Overview
Following the news last week that Carriageworks had officially been saved, thanks to a multimillion-dollar lifeline from a group of philanthropists and NSW Government funding, the Sydney multi-arts centre has announced the opening dates for some new and long-standing events. And, yes, that includes the Carriageworks Farmers Market.
Those Saturday morning markets are set to make their triumphant return on August 8. Running from 8am–1pm every week, the markets will have the same loved stalls — with coffee from Single O and sweets from Crumpets by Merna — but new health and safety measures. Expect plenty of hand sanitiser, capacity limits and new shop-and-go rules (no more hanging around eating on milk crates).
On the arts front, eight exhibitions as part of Nirin: 22nd Biennale of Sydney will be making Carriageworks their home from Friday, August 7 to Saturday, September 26. Originally appearing at the National Art School back in March (before the city-wide exhibition was forced to close during lockdown), the exhibitions include Mexican artist Teresa Margolles' powerful memorial to murdered women, Hannah Catherine Jones' video installation exploring the lives of plants and Homeless in my homeland, a work by 14 artists from Iltja Ntjarra.
Teresa Margolles, Aproximación al lugar de los hechos (Approximations to the Scenes of the Facts), 2020. Installation progress view for the 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020), National Art School. Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with assistance from Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), Embassy of Spain and Galerie Peter Kilchmann. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich. Photograph: Zan Wimberley.
Elsewhere in the multi-arts centre, Reko Rennie's large-scale piece Remember Me — a 25-metre-long, five-metre-high installation recognising frontier wars, massacres and the survival of Australia's First Nations peoples — will be on show, as will a brand-new exhibition. Created by Australian artist Giselle Stanborough, Cinopticon was physically installed back in March, but will be unveiled to the public for the first time on August 7.
Featuring searchlights, sculptures, mirrored surfaces and large-scale wall diagrams, the exhibition explores ideas of social media algorithms, internet narcissism and corporate surveillance by playing with what it means to observe and be observed.
Carriagworks' exhibitions will be open (and free to view) from 10am–5pm Wednesday–Sunday from August 7. Carriageworks Farmers Market will take place from 8am–1pm every Saturday from August 8.
Top image: Giselle Stanborough, Cinopticon, 2020, Carriageworks. Photo by Mark Pokorny.