cultural prejudice or inferiority complex around Australian ingredients and the idea of a national cuisine. And now, despite a rough past, both Quarmby and his competitors in the native food industry are witnessing rapid growth. "We can't believe the number of new restaurants — we have nine exclusive distributors around Australia and our phone is running hot. They're saying things like 'this is the easiest thing we've sold all our lives'." WHERE TO EAT NATIVE INGREDIENTS Orana 1/285 Rundle Street, Adelaide, South Australia Attica 74 Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea, Victoria Vue de Monde 55, Rialto Towers, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria Billy Kwong 1/28 Macleay Street, Elizabeth Bay, NSW Quay Upper Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, George & Argyle Streets, The Rocks, NSW Bennelong Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney, NSW Top image: Salt cured red kangaroo with bunya bunya at Attica.
Long-deprived vegetarians, today's your day to high five a stranger, hug a disinterested cat, throw flowers from your shitty morning bus, dance merrily to your 9am. Today, IKEA Australia announced the launch of its long-awaited veggie Swedish meatball, consisting only of vegetables. AW. YEH. That's right, vegetarians can now partake in the glorious Swedishery that is IKEA's famed meatballs. The new ball is called GRÖNSAKSBULLAR, which sounds like a demon the Charmed sisters once battled — but this long-awaited IKEA newcomer deserves one mighty title. The new veggie balls will be rolled out (heh) in Australian IKEA store restaurants from April 27. Carnivores, if you're freaking out, don't think for a second the original meaty meaty meatballs are going anywhere. The veggie orbs of goodness will set you back $8.99 for a serving size of 10 and $3.69 for the kids’ serving size of five (plus you'll probably be able to take frozen balls home with you). “Our iconic IKEA meatballs are much loved in Australia — last year Aussies enjoyed nearly 8.5 million of them," said IKEA Australia food manager Simone Fowler. "The new veggie balls are a healthy, more sustainable option and form part of a move to decrease the impact of our food offering on the environment. Producing this meat free product will help cut our carbon emissions by half.” Overall, IKEA's aiming for a more sustainable food offering, acknowledging the lower environmental impact veggie-only balls have in comparison to their ambiguous meatballs. As Fowler said, the newbies will lower IKEA's carbon footprint too. It's part of their new campaign to promote for more environmentally-friendly, healthy and more ethically-produced food products — called the 'IKEA People and Planet Positive Strategy'. So IKEA's not only producing sweet veggie balls, but taking a long hard look at all their instore food. Meat-eating haters gonna hate. This is a victorious day for IKEA-lovin' veggos who've watched their buds enjoy dollar hot dogs and sweet, sweet meatballs on every furniture run.
Ice cream lovers of Brisbane — whatever you have planned from around 5pm on Wednesday, March 29, you'd best cancel it and prepare to spend the evening worshipping your dessert of choice. The day everyone fond of a frosty sweet treat has been waiting for will finally arrive when Gelato Messina throw open the doors to their first Brisbane store. Turning South Brisbane's Melbourne Street into the city's new gelato go-to, Messina will reveal their largest site in the country — and in true ice cream royalty style, they're also unleashing a brand new flavour to celebrate. Behold the appropriately named QUEENSLANDAARRR!!!, which earns its extra letters and flurry of exclamation marks by combining ginger gelato with pineapple cake and Bundaberg rum caramel. It'll be available in all stores around the country for one week from March 28, and in Brisbane from March 29. Messina's swish Brissie digs will be their second spot in Queensland, with Coolangatta lucky enough to get the jump on their creamy chilled confection back in February 2015. Because all good things come to those who wait, the new store won't just serve up varieties such as tiramisu, Bounty, coffee made with real espresso, roasted figs in marsala and milk chocolate with choc peanut fudge, but will also offer three-hour gelato appreciation classes that are basically ice cream degustation sessions. If you've feasted on Messina at their Milton Markets or Brisbane Ice Cream Festival pop-ups recently, you'll be clearing your calendar and breaking out your stretchiest outfits. Find Gelato Messina at Shop 1, 109 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane from around 5pm on Wednesday, March 29. Keep an eye on their website for more information.
Calling an event WTF isn't something anyone should take lightly. In the case of Brisbane Powerhouse's biannual contemporary performance showcase, the acronym fits in two ways; however the World Theatre Festival is doing everything it can to live up to the other meaning of its moniker. That means a lineup bustling with the kinds of shows you're unlikely to see elsewhere. Maybe they're simply that new. Perhaps they haven't previously graced Australian stages. Sometimes, they're just so intent on challenging traditional definitions of theatre that there's really nothing else like them. Across a twelve-event program spanning February 18 to 27, that's what you'll find at WTF 2016. An attempt to be a better person, Cambodian rock and Maori myths feature among the schedule — and if you need help picking the best things to head along to, we've put together our list of the five we think are absolute must-sees.
If there's one thing Good Food Month boasts in abundance, it's degustation dinners. Don't discount Darling & Co's take on the trend, though. Yes, you'll get five small courses — but you won't get anything that could be an entree or a savoury main meal. You did indeed read that correctly — the glorious treat we all wish we could eat all day long is the only thing you'll find on this menu. It's an entire dessert degustation. Pastry pro Nicholas Waring will showcase dishes using fresh, seasonal fruit, Maleny Dairies products and premium chocolate. For $59 (or $89 with matched wines) you'll indulge in the lifelong dream of only having dessert for dinner.
Can you do the polka? Do you know how to swing? Or are Bollywood and Bhangra moves more your style? Perhaps you're mighty fine at bouncing along to reggae, or maybe you can boot scoot, salsa or jive. Whatever style of fancy footwork you favour, the name of Brisbane Festival's pop-up inner-city dance floor says it all: You Should Be Dancing. Over eight nights at Queens Park outside of the Treasury Casino, you'll have the chance to learn the requisite steps, watch the experts do their thing and kick up your own heels. Now that's what we call a party. Image: Gregory Lorenzutti.
