The Chaser gang are getting back to their roots, with plans to publish a brand spanking new print magazine. The team behind The Hamster Wheel, Yes We Canberra, Sydney's Giant Dwarf theatre and the Make a Realistic Wish Foundation have recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to get the satirical publication off the ground, with the aim of releasing their first edition in the next couple of months. According to the group's Pozible page, The Chaser Quarterly will be a 96-page colour magazine that will address "the key problem of our time: namely — there is not enough content in the world." They're hoping to raise $50,000, money they say will be use to establish a "'tax effective' offshore corporate structure" so as to ensure the project isn't stymied "by the onerous burden of paying tax to fund Australia's hospitals, schools and roads". Truly this campaign video says it all. Right now, a $25 pledge will get you a copy of the magazine, while $50 will see it signed by the entire Chaser team. More extravagant rewards include the chance to pitch your own article for $500 (although there's no guarantee it will be published), or the opportunity to run your own full page ad for $1500 (on the condition that it "fundamentally undermine the product it is seeking to sell".) Although best known for their highbrow political satire on television, The Chaser team actually started out publishing a fortnightly newspaper that ran for six years between 1999 and 2005. Among their memorable stunts from this period was the time they published Prime Minister John Howard's home phone number on their front page. Assuming they reach their Pozible target, the first edition of The Chaser Quarterly will be published in spring 2015 and feature articles by many familiar Chaser contributors, including Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor and Craig Reucassel. In order to keep up the appearance of a successful company, head team members will be payed in Beluga Caviar, while the rest of the creatives, including writers, cartoonists, illustrators and graphic designers, will divvy up $300 between them. Pledge via Pozible and keep an eye on the Chaser Quarterly website for updates.
Melbourne-based photographer Zan Wimberley brings her latest collection of stunning works to Sydney's Artereal Gallery. The lengthily-named Who could bear to look up at the night sky and know which stars are already dead is an exploration of fireworks and similarly celebratory materials, in comparison and contrast with the stars. They are considered as a metaphor for the ephemeral — of both the individual and the universe — against the backdrop of the sensory overload facilitated by the Internet. Wimberley studied scientific photography at RMIT, before becoming a favourite employee of many Australian cinematographers. She went on to complete a Masters at Sydney College of the Arts and then shifted her focus to her own practice. So far, she's exhibited at Firstdraft and Annette Larkin Fine Art, among other galleries. Her work is regularly preoccupied with the big questions of death, eternity, mourning and loss, visiting the space between death and the absurd.
You may have already seen them around town: posters depicting a heroic, vintage-looking image of a man in a turban with the word "AUSSIE" printed across the bottom. Starting this week, Adelaide based artist and filmmaker Peter Drew will be sticking up 1000 of these posters all over Australia, beginning with 250 around Sydney alone. The poster portrays Monga Khan, an Indian hawker who lived and worked in Australia in the early 1900s. He was one of thousands of people who applied for exemptions to the White Australia Policy and was granted exemption because he was considered essential to the Australian economy. As Drew explains, "Ultimately I want to find out if 'Aussie' really means what I think it does. Did Australia inherit its identity from the people who created the White Australia Policy…. or does 'Aussie' have more to do with the people who survived it?" "Because Redfern is a diverse community and we like helping people out" thanks Jamie from @scouts_honour !🐪👌☕️ This afternoon I'm going to hit the North side, any suggestions? #MongaKhan #RealAustraliansSayWelcome A photo posted by -- Peter Drew -- (@peterdrewarts) on Apr 4, 2016 at 5:23pm PDT This campaign, dubbed What is a real Aussie?, was successfully crowdfunded in March, grossing over $19K. The funds are being used to cover printing and transportation cost, as all of the printing and distribution will be done by Drew's own hands. Drew's artistic focus on national identity began in 2015 with his first poster project, Real Australians Say Welcome, a campaign that promoted openness toward asylum seekers. Also crowdfunded by Pozible, the success of this campaign was in a big way due to public collaboration and participation, so Drew has again called for creative assistance — including any creative ideas, guidance on best spots to post, and even someone to give him a lift or neighbourhood tour. Good morning beautiful Cronulla! #MongaKhan #RealAustraliansSayWelcome A photo posted by -- Peter Drew -- (@peterdrewarts) on Apr 1, 2016 at 2:01pm PDT The project has just begun, so if you're still interested in donating or getting involved you can contact Drew directly. He'll be in Sydney for the remainder of this week so you still have a few days to get involved firsthand with this bloody great project. It's great to be back in Sydney's Western suburbs, but the truth is my first visit was a little confronting. When I first walked down the streets of Auburn I realised what it must feel like to be a minority. I'd never felt that way in Australia, but these days it doesn't feel unusual at all, especially when I meet friendly people like Bassam! I'll be on the West side all day so which suburbs should I visit? #MongaKhan #RealAustraliansSayWelcome A photo posted by -- Peter Drew -- (@peterdrewarts) on Apr 2, 2016 at 6:01pm PDT Top image: Shannon Connellan.
From children playing in the sea near Arnhem Land to an elderly man cleaning his suburban pool, Australians from all walks of life are represented in the 22 stunning images chosen as finalists in this year's Australian Life photography contests. An initiative of Art and About Sydney, the competition is the second largest photography contest in the country, with a cash prize of $10,000. The winner will be announced on September 17, while all the finalists will be on display along the St James walkway in Sydney's Hyde Park from September 18 to October 11. The judges for this year's competition are previous winner Tamara Dean, ARTHERE founder and Stills Gallery curator Sandy Edwards, Australian Centre for Photography curator and exhibition programmer Mark Feary, and interior stylist, author and lifestyle blogger Jason Grant. Organisers have also partnered with Tourism Australia for a special Instagram competition, which last year drew more than 30,000 entries. Amateur photographers can submit their entries using the hashtag #australianlife and go in the running to win $5000. The Instagram competition closes on October 1, with winners announced on October 9.
