Five Spots in Marrickville to Get an Arts and Culture Fix
From volunteer-run creative spaces to some of Sydney's best live music venues, Marrickville's cultural landscape is one of the city's most vibrant.
In partnership with 
Known as one of the best suburbs in Sydney for culture vultures, Marrickville has plenty to do, see and experience. In partnership with Marrickville Metro's new dining, retail and creative precinct on Smidmore Street — home to its own extensive public art program — we've handpicked the best spots in the hood to get your arts fix all year round.
Amy Piddington
JOIN THE DOTS
Join the Dots is a haven for artists. Set in a graffiti-clad brick building, it's a creative space where art practitioners can hire studios, workshops, hotdesks, and even the in-house gallery, Swamp, to put on an exhibition for a reasonable fee.
Run as a non-profit, Join the Dots is helmed by volunteers and has a strong ethos of allowing artists to experiment, collaborate and hone their craft.
In response to the pandemic, Join the Dots turned its front window into a gallery space for its resident artists, giving locals a chance to enjoy the work being created behind the walls even when entry to the building itself wasn't possible.
MARRICKVILLE METRO, SMIDMORE STREET
The Smidmore Street extension of Marrickville Metro isn't just a dining and retail hub — it's also home to a dedicated public art program that's injected the precinct with colour and vibrancy.
Marrickville Metro partnered with the Inner West Council to create a platform for local creatives to showcase work inspired by the area and the community, and the results are definitely worth a look. Over 35 works are now on display across the centre and some of its new stores and restaurants, including a colourful interpretation of Marrickville's history by Liz Shreeve; a type-based piece by Georgia Hill that draws inspiration from signage around the local area; and a social realist piece by Fintan Magee that honours local female artists working within the suburb's industrial warehouse spaces.
Keep an eye out for art-focused tours of the centre that take place from time to time, to help guide visitors through the various works on display.
Clare Hawley (Aspray Photographics)
FLIGHT PATH THEATRE
Founded in 2019 by Siobhan Lawless and Kate Bookallil, Flight Path Theatre, located in the Addison Road Community Centre, is a proud supporter of independent productions.
For a snapshot of the diverse range of performances staged by the theatre, you only have to look through the highlights of its upcoming summer program. For example, take Tattletales (until December 19), an immersive and interactive storytelling experience which sees up to ten audience members create an original adventure with The Storyteller as their guide. Or perhaps you'd prefer Puffs (January 7–15), which tells the story of three potential heroes from another house at a certain school of witchcraft and wizardry. Whatever you choose, you can't go wrong.
Carmel Byrne
SCRATCH ART SPACE
Sydney artist Carmel Byrne manages Scratch Art Space, a creative arena that seeks to offer support to early-career artists while cultivating a spirit of community. Studios are available to rent and there are also a range of regular workshops on offer from life drawing to landscapes, open to creatives of all levels.
There's also a rich history of exciting exhibitions, with 2021 alone having seen art made from discarded objects (Gillian Wright's All That Glitters); domestic dioramas created and subsequently destroyed (Katie Dunn's Creating with Intent to Destroy); and a performance-based exhibition that addresses the female body as 'a political site, a tool of dissent and of protest' (Emma Varker's Me Too Ceausescu).
Arvin Prem
CAMELOT LOUNGE
Sydney's self-styled 'favourite boutique music venue' has been a go-to for music and comedy since its inception in the late 2000s. In conjunction with the downstairs Django Bar, Camelot truly has something for everyone this summer, with live entertainment practically every night of the week.
Studio 54 and Rolling Stones tribute acts? Check. ARIA-winning rock acts? It's got 'em. Live jazz and Cuban bands? You bet. A retrospective of the history of Greek alternative, rock and pop or Turkish belly dancing? Yuh huh. Flamenco and mariachi bands? Naturally. No other location in Sydney can beat that for variety and intrigue.
There are about to be a lot more reasons to go to Marrickville, too, thanks to the opening of the new section of Marrickville Metro. Find out more about the inner west's newest community hub via the official website.
Top image: 'Rebellious Conversations' by Phibs & Skulk (Photography Greg Fonne)