After announcing its return back in June, the resurrected Brisbane International Film festival has revealed its 2017 program, the fest's first in four years. Filling the major film festival space left by the now-shuttered Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival — which initially replaced BIFF back in 2014 — the revived BIFF will bring 51 features, nine shorts and three other compilation screenings to Palace Cinemas' two Brisbane sites between August 17 and September 3. The returning 16-day event, funded by Screen Queensland and run by Palace, kicks off its new beginning with the biggest film on the international festival circuit so far this year: Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner The Square. And while the fest starts global, it ends local. Aussie documentary The Go-Betweens: Right Here closes out the program with a loving tribute to a Brissie band so iconic, the city named a bridge after them. In between, cinephiles can expect two world premieres, one international premiere, six Australian premieres and a range of noteworthy picks from other international and local festivals. Broken Ghost, the latest film by Aussie Summer Coda director Richard Gray, will make its worldwide debut, as will Australian-made, French and Cambodian-shot documentary Life Is a Very Strange Thing. In the Aussie premiere camp sits three titles from BIFF's four-feature Baltic spotlight, plus Kazakh film Returnee, Vietnam's The Way Station and doco The Last Dali Lama? Elsewhere, viewers can work through Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev's body of work, including this year's Cannes jury prize winner Loveless. Also on the bill are showcase sessions of highly anticipated titles, such Berlinale and Sydney Film Festival winner On Body and Soul, the late Abbas Kiarostami's final effort 24 Frames and legendary director Agnès Varda's Faces Places. Helping round out the 2017 selection are the high-profile likes of Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender in the partly SXSW-set Song to Song, adorable claymation My Life as a Zucchini, rap drama Patti Cake$ starring Australian Danielle Macdonald, British farce The Party and Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck, to name a few. Throw in Aussie efforts Ali's Wedding, Australia Day and That's Not Me, gorgeous Studio Ghibli-like Japanese animation In This Corner of the World, Takashi Miike's 100th film Blade of the Immortal, and New Zealand documentary My Year With Helen — and yep, BIFF is back. The 2017 Brisbane International Film Festival takes place from August 17 to September 3 at Palace Barracks and Palace Centro. For more information and to buy tickets, head to their website.
Brisbane Writers Festival slots into the State Library of Queensland like a book being put back in its place on a shelf, however, the city's biggest, most central repository of the written word isn't the only place to have some fest fun. Yep, BWF in the 'Burbs is exactly what it sounds like. From Indooroopilly to Carina and Wynnum to Michelton, a selection of festival guests will grace suburban libraries to tell the stories behind writing stories. Speakers include journalist Caroline Overton and Irish author Michael Collins — and they're just two of the 14 talented folks popping up around town. This event is one of our five picks for Brisbane Writers Festival. Check out the whole list.
Feel a hankering for some chortles at this year's Brisbane Comedy Festival, but don't have the funds to fork out for any of the event's international acts? Trying to squeeze in as many laughs as possible into your life in general? Keen to finish your working week with some laughs? All of the above situations are catered for at BCF's Knockoff. It's similar to Brisbane Powerhouse's old free comedy nights, but happening during the comedy fest — and it's perfect for kicking off the weekend in the funniest way possible. This free Friday night comedy show runs from 6pm each week between May 6–27, and will play host to some of the biggest up-and-comers in comedy (so, down the line, you can say you saw them when they were starting out). Exactly who you'll be laughing at hasn't yet been revealed, but you will be laughing. Just head on down to the New Farm spot and prepare to get your funny bone tickled.
Okay, so this July-wide eating extravaganza has been officially dubbed Good Food Month, but we think it could count as Good Wine Month too. There's more than a little grape-centric goodness on offer, including a booze-soaked chat about making Plonk, the Australian comedy television series all about wine. Join Yalumba winemaker and storyteller Jane Ferrari as she tells the tales of making the television program, and serves up her preferred tipples as well. Don't worry, something to eat is also part of the equation, with $65 per person getting you a winning food and drink combo.
Good Food Month isn't just about sit-down meals and special events — it's also about jumping between happening joints and grabbing a few drinks. Enter Bar Hop. Yes, the name says just about everything. Every evening in July, you can stop by Bucci Restaurant, Kerbside, Public Bar and Restaurant and Canvas for a $20 cocktail and a perfectly matched bar snack — or, as the title suggests, hop between all four. And if you're wondering what's on offer, that'd be Tanqueray gin concoctions, the perfect, light libation for a multi-venue escapade.
Behold, the event that'll separate the pinball wizards from the pinball muggles, and those talented as mashing buttons from the folks that are happy when they get flipping lucky. That's what happens when Netherworld closes its doors to everyone except the devoted few — those eager to play pinball for 18 hours straight. No wonder they've called the arcade marathon Death by Pinball. No sleep till pinball also would've worked. Those brave enough to attend will battle it out in matches over many rounds, fit in a few fun games from the bar's array of machines in between, and get a prize if they survive the night.
Dark and debaucherous banquets from Bompas and Parr, immersive art sleepovers at Cradle Mountain and all the demon purging and ceremonial death dances you could want in a festival. Dark Mofo has announced its 2015 program. Centred around the winter solstice and running June 12-22, MONA's annual June festival celebrates the Neolithic-started tradition over ten days of weird and wonderful art, performance, music and happenings around Hobart. Last year's festival attracted more than 130,000 Mofos, and with this year's lineup, they're looking at a lot more pilgrims. Coinciding with MONA's huge Marina Abramovic retrospective Private Archaeology, this year's Dark Mofo is deeper, creepier and darker than ever before — with art, food, music and performance pioneered by 250 artists from around the world. For one of the biggest events of the festival, the brave and adventurous at heart will want to lock in June 15-17 for a two-night immersive art experience sleepover within Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. That's right. Immersive art sleepover. It's called Wild At Heart and is curated by the Unconscious Collective (Motel Dreaming). British jellymongers and universally applauded food artists Bompas and Parr are hosting a full-on, debaucherous banquet. Huge. And Melbourne contemporary artist Ash Keating will open an exhibition called Remote Nature Response as part of the whole WAH shebang. Music-wise, Dark Mofo is as brooding and gloomy as ever at Hobart's historic Odeon Theatre, with already-leaked, heartbreaking headliners Antony and the Johnsons leading the charge with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. British art-pop collective The Irrepressibles are also locked in, alongside Arkansas experts in doom metal Pallbearer. Seattle's 'horror-country' rocker King Dude will be there, as well as German industrial dance outfit Oake. There's plenty of Australians in the bunch too, from The Drones' brooding folkster Gareth Liddiard to Melbourne's '60s-inspired crooner Brous and performance vocalist Kusum Normoyle, modern day Divinyls-like Sydneysiders The Preatures, Hobart's eclectic pop group Tiger Choir and Melburnian chillwave must-see Klo. Also hailing from Melbourne, gloomy electronica artist Jake Blood and frenetic rock outfit My Disco. Then there’s Japan's electro-conducting EYE, who will be premiering new work CIRCOM, especially for Dark Mofo, presented by Red Bull Music Academy. Immersive art and experimental theatre fans, you'rve got plenty to look forward to. Dark Mofo set to unveil a brand new festival precinct dubbed 'Dark Park' at Hobart's Macquarie Point. Huge public artworks will invade the park, from a high-octane Fire Organ by German chemo-acoustic engineer Bastiaan Maris with producer Duckpond, to a Night Ship cruising around the river, and a full-body sonic massage immersion of Bass Bath by Melbourne’s Byron J. Scullin in collaboration with Supple Fox. Virginia Woolf’s Orlando will be performed by Victoria’s THE RABBLE theatre company at the Theatre Royal (Australia’s oldest theatre) and you'll find a dark take on Roald Dahl's The Witches at Salamanca Arts Centre’s Peacock Theatre. Plus, you won't want to miss Dark Mofo's new late-night ceremonial death dance Blacklist curated by Supple Fox. We don't even know what that means. Those keen to lose themself in a dark, dark cinema have plenty of Nordic dark folkloric films to sink their teeth into. North Hobart’s century-old State Cinema is presenting a super niche series featuring A Second Chance, A Spell to Ward off the Darkness, Down Terrace, A Field in England, Partisan, Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America, Valhalla Rising and more, curated Nick Batzias and James Hewison. Dark Mofo Films will also see the red carpet world premiere of Tasmanian-filmed Foxtel adult drama series The Kettering Incident at the Odeon. Last but not least, we feast. Dark Mofo's annual bacchinalian food festival returns to Princes Wharf Shed 1 — the ever-anticipated Winter Feast. Guest chefs Jake Kellie, Martin Boetz, Sean Moran, Mike McEnearney and O Tama Carey and the Mona Source restaurant team head five nights of feasting and performance, culminating in a Balinese ogoh-ogoh parade to purge all those demons and burn all those fears. Really. Then there's the annual Nude Solstice Swim — nothing like an early morning swim in Tasmanian water to cure your Mofo hangover. Dark Mofo runs June 12-22 in various locations across Hobart, Tasmania. Tickets are on sale from 10am Monday, April 20 from here. Registration for tickets for Antony and the Johnsons with the TSO over here. Images: Beth Evans, Matt Glastonbury.