Lovers of cinema and hummus-fuelled picnics rejoice: the Moonlight Cinema program has finally arrived and it’s looking mighty good. The lineup features some of this year's biggest new Hollywood releases alongside more demure titles, family favourites and age-old classics, so you can guarantee you’ll find something that piques your interest. Let’s start with the bigwigs What better way to see the big releases of summer than outdoors on a balmy night? Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two and SPECTRE are all showing and (we’d imagine) best viewed under the stars. We’re also thrilled to see a fair whack of female-centric films in the lineup too, as well as an array of movies that cover hitherto taboo topics in the popular cinema circuit. Joy, starring everyone’s favourite human Jennifer Lawrence, follows the unconventional story of a mother of three as she builds a business empire in the '90s; Suffragette is an important historical period drama about women's fight for the vote in pre-war Britain and appropriately features a dreamy cast of unique and unapologetic women including Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter. We’ve also got The Danish Girl, featuring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, which explores the life of transgender artist Lili Elbe. Closer to home on Australia Day, we’ve got The Dressmaker, a montage of Kate Winslet looking hot and Liam Hemsworth looking filthy hot (maybe other things happen in the plot too but why would they bother?). And at the other end of the spectrum is the lighthearted comedy Sisters, featuring unstoppable duo Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. But don’t think the gentlemen miss out. The Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest Oscar bid, was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (of Birdman fame) so you can guarantee it’ll be equally beautiful, dramatic and weird. And if you miss The Martian or missed Jurassic World in cinemas, you can catch them at Moonlight sessions too. As always Moonlight Cinema will be throwing back to classics: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Top Gun, Dirty Dancing and Grease. Tickets are on sale now for the summer sessions so get booking lest you get stuck in front of Dirty Grandpa (yes, a film where you can see Robert Deniro making out with April Ludgate while Zac Efron wears a vast array of golfing sweaters — that is apparently showing too :/). Moonlight Cinema runs across Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide from December 3, Perth from December 5 and Brisbane from December 16. Tickets are on sale now from the Moonlight Cinema website.
It's the opening Sydney burger lovers have been waiting for, even if they didn't know it yet. After setting up shop in Burleigh Heads and recently branching out to Brisbane, Queensland's Ze Pickle has forged ahead with their expansion plans. Next stop: Surry Hills. Foveaux Street is your new go-to burger locale, as Ze Pickle have officially opened their first Sydney venue. Now you can lock your chops around a Pablo Escoburger (that's ground wagyu beef, cheese, guacamole, queso, smoked jalapeños, corn chips and optional pulled pork), and make trying every one of their meat and bread combos some kind of mission this season. Ze Pickle's mouthwatering menu also includes the crispy chicken and mac 'n' cheese waffle mayhem that is the 4.20AM, as well as the Triple Loco: an infamous tower of beef, cheese, bacon and pork in-between grilled cheese sandwiches. If your tastebuds aren't already trembling with excitement, a quick squiz at their Instagram feed will do the trick. Case in point: A photo posted by zepickle (@zepickle) on Jul 10, 2015 at 6:41pm PDT When it comes to Queensland's favourite greasy treats making inroads into New South Wales, Ze Pickle follows in the footsteps of Doughnut Time, which has just started opening stores around Sydney. However, that's not the only thing they have in common, with the two joining forces recently to unleash the ultimate sweet and savoury mashup. The word you're looking for? It's yum. Ze Pickle's Sydney store is open at Shop 6, 17-51 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills. For more information, head to their Facebook page.
Waking up to the smell of something delicious and fresh out of the oven is one of life's greatest little pleasures. Flour Market is the expert at giving Melbournians that fuzzy stomach feeling by curating selections of the finest bakers and pastry-makers for seasonal bake sales early on weekend mornings. Flour Market was born and raised in Melbourne, but now it's Sydney's chance to wake up to the wafts of all of the freshly baked goods lined up under the one convenient roof at Sydney Boys High. Lines have been wrapped around street corners for previous Flour Markets, and with this lineup? You'd better get there early. The likes of Andy Bowdy, Black Star Pastry, Brewtown Newtown, Brickfields, Brooklyn Boy Bagels, Flour and stone, Miss Lilly's Kitchen and Woah Nelly will be there, alongside newcomers including Alfamores, The Bread & Butter Project, DONUT PAPI and Fluffe; and extra special appearances from LuxBite, Butterbing Cookie Sandwiches and Everyday Coffee from Melbourne. Read more about the Flour Markets in our interview with mastermind Mark Free here.
