Anyone who's merely scratched the surface of Sydney's art community knows we have a vibrant and inspiring scene, but for the regular person on the street, it can be hard to find out about art events, let alone join in. Events like Art & About are so important because they bring art to the streets of Sydney and make it easily accessible to all people. It's easy-to-find, it's free, and everything is open to an individual's interpretation. Here, we look at what's in store for the month of Art & About 2010. The Banner Gallery The Banner Gallery gives a face to Sydney's streets; faces as diverse as our population. An Art & About collaboration with artistic advisor John Kaldor of Kaldor Public Art Projects, and shot by photographer Louise Hawson (of 52 Suburbs, who has also contributed to our 'Sydney by the Blog: Spring Fever' series), The Banner Gallery sees 100 different faces adorning the banner poles of Sydney city and its surrounding villages. Faces of the young and the old, men and women, Indigenous and migrant, left-wing, right wing, straight and queer - are all represented, and in that, so is every one of us. Kaldor, Hawson and Gill Minervini (Creative Director/ Producer Art & About Sydney) will be in discussion about the exhibition on Wednesday, September 30 at the Burdekin Hotel on Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. The talk is free and runs from 6.30 - 7.30. Sydney Statues: Project! Queen Victoria would not be amused. While she was once a respected monarch, she is now somewhere between hippy and nu-rave, dressed in a long, hyper-colour gown and interesting tulle headpiece. She's not the only one. Working in collaboration with The History Council of NSW, Heritage NSW, International Conservation Services and City of Sydney Heritage and History Team, a collection of artists have taken to the statues of Sydney, making them over so that others may rediscover them. It's a fun idea, and looks so wonderful in reality. Plus, it's a nice reminder to take things far less seriously - including our historical figures. They were people too, and they didn't always dress in shades of bronze and copper. Queen Victoria at Queens Square - Linda Jackson Prince Albert at Macquarie Street - Johnathon James, as inspired by Jenny Kee and Peter Tully Captain Cook at Hyde Park South - Ken Done, Bronwyn Bancroft and Eloise Rapp with Michelle McCosker Queen Victoria at QVB Plaza, George and Druitt Streets - Rachael Cassar and Leanne Rossler with Michelle McCosker Il Porcellino at Sydney Hospital, Macquarie Street - Zoe Mahony Shakespeare Memorial at Shakespeare Place - Susie Rigg with Spoke & Spool Edward VII at Macquarie and Bridge Streets - Bronwyn Bancroft with Michelle McCosker William Bede Dalley at Hyde Park North - Bianca Faye with Michelle McCosker Guided tours of the public works will take place on Saturdays at 11am and 2pm; Sundays at 2pm; and on selected Thursdays: October 7, 14 and 21, meeting at the Queen Victoria stature at QVB Plaza. To book, call 02 9265 9141. Laneway Art It's safe to say Sydney's laneways are still untapped commodities compared to many other cities, and with more laneway bars slowly opening up across the city, Laneway Art couldn't have come at a better time. Curated by Barbara Flynn, this Art & About event showcases the work of nine contemporary artists on the walls of our city, prompting us to consider the potential of our laneways and to rethink our notions of both contemporary art and street art. Jan van der Ploeg has created a striking monochromatic geometric piece, Warriors, in De Mestre Place, breathing life into the area with a simple palette; Jon Campbell's pastel text banner, Har Bour View in Wynyard Lane, encourages us to consider our own views, physical and mental; Rocket Mattler questions our definitions of 'home' in For Rent at Tank Stream Way; Simon Yates ponders the past forms of our technologies through paste-ups of old telephones and Underwood typewriters in Woodwork, at the apt location of Underwood Street; Mikala Dwyer interprets Dylan Thomas in Milk and the Town That Went Mad, also in Underwood Street; Justene Williams visualises the 'mitochondria' of our city in Banker Baker Spanglemachine Maker at Curtin Place; Nike Savvas creates a 'pseudo-psychedelic kinetic painting', with multi-coloured strands at the mercy of the breeze in Bridge Lane; and Newell Harry's Circle/s in the Round For (Miles and Miles +1) in Temperance Lane is both an homage to Miles Davis and high modernism. Simryn Gill's Food on the Table is still in its conceptual stage, with discussions to take place as to how to translate the concept into a reality - a dumpster meal, provoking questions on consumerism, poverty and personal choice. Sydney Life The Sydney Life exhibition, which takes place in the central walkway of Hyde Park, arranges the 'captivating canvas' of Sydney in one localised area, allowing all participants of this canvas to witness the vast images of their city. Sandy Edwards (Creative Producer, Arthere and curator, Stills Gallery), photographer and writer Robert MacFarlane and curator Ace Bourke selected the 22 photographic works from over 500 entries, choosing those that most effectively represented the many sides of this city and its people. CAMP Stonewall Annie Kennedy, the artist behind Art & About 2008's Stables Project, has worked with leading queer activists in Sydney to create CAMP Stonewall at Taylor Square, a strong and incredibly moving installation that both explores and melds the broader struggle for queer rights with the personal struggle of the individual, through coming out stories. As most queer-identifying people tend to come out as teens and young adults, the concept of the personal struggle and the realisation of identity informs the broader struggle in a powerful way - representing a time of great change and new experiences; the beginning of the next phase. CAMP Stonewall is the third artwork in the Taylor Square Plinth Project. Oh Alfred! Reflections of Prince Alfred Park Some see the upgrade of a pool as a bit of a nuisance leading to a good thing - others see it as an opportunity to find a blank canvas. With Surry Hills' Prince Alfred Park Pool fenced off and undergoing work, Jess Cook and Kali Reid from Token Imagination have joined forces with local residents and artists Andy Uprock, Garth Knight, James Harney, Jonathan James, John Doe, Lachlan McGuinness, Lucia Scurrah, Skye Wagner, Melissah Chalker and Tealia Scott to change the plain construction fences into works of art. The Bike Bike The Bike Bike, a 12-metre-high penny farthing bicycle made from recycled bikes, could not be a more apt inclusion to Sydney's streetscape. With the notion of closing George Street to traffic - and allowing better access to bike riders in the city - a contentious issue at the moment, The Bike Bike could either be interpreted as a beacon of hope or a sneering threat, depending on where you stand. Located in Martin Place and passed by cars and buses all day, it is intended to prompt reflection upon the nature of transport within the CBD - its sustainability, its suitability and its future. To read Concrete Playground's preview of Art & About, which includes full event details, click here.