How do you like waffles? Drizzled with syrup? Slathered in cream and ice cream? With fried chicken? All pretty standard answers, really, but here's something that you probably haven't paired with your breakfast batter. How about waffles with beer? Everyone has their own threshold when it comes to unlikely food and drink pairings, however, if you're a mildly adventurous eater, then A Crafty Waffle is the event for you. Cancel your dinner plans on March 16, because you'll be matching lattice treats with different brews to create a sweet and savoury bonanza — you'll even come up with your own combos, too.
Last year, everyone’s favourite musicians turned bar proprietors looked back to 2003 for their end of year celebration. Never doing the same thing twice, this year they’re advancing onwards and then some. For New Year’s Eve, the Southside Tea Room is going forward – not back – to the future. Great Scott! That should be Nu Year’s Eve, actually, befitting the ultramodern theme. No one knows what the year 3015 holds, but the Morningside establishment is going to give it their best guess. Everyone’s favourite sci-fi pop culture obsessions will be a major influence, and one thing is certain: Beyoncé, a future Master of the Universe, will feature on the playlist. Think alien babes, space cuties and more — possibly including foil, that shiny staple of all things forward-looking. It wouldn’t be a Southside party without prizes for the best costumes, delicious snacks, cheap drinks, themed cocktails, giveaways, and bodacious party tunes for this most excellent adventure. There’s also a pre-paid $70 food and drink package for those thinking about the not-too-distant future of their bank account.
The legendary, controversial performance artist who does 'nothing' is finally making her way to Australia, set to perform a brand new artwork. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the beloved and equally criticised 67-year-old artist, Marina Abramovic, has been invited by arts heavyweight John Kaldor to Sydney to perform a yet-to-be-revealed, shiny new work in June 2015. Famous (and the topic of furious debate) for her iconic 2010 work at NYC's Museum of Modern Art, The Artist is Present, Abramovic's work was last seen in Australia for Kaldor Public Art Project's applauded group exhibition 13 Rooms at Pier 2/3 — the work, Luminosity, which saw a naked artist wall-mounted on a bicycle seat for long periods of time (and didn't star Abramovic herself). For her mysterious new Sydney work, Abramovic will use the Pier 2/3 space herself, in one of the most squealworthy announcements for performance art lovers this side of the equator. But this isn't the first time Abramovic has been to Australia; before presenting Gold found by the artists with partner in crime Ulay at the 1979 Biennale of Sydney, the artist spent a cheeky five months with an Aboriginal community in central Australia in the '80s (and raised a baby kangaroo and cuddled this sheep). According to Fairfax Media, there's also a whole Abramovic exhibition planned for David Walsh's Museum of Old and New Art next year — quite honestly, why she hasn't made MONA's acquaintance baffles us. To be fair, she's been pretty busy doing zilch for a total of 512 Hours at London's Serpentine Gallery, hangin' with Jay-Z and backing a new online school for girls with Sia, Pussy Riot, Kim Gordon, Yayoi Kusama and Yoko Ono. The artist is busy. Via SMH. Images: Complex.
UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 — As MoMA at NGV gets closer to wrapping up, the NGV has announced that it will extend opening hours so you have a few more chances to see the exhibition (if not for the first, for the second or third time). The gallery will move its regular 10am opening time up to 8.30am from September 22 until October 7, and, in the final week, it will stay open until 10pm from Thursday, October 4 until Sunday, October 7. The exhibition will also be extended for an extra day, and will now close on Monday, October 8. Not going overseas this winter? Luckily, you'll still have the chance to take a bite out of some Big Apple arts and culture, as the National Gallery of Victoria plays host to an exclusive exhibition showcasing works from New York's prestigious Museum of Modern Art. Set to run until October 7, MoMA at NGV: 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art will feature over 200 modern and contemporary masterpieces, many on their first ever visit to Australia. Taking over the entire ground floor of NGV International, it's certifiably huge. The exhibition will present pieces from all six of MoMA's curatorial departments, meaning the works will span Photography, Film, Architecture and Design, Painting and Sculpture, Drawings and Prints, and Media and Performance Art. You'll catch works from all of the big names of the 19th and 20th century art world, including Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Georgia O'Keeffe, Diane Arbus and Andy Warhol. Capturing the spirit of more recent times, will be pieces from the likes of Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker, Olafur Eliasson, Rineke Dijkstra and Camille Henrot. Examining over 130 years of innovation, MoMA at NGV sets out to explore all the major art movements, with the exhibition spread across eight themed sections. Here are a few of the big-name works on display. Needless to say, the partnership with MoMa is a pretty huge coup for both the NGV and Australian art lovers. "The collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria provides a unique opportunity to see extremely important works from nearly every area of our collection in an exhibition that simultaneously explores The Museum of Modern Art's history as well as the history of modern and contemporary art in general," said MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry. As an added bonus, NGV members who are hitting New York while the exhibition is running will score free admission to MoMA, and vice versa.
There's a big, white container coming to Reddacliff Place. But, like most shipping containers in the city, it's not being used to transport furniture. And the word 'séance' will be written on the side in black. It's kind of ominous. Séance is actually an installation where participants take a seat inside the tiny space, put on a headset and place their hands flat on the table in front of them. The lights go out and the container enters complete darkness. For the next 20 minutes, participants are fed 'suggestible information' through their headsets. You're probably thinking that there's something dark or supernatural about the whole thing — and going by the name, we don't blame you. But the installation's organiser assures us that 'séance' is simply a French word meaning 'session' or 'sitting'. And so Séance is a sensory experience that looks at the psychology of a group sitting together. Despite not being a horror or supernatural-themed piece, it's a scary indicator of how easy it is for confusion, information overload and the people siting right next to us to affect our judgment. Artists David Rosenberg and Glen Neath (who have collaborated in other sensory deprivation projects before) are the creative masterminds behind the project, which has been described as 'disorienting' and 'deeply unsettling'. It's not recommended for the claustrophobic or the easily frightened. The spooky installation first visited Brisbane last year, and now it's back. Head along from Thursday, September 19 to Sunday, October 6, with tickets on sale now.