The team behind Sydney Contemporary art fair will serve up seven days worth of parties, pop-ups, performances and public events, as part of their newly announced Sydney Art Week program. Running alongside the main Sydney Contemporary program at Carriageworks this September, the week-long festival within a festival will go down at various locations around the inner-city, with the aim of bringing art into the public domain. Headlining the new initiative is the Art and Dine program, wherein leading Sydney restaurants including The Apollo, Longrain, Otto and Riley St Garage will offer customers specially made, art-inspired dishes. So too will a number of Sydney bars including the QT Hotel bar be serving a bespoke 'Pink Frost' cocktail designed by 2014 Archibald Prize winner Fiona Lowry (in collaboration with a mixologist.) Other standouts in the Sydney Art Week program include a series of late night talks, films and moving image works hosted by leading Australian artists such as Tracey Moffat at QT's secret cinema, a one off culture and craft showcase presented by Redfern Night Markets, and a specially curated performance art trail that takes participants on a journey through many of Sydney's leading art hotspots. The main Sydney Contemporary Program, meanwhile, begins on Thursday September 10 with an opening night party featuring live performances from the likes of harpist Jake Meadows, soul-singer Sarsha Simone, DJ Jessica Lovelle and music collective The Alaska Orchestra. There will also be after parties held every night at venues around Redfern, including The Dock, Arcadia, 107 Projects and The Bearded Tit. Sydney Art Week runs from September 7-13 at various locations around Sydney, while Sydney Contemporary takes place from September 10-13 at Carriageworks in Redfern. For more information visit www.sydneycontemporary.com.au
Chucks: for a long time, it seemed like every second person had a pair. There have been different colors, patterns and materials, but there has never been a significant redesign of this ubiquitous shoe. Or at least there hadn't been – until now. On July 28 Converse is officially set to release the All Star II, a brand new iteration of their classic Chuck Taylor All Star. It's about time, too. As iconic as they may be, Chucks aren't historically the most comfortable shoe to actually wear. Walk any significant distance in them and your feet tend to feel like a combination of white noise and the burning sensation of the sun. Thankfully, it would appear Converse has been listening to our complaints. You won't hurt your arches with the new All Star II, which uses Nike Lunarlon cushioning to make it feel like you're walking on a fluffy cloud. The shoe will also feature a more "breathable" micro-suede lining and a padded non-slip tongue. At the end of the day though, while the guts may be different, the outside remains more or less the same. Converse is keeping the familiar rubber toe, All-Star patch and matte eyelets, albeit with a few minor enhancements. Moreover, classic Chuck-lovers don't need to worry: the All Star II isn't replacing the original. Rather, it's an addition to the family. Unlike its predecessor, there are only four colours available for the limited initial run (black, blue, red, and white). That being said, don't be surprised if Converse release more versions of this new shoe after the first run has ended.
"Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter." One Facebook post and Alicia Garza made history, a call to action that would gain traction and spark the founding of #BlackLivesMatter in the wake of the violent deaths of African Americans Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and many others. It's one of the world's most important international activist movements, campaigning against violence toward black people, and Garza will bring it front and centre at this year's Festival of Dangerous Ideas. Set to return to the Sydney Opera House over September 3 and 4 for its eighth year, FODI is bringing one of its most serious, enlightening programs yet as part of Sydney Opera House Talks & Ideas. Delivering the opening address with none other than Stan Grant, Garza leads a host of colossal thinkers and strong minds not afraid to question the problematic way things are — over 50 speakers across 24 solo sessions, 12 panels and one free workshop. This year, FODI has four major themes: 'Disappearing Countries', 'Dealing in Death', 'Disruptive Behaviour' and 'Dirty Politics'. One sure to provoke is apparently repentant author of The Game Neil Strauss in his sure-to-be-debated talk 'Cheaters, Sex Addicts and Pick-Up Artists'. UK comedian and The Young Ones legend Alexei Sayle dives into his ratbag past with 'Thatcher Made Me Laugh' — a perfect pairing for anarchists locked in for Henry Rollins' already-announced 'Blood Sport' talk about US politics. In fact, politics in Australia and abroad feature prominently in FODI's response to current 'World is fukt' times. Favourites Annabel Crabb and David Marr will pull apart the recent (and by-FODI, it'll be solved) federal election in 'The Government We Deserve?' — both have written biographies on Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten respectively, so this one's going to be a humdinger. Marr's also hosting an epic two-hour forum titled 'Can We Solve The Asylum Seeker Crisis?'. Perpetual WTF-generator and controversial commentator Andrew Bolt will lead a talk dubbed 'How Many Dangerous Ideas Can One Person Have?', so expect Twitter to be all over that one. Climate change and social justice feature prominently on this year's bill, with Canadian activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier's 'The Right To Be Cold' set to be a highlight — she sees the failure of the world to act on climate change a gross violation of Inuit human rights — and The Economist's Environment Correspondent Miranda Johnson wants fishing the high seas stopped. Arts and sport will both get their turn on the chopping block this year. Sport nuts should jump on tickets to see journalist Tracey Holmes, sports scientist Stephen Dank (yep, that guy), former Olympic swimmer Lisa Forrest, academic Jason Mazanov and former IOC boss Kevan Gosper will be deciding whether drugs in sport should be legalised. Visual artist, activist and Drawing Blood author Molly Crabapple (who designed this year's 'FODI-land' concept on the festival website) will take you from Syria to Guantanamo Bay and back to Occupy Wall Street. We Need To Talk About Kevin author Lionel Shriver wants you to break a rule a day, while author of The Magicians trilogy and TIME's book critic Lev Grossman will argue that 'There Are No Good Books'. But we haven't even scratched the surface on FODI 2016, from former Kevin Rudd staffer Jennifer Rayner standing up for millennials in 'Generation Less', to the incredibly important panel 'Not Worth Living' delving into the specific, tragic epidemic of suicide in Indigenous people. Plus, co-founder of The Maintainers Lee Vinsel wants people to stop worshipping innovation and start focusing on maintenance of technology — something we can't wait to argue with him on. Sydney Opera House Talks & Ideas team of Ann Mossop and Danielle Harvey have curated this seriously epic program, with Simon Longstaff from The Ethics Centre as curatorial adviser . The 2016 Festival of Dangerous Ideas is coming to the Sydney Opera House on September 3 and 4. Multipacks are on sale from July 11 at 9am, single tickets on July 14 from 9am, all from the FODI website — where you'll find the full FODI program alongside Molly Crabapple's web design.
