2042: Art On The Street

Overview

As the community of Kings Cross tries in vain to hang onto its bohemian legacy with memorial plaques on the foothpaths (often more a walk of shame than a walk of fame), the other side of town will be reveling this weekend in their ongoing state of creativity. Newtown, that beloved (to many) spot on Sydney's map where one can procure an African hair braid, trade zines, eat delicious Vietnamese and get a salty margerita all on the one strip.

It's the kind of suburb that fosters a new creative community with each annual influx of students at the local universities, while maintaining its history of artistic freedom and general doggone good vibes. It's exactly this sense of real community that has inspired the 2042: Art on the Street event this weekend. This year, 2042 promises to be a giant colouring-in book, having invited those who dwell in the suburb and its admirers to take part for the first time in its two-decade history.

Festival co-curator Edith Moss wanted this year's event to be "art that everyone can be a part of", and the blank canvas that starts off 2042 provides exactly that. Bring along a picture of your favourite spot on Kings Street, a spot personal to you (mine would surely be Gould's Books where I could — and have — spent whole days sifting through piles, of dusty, deranged books). Event assistants will be on hand to arrange your image into a growing collage of the suburb, a mural that everyone can help colour by painting, collaging, drawing, anything that takes your fancy.

If you haven't visited since The Hub was well-known for pushing film censorship boundaries with its on-stage debauchery, clearly it's time to revisit postcode 2042 again and experience the community that has built up around it. Art on the Street runs from 10am-4pm on Saturday 24th and 10am-9pm, Sunday 25th October. The meeting point is Newtown Square.

Image: Jodie Barker