You don't need to be Liza Minnelli to think that life is a cabaret, particularly if you're in Brisbane this June. Yes, it's Queensland Cabaret Festival time again, which means that spending your nights watching talented singers tell stories through song is well and truly on the menu. For its third year running, the Brisbane Powerhouse-based festival is back with another jam-packed program of music-fuelled fun, spanning new takes on old classics, repeat tributes to lost icons, and everything from ukuleles to comedic musical therapy in between. In fact, if one of the fest's 13 shows doesn't inspire a prolonged bout of humming, clapping and toe tapping, then you're not looking hard enough. We've picked our five favourites to get you started.
Not content with operating two of the city's favourite bars, plus a Spanish eatery, Brisbane restaurateur Jamie Webb is adding another venue to the mix. This time, he's heading down to Paddington's Given Terrace to add a new watering hole with a nautical-themed twist. The new pub's name, The Hope & Anchor, certainly gives the focus away — and expect more maritime, beachy and other watery-related wares once it opens its doors in October. Its location, taking over the space formerly inhabited by The Shingle Inn and The Lark before that, also gives an indication of the kind of relaxed inner-city oasis vibe that might be in store. A cellar bar is currently mooted as part of the site's renovations, which is all happening now. Expect a courtyard, too — aka the potentially perfect spot to spend a warm, sunny Brisbane afternoon feasting on bar food and a few crisp lagers. Given that Webb already has Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall on Petrie Terrace, Sonny’s House of Blues in the CBD and Gordita in Fortitude Valley on his books, there shouldn't be much doubt that his magic touch will work again. And if there's anything that stretch of Paddington needs, it's a laidback hangout to balance out the many restaurants and cafes closer to the city. Find The Hope & Anchor at 267 Given Terrace, Paddington from October. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
It’s film festival time in Brisbane, and yes, a busy calendar of cultural-orientated movie offerings means that could be true on any given weekend; however the period spanning November 19 to 29 stands out. It belongs to the city’s major cinema celebration — and while the Brisbane International Film Festival is no more, the replacement that is the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival has been trying to pick up some of the slack since 2014, at least when it comes to movies from its area of interest. In its second year, the 11-day event presents an 83-feature program from a lineup of 102 films in total, complete with 33 Australian premieres and 23 Queensland premieres. Highlighting the movie-making prowess of the Asia Pacific region is its focus, covering 42 countries and showcasing 34 movies that have earned nominations at the forthcoming Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Indeed, from festival circuit hits to retrospective screenings of restored classics feature — and including a program of virtual reality shorts, too — BAPFF's 2015 selection serves up a bustling bunch of screen fare for cinema fans. As always, the most difficult part isn't rushing between the event's five venues (Palace Barracks, GOMA, New Farm Cinemas, Griffith Film School and The Courier-Mail Piazza), or fighting film festival fatigue when you're in the thick of BAPFF craziness, but trying to pick which flicks to see. To assist, here's our rundown of the ten that make our must-see list. THE IDOL When it comes to reality TV, almost every corner of the globe has become addicted to live singing contests and other televised talent quests. In the Middle East, Arab Idol has captured the hearts and minds of the viewing audience, and turned ordinary folks into stars and winners in the process. When the 2013 season of the show aired its final stages, Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad (Omar) watched as Gazan wedding singer Mohammad Assaf emerged victorious. His rags-to-riches true tale fascinated the director so much that he turned it into his next film — and BAPFF have taken his lead, selecting The Idol as its feel-good opening night movie. SHERPA Forget Everest — Sherpa is the mountainous movie that will get everyone talking. In 2014, Australian director and mountaineer Jennifer Peedom embarked on a quest to film Phurba Tashi Sherpa’s potentially world record-breaking trek to the summit of the world's highest peak, but Mother Nature had other plans. Tragedy struck on April 18, which remains the blackest day in Everest’s history. The documentary Peedom crafted —— not so much benefiting from being in the right place at the right time, but reacting thoughtfully to such a catastrophic situation — is stunning in its high-altitude visuals, moving in its emotions, and eye-opening in exposing the reality of its titular subjects. It's also the kind of gripping effort that must be seen on the largest screen possible. RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN In just two festivals, BAPFF has started a pleasing precedent. Each year, the latest film by South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo clearly features at the top of their wish list — and the festival has delivered yet again, this time bringing Locarno Golden Leopard winner Right Now, Wrong Then to Brisbane for its Australian premiere. As is often the case in the filmmaker's efforts, matters of the heart inspire a narrative of chance meetings, what-if type questioning, clever character studies and circular comedy. Given that Hill of Freedom was a highlight of BAPFF 2014, hopes are high for the feature Indiewire has likened to Groundhog Day. Our tip, and a good rule for watching all Hong Sang-soo offerings: make soju part of your movie-going plans for this session. MUSTANG When France selected Mustang as its entry into the foreign-language film category at the 2015 Oscars, the film world took note. The first feature by Deniz Gamze Erguven pipped Cannes Palme d'Or winner Dheepan for the spot; however there's no doubt that the contemplative coming-of-age effort deserves being thrust into prominence. Five sisters monopolise the movie's attention, each aged from pre-teen upwards, and all required to adhere to the strict regime forced upon them by their male relatives. As Mustang unravels their efforts to subvert such control, it recalls the haunting look and feel of The Virgin Suicides and the distress of Miss Violence, yet makes its look at sisterhood, self-preservation and its specific cultural situation very much its own. SPEAR An Australian dance movie that uses its fancy footwork to step through the plight of the indigenous populace, Spear is a striking cinematic achievement. First-time feature helmer, Bran Nue Dae and The Sapphires choreographer, and Bangarra Dance Theatre artistic director Stephen Page turns the company's performance work of the same name into a big-screen spectacle unlike anything crafted locally, or anywhere else for that matter. Mood, music and movement are pivotal, as a teenage boy wanders from the outback to the city to try to reconcile his ancient culture in a modern world. His journey is just as transporting for those watching as it is for those within the movie, as well as anchoring one of the most powerful pieces of Australian film perhaps ever made. THE ASSASSIN After wowing audiences at the Sydney Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival, it is Brisbane's turn to become immersed in the wonder of Hou Hsiao-hsien's The Assassin. The wuxia — or martial arts — effort ushers its genre into glacially paced, stylistically controlled territory as it tells the tale of a girl taken from her family at the age of ten, trained to kill, and then tasked with slaying the cousin she was once marked to marry. Every frame of the feature looks like a painting, which could be one of the reasons the filmmaker took out the best director award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Swordplay has rarely looked as graceful and hypnotic, nor been littered throughout such a serene movie. A typical action flick, this isn't. TAKLUB BAPFF ventures from one Cannes Film Festival best director winner to another, courtesy of Brilliante Mendoza's latest feature. The Filipino filmmaker won the coveted prize for 2009's Kinatay, and then returned to the Croisette with this year's Taklub, which follows three survivors of 2013's devastating Typhoon Haiyan. Though his movie provides a fictional account, shooting against the real-life backdrop of the destroyed city of Tacloban promises a mesmerising documentary-like sheen to his tragic drama. If you haven't yet discovered why Mendoza is one of the region's most exciting film talents, then this is the movie to help you fix that gap in your cinematic appreciation. ATOMIC HEART Iranian road movies seem to be having their moment, as Tehran Taxi (another 2015 BAPFF feature) and Tales have already demonstrated. Atomic Heart takes the concept, drives away into the night with it and refuses to stick to a standard streetscape. Here, two 20-something girls interact with a mysterious stranger on the way home from a party — and get more than they bargained for, of course. In the hands of director Ali Ahmadzadeh, their voyage promises to take a turn into the surreal, absurd and satirical; however given its country of origin, the film isn't without its lashings of cultural commentary as well. AMONG THE BELIEVERS In Among the Believers, the cry "won't somebody think of the children" threatens to become a haunting plea. The lauded documentary steps behind the veil of Islamic fundamentalism to expose perhaps its most concerning attack: on the hearts and minds of the youths poised to become its next generation of followers. Filmmakers Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi are given unprecedented access to the Red Mosque, aka the most prominent educational institution in Islamabad, or ground zero for indoctrinating kids into extremist beliefs. While it seems like every movie these days is likened to a horror film, this might just live up to the frightening comparison. A TOUCH OF ZEN Before Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon brought all things wuxia to the world, A Touch of Zen defined the genre. That director King Hu's three-hour epic received the Technical Grand Prize at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival is significant, and warranted by the artistically imaginative sights it serves up. Charting the intersection of a scholar, a fugitive and a corrupt eunuch, the feature flirts with Buddhism, as its title makes clear, while taking a meditative approach to its choreographed fights. It's the martial arts film all cinephiles must see — and if you're going to pick one film from BAPFF's modest retrospective lineup, this should be it. The 2015 Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival runs from November 19 – 29. For more information, visit the festival website.