Beloved short film festival Tropfest made the devastating announcement yesterday that due to mismanaged funds by the third party agency in charge of, you know, correctly managing funds, the festival has been cancelled this year. Founder and director John Polson made an (appropriately) salty statement on Facebook. “I have been made aware that the company contracted to raise the funding and administer the Tropfest event is unable to move forward for financial reasons. It is too early to tell what has actually happened here, although it is hard to avoid concluding there has been a terrible and irresponsible mismanagement of Tropfest funds.” And fair enough, as he estimates the funds mismanaged run into six figures. "It goes without saying that this announcement is the most difficult one I've made in Tropfest’s 23 year history," said Polson. "My heart goes out to this year’s 16 filmmaking finalists, to our incredible list of sponsors and partners, and of course to our loyal and beloved audience." Tropfest has been a staple in the Australia film vernacular since 1993, when it screened for an audience of 200. It's broadcast each year live to approximately 150,000 people around Australia and, despite everything, apparently received ample support this year, making the announcement even more upsetting. It’s a tangible blow to the Australian arts and filmmaking community as Tropfest was (and still is, we sincerely hope) one of the few festivals to offer sizeable prize money and valuable industry experience to the winning entrants (including a trip to Los Angeles to take meetings with film industry execs among other prizes). Can someone make a Kickstarter already so we don’t have to live in a world without Tropfest?
An upcoming exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria will bring together the realms of high fashion and high art. Celebrating the extraordinary work of Dutch designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Artists will showcase some of the luxury fashion house's most iconic haute couture pieces, as it celebrates one of the most remarkable partnerships in the world of modern fashion. Running from October 21 through to February 26, 2017, the world-first exhibition has been developed by the NGV in partnership with Viktor&Rolf, under the curatorship of international guest curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot. In addition to the more than 35 original items, the exhibition will also feature the duo's upcoming work Dolls, a collection of antique dolls dressed in some of the pair's most memorable designs. "We are extremely excited to be working in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria on this exhibition and highlighting the craftsmanship involved in creating our wearable art," said Horsting and Snoeren in a joint statement. "It is an honour for us to bring our designs to the Southern Hemisphere." Collaborating for the first time in 1992, Horsting and Snoeren have long been renowned for their boundary pushing designs and experimental runway shows. Perhaps their most memorable showing was in 2003, when they teamed up with actress Tilda Swinton (of course) along with an army of Tilda lookalikes for their One Woman Show autumn/winter collection. Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Artists opens at NGV International on October 21 this year. Tickets are on sale now at ngv.vic.gov.au/viktorrolf.
Launching something new takes a lot of gumption — not to mention legwork. Everyone's got ideas — you've probably got a few scribbled down on a napkin somewhere. But it takes a particular kind of drive and perseverance (and a bunch of cash) to turn lofty concepts into an actual, physical Thing. For this year's REMIX Sydney conference (June 2-3), Concrete Playground will be digging into the idea of launching something new, focusing on the businesses we couldn't write fast enough about — with a special curated session on 'How Long Does It Take to Become an Overnight Success?' We'll be digging into Australian success stories, brave folks who started something new. What's it like to open a soda factory in Sydney? How do you launch a brand new wine festival — on an island? We took five with three leading Sydney innovators, who'll be sitting on our REMIX panel: Kristen Francis, festival founder and director of the insanely popular Wine Island (winner of CP's Best New Event of 2015), Michael Chiem, co-founder of Sydney soda company PS Soda and its just-opened CBD factory/bar PS40 (Sydney's first of its kind), and Georgia van Tiel and Carla McMillan, co-founders of citywide gym class pass Bodypass (winner of CP's Best New Product of 2015). How did they come up with something new in this day and age? How did they get it off the ground? Take notes. [caption id="attachment_572830" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Wine Island.[/caption] Why/how did you come up with the idea for your business? Kristen: I'd been producing events for about ten years for clients, as well as my own music festival Legs 11, but as I get older I want to concentrate more on my own productions and not die wondering. The concept for Wine Island simply came about during my morning walks around Rushcutters Bay. I always noticed the pretty little island of Clark and wondered why nothing ever happened there so I started my research and two years later, it became a reality. Logistically, it's the worst idea ever, but being a bit of a dreamer… It's the best. Michael: The idea for our business actually stemmed from past experiences Thor (my business partner) had experienced in New York. He had consulted for a soda brand to be launched in Europe developing flavours and had such good feedback he decided to further expand the concept and move to Sydney to launch it here, as Sydney has such amazingly diverse produce and native ingredients. We both met in Sydney at Bulletin Place and worked so well together the relationship grew organically from there, Thor wanted to make a soda factory, I wanted to open a bar and forming them together would allow us to work sustainably reducing waste by working nose to tail across bar and soda and maximising productivity and exposure. Georgia: I was living in NYC at the time (18 months ago) and Carla reached out to me to tell me about a genius idea she had. Carla has always been a yogi and didn't really find that she liked spending all her time in one studio. Carla was often at three to four different studios in a week and often spending hundreds of dollars each week. I also, as an avid fitness fan, felt like I was one of those people that loved trying out different studios and different classes. We both love the idea of people having more fun and variety in they workouts and making sure they keep the boredom at bay (the number one killer of all fitness regimes!). At the time, there were about ten different models, similar to Bodypass, setting up in the US and I thought it would be a good idea for Carla to head over to NYC, do some research with me and see if there was a market for this sort of thing in Australia. After about two months, we thought there was a space and we felt like we had a model that would work really well in Australia. I headed back from NYC in November 2014 and we literally have not stopped since. I think we just surpassed our 2000th class! [caption id="attachment_572854" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The PS Crew (Michael's on the left).