Art After Hours: New Romantics and Yuppies

Overview

The Art Gallery of New South Wales will be staying open after dark until the end of January, maximising access to its summer blockbuster, Pop to Popism.

Swing by before 10pm on Wednesdays and 9pm on Thursday to Saturday for the opportunity to not only take in the exhibition — a survey of pop art to which we gave a big thumb's up — but also the Pop shop and Pop twister. Dinner at Chiswick at the Gallery kicks your night up a fancy notch, and there’s even a special event combining the culinary inventiveness of Matt Moran with a talk from exhibition curator, Wayne Tunnicliffe. After all, these balmy summer nights are for cramming in as much culture as you can.

The gallery's regular Wednesday late-night event, Art After Hours, is going retro for the occasion, with a series of colourful parties organised around different decades' subcultural rivalries and soundtracked by suitably nostalgic live music. On January 28, the spotlight will be turned towards the '80s with its stage-stealing New Romantics and Yuppies. The heyday of pop music and outrageous fashion, nothing screamed look-at-me like the '80s.

Reminiscing on this loud and proud decade, Romance Was Born designer Luke Sales will be speaking about the influences that have filtered into his creative process. It was also the era that launched slick art stars like Jeff Koons, who is still going strong, and conceptual photographer Cindy Sherman. Rock up with shoulder pads and big hair to be in the running for best dressed.