If you like reading, writing, talking or slinging about language in some other form, then you probably already have the 2016 Brisbane Writers Festival scheduled in your diary. Prepare for words, glorious words from September 7 to 11. When it comes to events celebrating the written craft in Brissie, only the annual Lifeline Bookfest comes close to this feast of everything from prose to poetry to penning tell-all novels. Here, the pen is definitely mightier than the sword — and much more interesting too, given the array of topics touched upon at BWF 2016. And given that choosing between dissecting crime fiction, exploring the art of reading, learning how to write your own cookbook and diving into supernatural stories can be difficult, here's our five top picks from the hefty letter-focused fest program.
The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is back for its 26th year and with 49 feature films to be screened at cinemas across eight cities, you'd best prepare yourself for everything from the flirting, whimsy, mishaps and misunderstandings that come with French comedy to the passion, ennui, coming-of-age rebellion, thrilling crime and non-conformist romance that come with French drama. Highlights include: gala opening night feature Gemma Bovery, an endearing comedy starring Gemma Arterton that drops the characters of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary into a small Normandy town; the Saint Laurent biopic exploring the inspirations and struggles of the acclaimed designer Yves Saint Laurent at the height of his career; and Samba, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and star of The Intouchables Omar Sy in a cross-cultural romance that looks at the hardships faced by French immigrants. See more of our highlights in this list of top five films to see at the French Film Festival. The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is on around Australia in March. Catch it in Sydney from March 3-22, Melbourne from March 4-22 and Brisbane from March 13 – April 1. Thanks to the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival, we have ten double passes to give away in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The passes are valid for one festival session of your choice (excluding opening/closing nights, special events and public holidays). To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
There's a great anecdote behind Big Poppa's. It's three guys sitting around, eating cheese and drinking wine while listening to hip hop and deciding that their current activity was a) costing them too much money — they were literally spending thousands of dollars on cheese — and b) a great concept for a restaurant. And so, Big Poppa's was born from Lewis Jaffrey, ex-operations manager at The Baxter Inn, Frankie's and Shady Pines, and Jared Merlino, owner of The Lobo Plantation and Kittyhawk. It's a two-floor ode to Biggie Smalls that plays hip hop until 3am, and serves cheese, wine and Italian food until the doors close. The restaurant is upstairs, the bar is downstairs — it has bare brick walls, candles, dark blue leather booths and the face of Biggie Smalls is tiled on the floor. It's an unpretentious space, and it's worth the wait for a table. We've partnered with KitchenAid to celebrate the launch of the KitchenAid Mini, and we asked two chefs from two of our favourite restaurants to throw a Mini Dinner party (and create a Mini Moment) for their friends. Liam O'Driscoll, head chef at Big Poppa's, former Sydney hip hop DJ (although he probably won't enjoy us calling him that) obliged. He cooked us up a three-course dinner of the simple, rustic Italian food he serves at Big Poppa's, and told us what he loves about cooking at home. He reveals his menu in advance — it's so beautifully Italian I have to research it so I know what we'll be eating. There's salsa salmoriglio, parmigiana-reggiano, pangrattato, flat iron tagliata and potato al forno. This appears on the table as globe artichokes, pasta sprinkled with cheese, a thinly sliced flat iron steak, potato with rosemary butter and a simple semifreddo nougat dessert. [caption id="attachment_592755" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Flat iron tagliata with confit garlic and rosemary butter, and potato al forno.[/caption] O'Driscoll adores Italian food. "I love pasta," he says specifically, "if I was on a desert island and there was one food I could take, it would be pasta." With Italian food, he explains, less is more — it's about the quality of the produce over anything else. "It's not like French food where there are so many ingredients and complicated techniques to learn. Some Italian dishes only have three to four ingredients, so the produce is left to stand for itself." Big Poppa's isn't fine dining, it's casual dining. Produce is sourced from quality suppliers, and the food is presented in its simplest state. Despite having a background in fine dining (he just came from Pendolino in the Strand Arcade), this is how O'Driscoll chooses to cook. The preparation at his dinner party is simple, as is the service. Food is served in the pan, and friends help themselves to steak and potatoes. [caption id="attachment_592851" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Torrone Semifreddo, dulce latte.[/caption] "One of the beauties of cooking is being able to share food with the people you love," he says. "There's a communal feeling in everyone being able to dig into a dish that's on the table, as opposed to everyone having their own particular meal". Liam pulls his tub of semifreddo straight from the freezer and starts to scoop it out and serve. "When you're home cooking you just slap it on a plate," he says. "If this was a nice restaurant, I'd shape it into something. But this is rustic cooking — everyone agrees that they would like it better like this." What he says doesn't really have an impact until the next morning, when I'm sitting in a café and I look down at my breakfast. It's piece of toast that's been delicately scattered with edible flowers. While beautiful, they don't really add anything to the dish in terms of taste. "It's not about it being pretty," I remember Driscoll said. "It's about what it is." Images: Samantha Hawker.
