ARTBAR curated by Shaun Gladwell

Overview

First came the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Art After Hours series. Then the City of Sydney's Late Night Library evenings, and the cavalcade of gourmet all-hours food trucks. Now it seems Sydney has a new witching hour institution.

The MCA's response to the city's craving for grown-up late nights is ARTBAR, a slate of talks, installations, screenings and one-off performances programmed by guest curators on the last Friday of the month. The all-you-can-eat combo of drinks, DJs, live art and harbour views has proved a winning one: the nights continue to sell out. All these civilised small bars and intelligently curated nights are worlds away from the smokey, brawling pubs and tepid 7-Eleven meat pies of the old city's nightlife. Perhaps Sydney really is growing up.

ARTBAR's guest this month is muscular and meditative video artist Shaun Gladwell. Gladwell, soon to feature at the Art Gallery of NSW, has been poached for a night to occupy one night at the MCA. Expect film, music and words as this official war artist and landscape-lover takes over your Friday evening.