[/caption] What made your idea different from everything else out there? How did you make it stand out? Michael: The concept of a tradesman making his own tools is no new concept. For many years baristas have been roasting coffee, sommeliers making wine and beer guys making beer. It's all been done before, except for bartenders making soda (well at least to the extent we are making it). The idea stands out more as the soda factory side of our business is integrated into our little cocktail bar and we are very transparent about it all. We also take a culinary approach, not using any essences or artificial flavours. Everything is done in house, by hand, using natural and local produce. Georgia: We are not a studio, we are not instructors, we are a membership that gives ultimate flexibility, huge amounts of variety and a great opportunity to meet new people and socialise. Having a workout buddy really helps to keep your fitness goals in check and keep you going back for more, even when the sun isn't up yet or the rain is pelting down. One of our other big standouts, I believe, is that we have given Bodypass a personality. Carla and I are both fit gals but at the same time we love to enjoy life and all it has to offer. We both believe in balance and doing something because it's fun, not because you have to or you should. Bodypass is a lifestyle that Carla and I are all about and we wanted to share that with other people. Kristen: Firstly, it hadn't been done before (I guess no one else wanted to give themselves a heart attack) and secondly, we treat our festival like a mini-holiday on your doorstep with very limited numbers per session — which everyone appreciated. It's like you're experiencing the full holiday package which includes transport and welcome drinks, then a relaxing and luxurious island escape full of wine and food. We know there are quite a few wine festivals around Sydney nowadays so we also wanted to promote unique wines in a unique setting. [caption id="attachment_572881" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Bodypass (Carla on the left, Georgia on the right).[/caption] What problems did you run into while planning/building, if any? How'd you manage them? Georgia: Growing. Like any startup, funding played a huge role. Our business is a tech business and building anything like this was always going to cost a lot of money. Starting Bodypass was a balancing act between meeting new studios and signing them up and trying to get Bodypass in front of possible investors. Carla and I had a good partnership as she was more client/studio facing and I was able to work on the business set-up. This enabled us to grow and also catch the eye of Fairfax Media. Michael: So many! We should write a book on all our mistakes as a guide on what not to do when opening a business haha! Always staying positive even at the hardest moments is necessary. You can't let it get you down for too long. We were lucky enough to have a really good team behind us who were very supportive, from our designer, Thor's wife Livia from Ultra Violet, to our planner, certifier, handyman Seamus from Sea Studios, who built all the furniture. It was difficult but the end result we are thrilled by. Kristen: Well firstly, it was no, no, no from the National Parks. However, I've never been so persistent with an idea so I kept on calling until I finally got through to the person who said yes, yes, yes — it paid! Producing an event on an island is a logistical and eye-wateringly expensive exercise, so it was extremely important to be organised and try not to leave much room for error. But you know, Mother Nature has her own plans, and whilst the first festival session on Friday morning was a sparkling paradise of an image, the evening session was anything but. We pulled all the bars in so people could get under the huts and others were tucked away in caves sipping their Savs. Luckily everyone got into the spirit and there were a lot of dancing ponchos making the most of it. [caption id="attachment_572833" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Wine Island.[/caption] What was opening day/launch day like and how did you celebrate? Kristen: As mentioned above, the first day was both sides of the coin. As the second session of the first day was so wet, we sat on the ferry soaking, exhausted and celebration was a hot shower. Boring, but true. Georgia: Carla bought an amazing bottle of champagne around February, when Fairfax starting talking to us and it finally looked like we would have some financial investment. We planned on drinking that when we signed with Farifax but when you have sometimes four classes a day, having a hangover was not an option. We did however have a lot of fun when we launched to the public in June 2015. Let's just say a few classes were cancelled the following day. Michael: Opening day was a small mole hill (goal). Opening the door is great but it only begins our long journey of constantly trying to provide the best drinks we possibly can, whilst having shit tonnes of fun. We have so many goals now to tick off including bottling our final product and future collaborations and events to focus on — we're always looking forward. You can catch Kristen Francis, Michael Chiem, Georgia van Tiel and Carla McMillan speaking at REMIX Sydney from June 2-3 at Sydney Town Hall, at Concrete Playground's special curated session on 'How Long Does It Take to Become an Overnight Success?'. More info right here.
Infatuation. Jealousy. Lust. Every matter of the heart has been written about in poetry, and in Persian cultures, there's a 1000-year-old practice of courting your lover through rhythmic language. Inspired by curtain shows, intimate storytelling and epics ballads from the streets of Kabul, Tehran and Quetta, Dorr-e Dari invites audiences to turn off their dating apps and tune into the language of love with hosts Bibi Goul Mossavi, Jawad Yaqoubi and Mahdi Mohammadi. The Sydney Festival show has been created by progressive western Sydney theatre company PYT Fairfield. [caption id="attachment_795897" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Kucera[/caption] Images: Anna Kucera
Come the end of next year, you won't need to hit the beach to catch a few waves. A site near Tullamarine, around 23 kilometres outside the Melbourne CBD, is set to become the location of Australia's first ever urban surf park. Owned and operated by Perth company Wave Park Group, Urbnsurf Melbourne will boast a 320 metre long pool and employ Wavegarden technology to generate man-made waves between 0.6 and 1.9 metres high. The facility will cater to both experienced surfers and beginners, while LED lagoon lighting will ensure visitors can keep surfing after dark. Wavegarden technology is currently utilised at the Surf Snowdonia wave park in Wales, while another park is set to open in Austin, Texas later this year. In addition to the wave pool, Urbnsurf will include a licensed cafe, a surf shop, board and wetsuit rental services, surf classes, playgrounds, a rock climbing wall, skate ramps and a mountain bike course. Wave Park Group founder Andrew Ross told The Age that the park would eliminate typical marine hazards that come with surfing on the ocean, and described the facility as a kind of "driving range for surfers." Entry prices are yet to be confirmed, although Ross estimated a one-hour session would cost between $20 and $50 depending on the season. Urbnsurf Melbourne is currently slated to open in late 2017. To stay up to date, visit their website or check them out on Facebook. Via The Age. Header image via Dollar Photo Club.