Grabbing a bite to eat and heading to a performance; it's the tried and true template for a good night out, particularly when Brisbane Festival rolls around. Across the city come September, everyone's always racing from restaurant to venue, or from pre-drinks to the festival's South Bank hub. This year, one show will cut out all that running around. The first announced event for BrisFest 2015, Fear & Delight adds a new spin to the idea of dinner and a show. It's a three-part performance all in one place, with feasting beforehand and partying afterwards. Taking a wild journey far outside the realms of reality is the main attraction, as cult UK artists The Correspondents combine forces with an international cast. Against a soundtrack of jazz-infused electro, they'll perform incredible physical feats and unleash a healthy dose of heart-racing spectacle. Prepare for plenty of "oohs" and "aahs". Those arriving early can also enjoy The Devil's Banquet, the show's eye-opening gastronomic and theatrical escapade. It's not just a magical meal before the main event — it's a decadent feast complete with more than a few surprises, up close to the performance and very limited in terms of capacity. Then there's The After Party, which is exactly what it sounds like. You'll drink, you'll dance, and you won't even have to leave the performance space. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to an experience of this type, with patrons free to pick and choose which parts they want to attend. It's all created by Strut & Fret, the folks behind previous Brisbane Festival hits LIMBO and Cantina, so whichever option you go with, you know you're in for something special. In fact, the whole experience is so big that Brisbane Festival is adding another performance tent to their riverside base just to house it. You won't be able to miss the new venue; it's five times bigger than previous years. Brisbane Festival runs from September 5 – 26 across Brisbane. The full 2015 festival program is announced on June 25. For more information, or to book tickets to Fear & Delight, visit the festival website.
Friday afternoon drinks are a workplace tradition for a reason. We all know the feeling of getting to the end of the week and wanting to crack open an ice-cold beverage to celebrate. And we all know the disappointment of not being able to find anything in the work fridge. That's where Friday Beers comes in, a business based on an idea so simple, we can't believe that no one else has thought of it. Well, they had in the UK, and now some smart-thinking folks have brought the brilliant notion to Brisbane. The subscription service makes it as easy as possible to enjoy an end of week tipple — and to broaden your beer horizons as well. As their name suggests, every Friday they'll ferry six-packs of boutique beverages to your desk. A range of craft breweries are currently on their list, including Angry Man, Stone & Wood, 4 Pines and Vale Ale. For those not so fond of yeasty, hopsy goodness, ciders are available too. At the moment, Friday Beers only services the Brisbane CBD and surrounding suburbs, spanning Newstead to Highgate Hill and East Brisbane to St Lucia, but expect more places to join the fold as the business gets more popular. And the best part? It's free — the delivery, that is. The cost of bringing the beer to your door is included in the price of $28.80 per six-pack. Now that's something to drink to. For more information about Friday Beers, or to order your own regular end-of-week delivery, check out their website. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
Fond of staying out late? Unimpressed about the idea of curbing your evening's entertainment a little earlier? This Saturday, September 19, you can take to the streets to share your fondness for after-dark fun at Queensland's Save Our Nightlife Rallies. The peaceful protests, organised by the aptly named No Curfew, are the latest attempt to voice opposition to potential new lockout laws. Since the Labor Government won power in Queensland earlier in 2015, rolling back the times for both bar-hopping and serving last drinks has been on the state's agenda. Implementing 1am as the cut-off for moving venues and 3am as a last drinks cut-off — both two hours earlier than current deadlines — is the current proposal. The plan is designed to stem alcohol-related violence, an aim no one contests. That the majority of revellers who go out and have a good time without getting into an altercation will also be impacted is the point of contention. Rallies will take place in Fortitude Valley, Surfers Paradise and Airlie Beach, all areas likely to drastically change should the possible laws come into effect. Brisbanites can head to the Brunswick Street Mall at 8.30pm on Saturday to be part of the protest. For more information, visit the No Curfew Facebook page or the Save Our Nightlife Rally event page. Image: The Flying Cock.
The adverse effects of climate change have already been well-documented. Rising sea levels. An increase in extreme weather events. Hundreds of millions of people potentially displaced. Yet the most disturbing cost of environmental degradation is only now being driven home. We don't mean to alarm you, but the verdict is in: global warming is going to change the taste of your beer. Commissioned by Earth Hour and produced by the good sports at Willie the Boatman craft brewery, Drought Draught is a brand new beer brewed under drought-affected conditions. Made using poor quality barley and hops, along with artificial supplements standing in for cost prohibitive natural alternatives, the result has been described as "average tasting beer," one that lets beer lovers "actually taste the effects of climate change." Lucky for Sydneysiders, the intentionally sub-par brew will debut at Feather and Bone in Marrickville this Saturday, as part of Earth Hour's Save the Ales campaign. The event is part of a broader Earth Hour initiative that draws attention to the impact of global warming on Australian farmers. People are also being encouraged to upload their #NoBeerSelfie to social media, with the best entries winning a beer tasting event in Sydney, Adelaide or Perth, along with a bunch of other prizes courtesy of craft brewers Young Henrys. More than 500 community events are expected to take place around the country this Saturday March 28 as part of Earth Hour 2015, in the lead-up to the annual 'lights out' at 8.30pm. For an event near you, visit the Earth Hour website.
Just a cheeky heads up for local legends like Liquorun, Jimmy Brings, Friday Beers, LiquorDrop, Dial-A-Drink, QuickBottle and WineRun — the big guns have jumped on the booze delivery bandwagon. Online shopping behemoth Amazon is trialling one-hour alcohol delivery, starting in Seattle. Announced by Amazon this week, Prime Now will take human laziness and demand for things now to the next level, dropping wine and beer at your doorstep within 60 minutes. From burger delivery by drone to ordering pizza with one emoji, humans just want things faster, faster, faster now. The Prime Now service, which is Amazon's fastest yet, will be exclusively available to members of Amazon Prime — and it's not just for booze. Tens of thousands of items will be available for one-hour delivery, from wine and beer to milk and ice cream, televisions, Kindles, paper towels, you name it. Throwing a last minute party or treating yourself to one heck of a night in just got pathetically easier. Local startup booze delivery crews, don't freak out just yet. Prime Now is currently only available Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland in the States, but the company has plans to expand the service to localities across the country and worldwide, eventually. Via CNET. Images: Dollar Photo Club and Walnut Studio.
