Art & About 2013

Overview

Art and About hits the Sydney streets this week, as its annual accretion of outdoor art takes over the CBD. The festival kicks off September 20 with Friday Night Live, featuring a live-soundtracked version of Shaun Tan's haunting The Arrival on Martin Place's big screen, followed up by some sounds from all-star surf band the Break.

A lot of the titular public art opens to the public the same day. Not least, Snailovation, which gifts Sydney with giant snails sans giant salt or giant TV snailhouses (map), while interactive Central Station play set I Think I Can lets you get in amongst some trains.

Guerilla parkour dance performance Spill takes over three parks across the city, following up each free performance with free dance lessons, while the winner of the commission to create data-based art at June's Sensing Sydney City Data Slam, artist Keith Deverell, pits five city buildings against each other in Building Run 2013.

Hang out on the east side on Wednesday nights with the evening activities on offer at Escape Early on Wednesdays (program) or check out the maze of mirrors run amok in Hyde Park with FIELD. The annual Sydney photo competition Sydney Lives returns, as will the outdoor show by kid photographers that annually upstages it, Little Sydney Lives. Most intriguing of all is the prospect of a dive into the history and family of real, living, local characters from locales like the Hollywood Hotel, Elizabeth St's Oceanic Cafe and Perkal Brothers shoemakers in Bread and Butter.

Bespoke Fussball tables from the 2012 Venice Biennale land in the Paddington Reservoir Gardens for Arena Calcetto Sydney and if you fancy yourself a maker, you can try making a player yourself. Check out the art by bike with the Common Wheel, mash some art and science at the Climate Innovate Symposium 2013 or pick a winner from the best ideas for our city at The Shared City - Pitch-a-This.