First there was camping, but nature is icky and the hard ground is no Posturepedic. Then there was glamping, which is certainly a step up but still requires you to be outside with only a thin velour track pant and tasteful white canopy between you and the bugs. But now, thankfully, there's a way to get the best parts of camping (good company and fire-cooked food) without having to leave the city or wear ugly hiking shoes and unflattering shorts. Hunter and Barrel is the new dining concept hitting Sydney and Melbourne in late 2015. With a menu focused on coal-roasted meats and seasonal vegetables, big barbecued skewers, sharing boards, stews, soups, pies, and generally hearty fare, H&B will deliver the sensory experience of camping without the inconvenience of actually, y'know, camping. Think warm, hearty dishes such as slow-roasted beef rib, seafood and pork belly cooked over the restaurant's coal grill, washed down with your classic craft beer or barrel-aged wine. Although contemporary horror films have taught us to fear the foreboding idea of a remote cabin (thanks Evil Dead and Cabin in the Woods), the primal part of our psyche still longs to get back to nature. Bradley Michael, the CEO of Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group who own Hunter and Barrel, told Good Food the venue would have a “sexy camping, hunter’s cabin feel.” The décor at Hunter and Barrel, designed by ODO, will feature big rocks and rustic pipes — and your drink will be delivered by a suspended wall covered with barrels (whatever this ends up looking like). Hunter and Barrel is set to open in Cockle Bay, Sydney on October 10 and Ringwood, Melbourne on October 29. Via Good Food.
One of Sydney’s prime pieces of culinary real estate is about to come under new ownership. Three years after being placed into liquidation, the legendary Manly Pavilion looks poised to make a comeback, with a new mystery owner finalising legal documentation on the property. After Reported by Good Food, the Roads and Maritime Services announced that receiver Grant Thorton had "identified a preferred replacement tenant for the remaining term of the 25-year lease." The new owner hasn't been revealed, and GF put the rumoured sale price at $6.2 million, but we'll just sit tight for now. Early frontrunners for the site Cafe Sydney apparently pulled out of the race before tenders were lodged, and Merivale's Justin Hemmes himself had reportedly shown interest in the Manly Pavilion. The newfound interest in the site makes sense given Sydney’s enduring love of waterside dining, which was recently driven home by the success of the Coogee Pavilion. The brainchild of Hemmes and the Merivale hospitality group, the three-storey beachfront location includes a restaurant, a coffee spot and a rooftop bar with panoramic views. Since its 2014 opening, the site has quickly become one of Coogee’s premiere hotspots, and could easily serve as inspiration for what might be in store for Manly. In its heyday, Manly Pavilion was considered one of Sydney’s finest restaurants, winning a Michelin Star as well as the 2011 Best Restaurant Award from the SMH Good Food Guide. Its demise was one of several in the city’s high-end restaurant world, with closures attributed to changing tastes and tighter economic conditions. At the time it shut down, Manly Pavilion's owners were more than $590,000 in debt. Interest has swirled around the location for some time now, although forward momentum has been stifled by a number of issues, including the death of one of the owners and concerns over a nearby colony of penguins. Via Good Food. By Tom Clift and Shannon Connellan.
You've seen plenty of Cate Blanchett on movie screens and stages around Australia, but now you'll be able to watch the Academy Award winner in Australia's art galleries too. Starring in German artist Julian Rosefeldt’s latest video piece, Blanchett is set to be the face of Manifesto, seeing its world premiere at the Australian Centre For the Moving Image on Wednesday, December 9 before heading to Sydney's Art Gallery of New South Wales. Manifesto is a series of powerful monologues, performed by Blanchett and screened via thirteen channels. Each monologue is a manifesto about art. Collectively, the speeches explore many of the ‘isms’ that have shaped art history, from Futurism and Dadaism to the Fluxus Movement, Situationism and Dogma 95. Rosefeldt pieced them together from the writings of numerous artists, architects, dancers and filmmakers, including Claes Oldenburg, Yvonne Rainer, Kazimir Malevich, André Breton, Elaine Sturtevant, Sol LeWitt and Jim Jarmusch. He then had Cate deliver them from the mouths of unusual characters and in unexpected spaces. Manifesto will show at ACMI until March 2016, before moving to the AGNSW, where it will screen from 28 May until 13 November. ACMI commissioned the work in conjunction with AGNSW, Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin and Sprengel Museum, Hannover.
Each year, Sydney says a big screw you to its regular programming and turns things up to 11 for Vivid Sydney. That counts for extra gigs at the Opera House, parties at galleries and talks at various institutions, but it also gives the city the opportunity to turn on every bright light it can get its hands on. And the result is always impressive. This year is no exception, of course — this thing just keeps getting bigger in size. More areas of the city are lit up this year than ever before, with the trail stretching from Kings Cross to Barangaroo and over the Bridge to Luna Park and Chatswood. There's a lot of ground to cover and — as has been noted during the opening weekend — a lot of crowds. So put on your walking shoes and your most patient face, because here's what's happening at each precinct every night until June 16. Lights come on at 6pm (5.30pm at Taronga and Chatswood) and turn off at 11pm. KINGS CROSS Yes, the Vivid lights extend to Kings Cross — and it's a pretty ideal place to start your Vivid light walk. After you've had a quick food stop, you can tick off a few of the area's installations before making your way down to the Royal Botanic Garden. The iconic Coke sign will have special programming throughout the festival, and the El Alamein Memorial Fountain and the surrounding Fitzroy Gardens will be lit up in commemoration of Australian soldiers that have fought on behalf of the country. If you wander around the gardens, you'll be able to uncover 14 virtual 'sculptures' with your phone a la Pokemon Go. ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN The city's oldest green space is has been transformed into a lit-up wonderland, playing host to a bigger Vivid set-up than ever before. This year, it features 16 captivating installations and — for the first time ever — a swirling, illuminated facade for Government House. Peppered throughout the site is a colourful assortment of characters, from giant plant species and moving forests to exotic birds. And you can expect plenty of food and drink options to fuel your after-dark adventures, including fruity cocktails served in light bulb-shaped glasses from two bars, a series of performance-filled Enlightenment Feasts, and sweet treats a cupcake ATM (yes, a cupcake ATM). Take a stroll along the swirling, light-up pathways of the interactive Aqueous installation, as it morphs into a variety of shapes. In the background here, you'll cop a glimpse of Government House, lit up with a colourful montage of Aussie animals and iconic destinations that's been created by TAFE NSW students. Meanwhile, artists Adrienn Lord, Richard Neville and Nick Sheen have used over 40,000 individually-controlled RGB pixels to create a forest of spiralling, colour-changing trees. CIRCULAR QUAY The centrepiece of Circular Quay this year is Customs House — every night it is being illuminated with a delightful animation of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. The projection celebrates the 100th anniversary of May Gibbs's little gumnuts and it's worth watching in full if you can get an unobstructed view. If you're more into lasers than gumnut babies, you can instead avert your eyes to the 40 lasers shooting out around the Harbour as part of Skylark. The lasers are placed on Bradfield's Beacon on top of the Harbour Bridge, as well as above the Overseas Passenger Terminal and the Bennelong Apartments, and form part of a show every half an hour. You can help create it over on Pier 8, but it's bound to be a jostle to get in the driver's seat. THE ROCKS After you've conquered the crowds at Circular Quay, join the flow of people being herded towards the MCA (you may need to be patient — lots of punters complained of bottlenecks during the opening weekend). Gaze up at the MCA's Virtual Vibration projection as you crawl past, then wind your way around the many installations in The Rocks. Seek out the illuminated canopy of 1000 paper cranes, a glowing puffer fish named Fugu and a sneak peek of Bangarra's latest work Dark Emu, which will be projected onto the bridge's southern pylon. Time your visit with the The Rocks' Friday and Saturday night markets to feed your tum and your eyes. BARANGAROO AND DARLING HARBOUR Yep, that's a giant puppet, and it'll be moving around on the Barangaroo esplanade every night of Vivid. The six-metre-tall figure is named Marri Dyin and pays tribute to the Indigenous women who once called the Harbour their home (including Barangaroo herself) and is part of The Liminal Hour installation along Wulugul Walk. On the other side of Darling Harbour, the Powerhouse will be lit up with images of Blue Planet II, which coincides with James Cameron's Challenging the Deep. If you need a drink at this point, we recommend popping into Banksii on the esplanade or Barangaroo House for views over everything. LUNA PARK Over the bridge, Luna Park is lit up even more than usual — for the first time ever, the amusement park is a Vivid light precinct. Most notable is the Ferris wheel — it's scored 3000 new LED lights especially for the occasion, and it looks pretty spectacular regardless of what side of the harbour you're looking at it from. TARONGA ZOO As the zoo continues its mission to raise awareness and support for endangered species in Australia and Sumatra, this year's Lights Of The Wild gives zoo visitors the opportunity wander the harbourside site after dark, encountering everything from multi-coloured elephants to schools of fish along the way. This year's event incorporates 19 new installations and three revamped ones, including ten 3D transformations of drawings submitted by local school children. The light show begins from the moment you hit the zoo's entrance, stepping through the mouth of this two-storey-high Port Jackson shark and takes in giant gorillas, bees and crocs. This is the only light show that is ticketed — you can buy tickets to the nightly 5.30pm, 6.30pm, 7.30pm sessions here. [caption id="attachment_670144" align="alignnone" width="3500"] Steve Christo[/caption] CHATSWOOD Even if you don't live on the lower north shore, this year's Vivid installation at Chatswood Interchange is worth a visit. The Light Market is running each night of the festival, bringing some of Sydney's best food to the north, including Mary's burgers, cakes from Black Star Pastry, Agape Organic's hearty dishes, and some scoops of gelato from Enmore's Cow & the Moon. You'll can tuck into these morsels while taking in the Interchange's big floating screen, which is this year taking on the theme of under the sea. There's a big jellyfish, too, and the whole thing is mostly powered by Willoughby Council's solar farm. Images: Destination NSW.
You probably think that James Bond hails from Scotland. But that's where you'd be wrong. As a matter of fact, the world's greatest secret agent actually grew up in rural NSW. Forget about Connery, Brosnan and Craig. To the people of Goulburn, the name Bond is synonymous with hometown hero George Lazenby — and now they're hosting a festival in his honour. Kicking off today and stretching on into the weekend, Spyfest Goulburn is a festival dedicated to the world of international espionage, running September 25-26. There'll be parades, parties and a city-wide game of I Spy, capped off by an appearance by Lazenby himself, who grew up in Goulburn before shooting to (short-lived) stardom as the second man to portray the world's most famous big screen spy. Event organisers will host several free screenings of Lazenby's sole Bond adventure, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, over the course of the weekend. Other events include a Secret Agents Gala Dinner featuring the music of the great Shirley Bassey, and a Shagadelic Disco inspired by MI6's other international man of mystery. Naturally, costumes are highly encouraged. Several local businesses will also be getting into the spirit of the festival by temporarily changing their names, including one chemist who has gone with the inspired new moniker 'Licensed to Pill'. We're pretty sure 007 would approve of the pun — at least Roger Moore would. For more information about Spyfest Goulburn, visit the festival website. Via ABC News.
One of you is about to experience the luck of the Irish. Thanks to Jameson and The Rewriters, one extremely fortunate Concrete Playground reader (and their even more fortunate mate) will get the chance to channel a little 'Sine Metu' and travel to Ireland. In addition to two return flights departing from your choice of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, this epic giveaway comes with five night's accommodation and $500 spending money you can use to paint the Emerald Isle red. Explore Irish history (all the way back to the Celtics and Vikings) in the National Museum, pay a visit to Dublin Zoo, or take a road trip out into the insanely beautiful Irish countryside. Recommended holiday read: James Joyce. Heck, you might just want to join a traditional music session in the pub — where no one will snigger at your mad tin whistle skills. Or take yourself on a foodie tour of the city — inhaling flaky Irish pork sausage rolls, warming Irish coffees, local cheddar-stuffed blaa rolls, Irish sea salt ice cream, and everything (everything) with hearty soda bread. Of course, Dublin's a Mecca for whiskey lovers. You'll be taken on a VIP tour of the historic Old Jameson Distillery, a must-do for any self-respecting whiskey diehard. And of course, there'll be tastings. Share this around to your crew and get everyone to enter — throw every possible chance in the hat and hope the sprites are kind. Entries are now closed. Stay tuned to your inbox, winners are announced Friday 17th June, 2016. Image: Giuseppe Milo.