Calling all architecture fans, folks keen to explore another side of Brisbane and just anyone who likes to peek behind closed doors. Open House Brisbane is back for 2019 and is once again showcasing the city's buildings and structures, letting you peer beyond their facades, and even welcoming you into nooks and crannies that aren't usually open to the public. Celebrating its tenth year in Brisbane, the event will feature 119 buildings across the weekend of October 12–13, which marks its biggest program yet. Get ready to wander through places that you probably walk past every day, spots you've always wondered about and everything in between. They include The Montague pub in West End, the Spring Hill Baths and The Shingle Inn in City Hall, plus the Fort Lytton Military Precinct (and Lytton Quarantine Station), the Old Windmill Tower and the always-popular homes inside Indooroopilly's Walter Taylor Bridge. A selection of architecturally distinctive residential buildings also feature, if you'd like a tour of other people's houses. Many require bookings, so planning ahead is recommended. Other highlights include seemingly every important space along the river at South Bank — Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Queensland Museum, State Library of Queensland, Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art and ABC Brisbane — plus other city-wide favourites such as The Tivoli, Breakfast Creek Hotel, Brisbane Powerhouse, Parliament House, the Treasury Hotel, 4ZZZ's studios and the Queensland Herbarium. Fancy stepping inside the 90-storey Brisbane Skytower in Margaret Street, or the historic Howard Smith Wharves? They're also on the bill. [caption id="attachment_741064" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Queensland Herbarium by Sheena Cheema[/caption] While plenty of this year's locations were on the program in 2018, newcomers include All Hallow's Convent, Brisbane Racing Club, 25 King Street, the William Terrace carpark and one of West End's best-kept secrets: the Ryan Street Library. It's a footpath spot where locals can stop by, borrow a book, exchange their own or donate reading material — and it's inspired, architecturally, by a similar setup in Stockholm. Open House Brisbane isn't just about walking through spaces, whether you mosey at your own leisure or take a guided tour. It also boasts a program of talks and events running from September 26, including a new signature lecture on Singaporean architecture. Last year's special after-dark section also returns, taking place between September 30–October 11 — complete with everything from art exhibitions to laneway tours. Brisbane Open House runs over Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13 at a variety of places around Brisbane. For the full program, head to brisbaneopenhouse.com.au. Top images: Walter Taylor Bridget by Jake Churches, Port of Brisbane by Kim Williams, Government House Fernberg, Spring Hall Baths by Cieran Murphy and Old Windmill Tower by Paul Knie.
What would you do if you were a little less freaked out by consequences? Would you talk to more new people, fear a bit less, dance a little more like FKA Twigs, quit your desk job and start that independent photography career? Some sparkling young Australians are already flinging their inhibitions into a ziplock bag and seizing this little ol' life with both hands. Concrete Playground has teamed up with the Jameson crew to give you a sneak peek into the lives of some bold characters who took a big chance on themselves. They've gone out on a limb and rewritten their path, encapsulating 'Sine Metu', the Jameson family motto which translates to 'without fear' — getting outside your comfort zone and trying something new. After all, we only get one shot at this. Take notes. From a very young age, we're all asked the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" We're told to pick one path, one profession, to neatly label the rest of your life. Our responses change as we grow up, from astronaut to engineer, princess to PR, and for Sydney-based Cole Bennetts, from Penguin Boy to renowned photographer taking the Prime Minister's portrait. Now he's shot the likes of Sticky Fingers, Hermitude, Horrorshow, One Day and more, and you can find his work published in TIME, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Irish Times and Rolling Stone to name a few. Not bad for a Penguin Boy. WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU PENGUINS, BECOME THEIR KING Cole's origin story reads like a Mark Twain book, a tale from a time before life happened on the screen and people went out to seek their fortunes. Initially for Cole, the end goal was never photography. His start in the industry came from a pretty unlikely place — as a way to weasel out of participating in the swimming carnival. "I'd never been the most athletic of people but I discovered that if I had a camera in my hand I didn't have to swim in the swimming carnival. I was like 'there's something to this'." A self-proclaimed science nerd, Cole's formative years were spent studying biology at university and eventually found him monitoring the behavioural patterns of seagulls and penguins in Bass Strait. The documentation process again stirred his interest in photography and, strangely, penguin care. "When that wound up [at Bass Strait] I found myself in Canberra with the zoo there. I spent about 18 months within the zoo as a penguin keeper. I managed to get the nickname 'Penguin Boy'. I can't believe I'm saying this." SOMETIMES YOU'VE GOT TO SPEND SIX MONTHS IN THE WILD The antics of Penguin Boy became an attraction at the zoo, from lining up the penguins for feeding time to putting them to bed. Eventually, the prestigious title wore thin and Cole stumbled across an opportunity that would make most of us hurtle in the opposite direction. "I got offered a job on a really remote island… There was no water, there was nothing. We'd have to have supplies brought in by shark fishermen. It was a six-month stint living like a wild man." Just after quitting his role as Penguin Boy, Cole found out funding for the project had been cut and he was without a job. After a series of fortunate events, he founded a music business in Canberra and set about promoting. But Cole didn't have the budget for a photographer, someone you're kind of going to need for promo. So, having 'made do' in those six-months on the island, he improvised. "I bought a cheap camera set up and quit my job and told people I was a photographer. And I was awful. I was so bad. Within four weeks of doing it, I had $2.20 and half a loaf of bread to my name. "If you're going to do something, you throw yourself into it. I'm a big believer in sink or swim. And fake it till you make it. There's no better situation to learn than when you have no option; it's do or die." FAKE IT TILL YOU TAKE THE PRIME MINISTER'S PORTRAIT There's not a lot to do in Canberra outside of politics and partying, so Cole had a lot of fodder to snap. A crash course in how to work a camera when there's no natural light and your subjects are swaying was just what he needed to get a start in the world of photography. Fast forward a few years, he's made a name for himself as a portrait photographer and has jacked a gig taking the PM's portrait. "It's a fine line when you're shooting... Your subjects may be celebrities, they may be artists but you've got to stand in front of them with a camera […] and do them right," he says. "So I was down on my knees in front of Julia Gillard's desk and I was having trouble getting the right feel and I was starting to panic and I was like 'OK, Prime Minister, what I need you to do is close your eyes and I want you to go to your happy place'. That was crazy." He got the shot in the end though and, true to form, bossing the PM around becomes just one of his weird work stories to tell. CHANGE THE GAME — NOT EVERY HIP HOP ARTIST NEEDS TO RAP SQUAT Cole soon moved from Canberra to Sydney, the land of creative opportunity, to try and break into music photography. One day while working in his Camperdown studio, he left to pick up some lunch and walked smack bang into Omar Musa, his friend and collaborator, and Morgan Jones of the Thundamentals. "A couple of weeks later I bumped into Morgs in the cafe and he had this new group called Jones Jnr. I said I'll do your pictures, I'll do them for free but if you go anywhere and you become successful, then I'm your guy," he says. It was a smart gamble, as Morgan was in the process of writing Step On Sleep, Jones Jnr's successful debut album. From this handshake agreement, Cole has built a career photographing Australian musicians including Sticky Fingers, Hermitude, Horrorshow, Hilltop Hoods, One Day, Spit Syndicate, Tuka, Jackie Onassis, The Rubens, Angus Stone, Left and more, alongside international stars like The 1975. His proclivity for shooting hip hop royalty has changed the game and shifted music portraiture away from the cheesy and the cliché. "These guys are super intelligent, they've got good stories to tell," he says. "It's not doing rap squats in front of graffiti walls." And who better to tell someone else's tale than a guy with a killer story to tell? When you wake up a Penguin Boy one day, unemployed the next, Kirribilli House soon after, you stop fearing change and start to embrace a Sine Metu mindset because it might lead to the best shot of your life. "It doesn't matter if I'm shooting the biggest name in Australian music or I'm shooting someone having a dance, if I get the frame that captures that moment… I get just as excited. It's about storytelling." Want to experience a little bit of 'Sine Metu' yourself? Thanks to Jameson and The Rewriters, one extremely fortunate Concrete Playground reader (and their even more fortunate mate) will get the chance to 'fear less' and go on a big ol' adventure to Ireland. In addition to two return flights departing from your choice of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, this epic giveaway comes with five night's accommodation and $500 spending money you can use to paint the Emerald Isle red. ENTER HERE. For more about how 'Sine Metu' influenced John Jameson's journey visit Jameson's website.
Grab your wetsuit and hightail it to California, the not-so-secret home to Kelly Slater's game-changing wave pool. Surf fans have been scrambling to uncover the location of the facility since Saturday, when Kelly posted a video on Facebook (below) that showed him surfing what he called "the first truly world class, high performance, human-made waves." The world champion surfer was coy about the pool's precise coordinates, even as the video racked up more than four million views. In the end, it was Sydney-based surf writer Craig Brokensha who channelled his inner Miss Marple and cracked the case. Brokensha, who writes for Swellnet, began his investigation on Reddit, where numerous other amateur detectives had already begun cobbling together clues. Cross-referencing photos from Google with telltale landmarks visible in Kelly's video, Brokensha soon narrowed the location down to an old water ski lake near Leemore, around 50 kilometres south of Fresno. "With all the tools freely available to us in this day and age (Google, Google Earth, Google Streetview) it only took an hour or so to confirm the likely location of the test facility," wrote Brokensha. Well isn't someone a bit of a clever pants? Assuming the new technology is everything Slater claims it to be, its impact on the surf world could be enormous. There have been other attempts to create consistent, cost-effective waves in the past, but success has to this point proved elusive. Slater has promised to reveal more information in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the World Surf League have released a statement declaring that "the ramifications of this reveal are immeasurable at this point, but certainly will change the face of surfing as we know it." Here's hoping Slater opens the pool up to the public... although that's probably still a ways off yet. Now that the world title has been decided and events for the year have finished, I’m excited to show you what I’ve been... Posted by Kelly Slater on Friday, 18 December 2015 Via SMH.
A drama released in 1989 that saw its premiere cut short because of the fall of the Berlin Wall. A tale of corruption in the sporting arena. A documentary about perhaps the greatest German director that ever lived. A lengthy father-daughter comedy that no one can stop talking about (us included). Yes, they're all part of the 2016 German Film Fest's 36-title lineup, which roams around Australia from November 15 to 30. In a nutshell, it's a great year to get your fix of the country's cinematic offerings. In fact, there's so much packed into the festival's heaving program that the aforementioned movies haven't even made our must-see list, which is a great indication of the wealth of choices available. So, just what should you ensure you get in front of your eyeballs? Here's our top tips, spanning everything from beloved filmmakers to movies made by ordinary people. EVERY THING WILL BE FINE We've said it before, and we'll say it again: James Franco really will pop up everywhere he can, even when you least expect it. Like in a German film. This time, he's starring in the latest one from iconic director Wim Wenders, alongside Rachel McAdams and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Every Thing Will Be Fine tells the tale of a writer faced with a life-changing experience; transformation is a common theme in the filmmaker's works. And don't go thinking Wenders' trademark fondness for breathtaking visuals will be sidelined in his first dramatic film in seven years; here, the Buena Vista Social Club, Pina and The Salt of the Earth helmer explores both the heartbreaking tragedy at the centre of the story and the aftermath via 3D visuals. DER NACHTMAHR It takes confidence to call your film Der Nachtmahr, or The Nightmare in English. Other horror movies have boasted about their terrifying dream-like status in their names to mixed results, aka the entire Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Director and visual artist Achim Bornhak aims for a more consistent scare rate in an effort ten years in the making. Given that the feature explores a teenager blighted with visions of a grotesque creature, here's hoping it hits the mark. GERMANY IN A DAY Back in 2011, Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland filmmaker Kevin Macdonald took on another ambitious project. Life in a Day endeavoured to capture just what everyday existence is like by crowdsourcing its footage, accruing more than 80,000 clips submitted via YouTube. Five years later, Germany in a Day is the Deutschland-focused equivalent, as overseen by director Sönke Wortmann. If you've ever wondered what life was like for residents of the European nation on June 20, 2015, as captured by ordinary folks, this is your chance to find out. GOODBYE BERLIN In Goodbye Berlin, Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin says hello to the road. Adapting Wolfgang Herrndorf's coming-of-age story Tschick (or Why We Took the Car in Australia), it's a feature filled with friendship, discovery, scenic sights and striking revelations after two unlikely pals steal a car one summer. And if it sounds like you've seen this before, Akin's previous filmography should convince you otherwise. Head On twisted the usual mid-life malaise drama, Soul Kitchen did more than cook up delicious-looking food and The Cut found insights in a portrait of resilience and endurance. VARIETÉ Step back in time thanks to 1925 film Varieté. Not only is it a circus fairytale of the kind that isn't often made these days, but it reportedly features the first documentation of unicycle hockey. Other claims to fame come thick and fast for the '20s film, partly due to its enchanting tale of a trapeze artist, the dancer he leaves his wife for, and the artist his lover then has an affair with — and partly due to the fact that the silent feature's score was lost long ago. In its place, The Tiger Lillies have a new soundtrack in their very own style to accompany the new digitised restoration. The German Film Fest Australia tours the country from November 15, screening at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema and Palace Norton Street from November 15 to 29, Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Kino Cinemas and Palace Westgarth from November 17 to 30, and Brisbane's Palace Barracks from November 25 to 30. For more information, visit the festival website.
The best of the best of local interior design has been announced by the judges at this year's Australian Interior Design Awards. Held in Sydney on Friday June 10, the 2016 ceremony – co-presented by the Design Institute of Australia and Artichoke Magazine – once again celebrated the most innovative new design projects in the country, from a waterfront apartment in Sydney to a boutique hotel in WA. Regardless of where they're located, however, all of this year's winners have one thing in common: we want to go to there. Taking home the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design was Darling Point Apartment (pictured below), a wood-panelled apartment overlooking the Sydney Harbour that was described by the jury as "an inspirational piece of interior design." The apartment also won an award for Residential Design, along with the Fitzroy Loft in Melbourne. The gong for Sustainability Advancement went to the North Shore Office fit out by Nielsen Workshop and Morgan Jenkins Architecture; the offices also won for Workplace Design. The award for Public Design, meanwhile, went to Our Lady of Assumption Primary School in Sydney, with the space having found new life from its original use as a Telstra training centre. Among the remaining winners were Sydney butcher shop 1888 Certified for Retail Design, and Perth's Alex Hotel for Hospitality Design. For the full list of Australian Interior Design Award winners, go here. Header Image: Alex Hotel, WA.