Hitting New Zealand for the weekend isn't as much of a faraway adventure as it seems — the flight's just over three hours from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. That's almost similar to visiting Canberra or Byron, and there's better wine at the end. And if you're looking for a holiday that ticks multiple boxes, Nelson is a strong choice. An easy 35 minute flight from Wellington, Nelson is one of New Zealand's genuine all-rounders, with a bustling city centre, beautiful breezy seaside and those iconic misty mountains. Outdoorsy types can head for the Abel Tasman National Park, art lovers can find multi-million dollar collections and local galleries in one place, and if you're an enthusiast in the food and wine game, you'll have a hard time leaving. Take Friday off and spend 72 hours in one of New Zealand's most creative cities — heck, check out our Weekender's Guide to Wellington and make a double header of it. EAT/DRINK If you're a wine lover, you'd better get yourself to Nelson quicksmart. There are no less than 28 wineries in the region, all nestled amongst the kind of insanely beautiful rolling hills you'd expect in a world class NZ wine region. Take an easy drive out to Mahana, formerly Woollaston Estates, one of the region's best organic wineries with one of the prettiest cellar doors in the country. Run by vagabond winemaker Michael Glover, Mahana isn't your textbook winery — and they've got the next-level contemporary art collection to prove it. Sculptures, paintings and installations from countless famed Nelson artists are dotted through the cellar door and grounds. Come hungry, because Mahana boasts one of the best restaurants in the region, run by executive chef Alistair Forster. Picture yourself hoeing into a Mahana Riesling poached pear tart with pesto popcorn on the patio overlooking the vineyard across to Tasman Bay and the Southern Alps. Classic Instagram fodder. Got a hankering for good ol' fish and chips? Let's take a little drive to Mapua, a gorgeous little seaside town where a cluster of local businesses draw quite the weekend crowd. Visit The Smokehouse for award-winning fish and chips, taste crisp craft beer from brewpub Golden Bear Brewery, have a hearty lunch at longtime Nelson favourite The Apple Shed, and stock up on local artisan cheese, meats and other yummo things at KETE deli. Back in town, Nelson's got some serious restaurant game. If you're looking for the one restaurant everyone Instagrams, head for The Boatshed, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. After more hearty New Zealand seafood fare? Head for the Cod & Lobster on Trafalgar Street in town. Established by Nelson couple Nick and Kymberley Widley in 2015, this multi-storey brasserie focuses on fresh regional produce with a daily changing menu. DO Saturday mornings in Nelson mean markets. Pay a visit to the Nelson Market, a bustling smorgasbord of local food, art, sculpture, jewellery, design and fresh, regional, seasonal and organic produce over 200 stalls. It's the perfect place to get a handle of Nelson's local food scene, as you'll find a lot of these products on menus and in stores across the city. Be sure to pick up a jar of Pic's peanut butter from the stall — America wishes this product was closer. Head into a rather unassuming jewellery shop on the edge of the town centre, on a quest to find the One Ring to rule them all. Jens Hansen gold and silversmith has been a Nelson treasure for decades, then Peter Jackson tasked them with making the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings and they quickly became a hallowed stop on the LOTR fan crawl. The gold and silversmith made around 40 rings for the production, including a giant ring for close-ups. They sadly didn't get one ring back from the LOTR crew (come on, Jackson) but still sell at least one a day — you can watch on their website. [caption id="attachment_576573" align="alignnone" width="1280"] RED Gallery.[/caption] If you're an art and design lover, Nelson's got plenty for you. There are over 200 working artists in the city, from modernist ceramicists to abstract expressionist painters. Time your visit with the Nelson Arts Festival, Nelson Fringe Festival or make a trip to the World of WearableArt and Classic Cars Museum — the annual Wearable Art Awards began near Nelson after all. Drop into RED Gallery on Bridge Street, run by Caroline Marshall and Sarah Sharp, for a coffee and a peruse of the region's best local art and design — perfect for non-tacky-fridge-magnet souvenirs. Outdoorsy types will have trouble fitting everything on a trip to Nelson. Surrounded by insanely beautiful mountains, lakes, forests and meadows, Nelson has all your mountain biking, kayaking, paddleboarding, surfing etc. etc. needs covered in one epic spot. If you're a camper or hiker, you probably already know the name Abel Tasman National Park, but if you haven't, consider this one for the bucket list. Sitting just an hour and 20 minute drive from Nelson, the park is a heaving natural cornucopia of activities, from overnight hikes to paddleboarding day trips, kayaking adventures to easy breezy picnic spots. If you don't have enough time to get to the park, you can always go paddleboarding right in Nelson or easy bike riding from Mapua (above). [caption id="attachment_576577" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Mahana Villa.[/caption] STAY Whether you're after a stunning seaside B&B by the bay, a cosy Coventry cottage, or an easy motel/motor lodge, Nelson's home to a host of accommodation to suit all budgets. We snuggled into our own little lodge at the Grand Mecure Nelson Monaco Apartments, which is like a little English village on the outskirts of town. If you're the type who likes to curl up beside your own personal fireplace watching a terrible late night movie with a big cuppa, this place is for you. Looking for a truly local, luxurious stay? Nelson has a handful of genuinely stunning B&Bs worth spending a little more on. There's Te Puna Wai Lodge, and The Wheelhouse Inn and Captain's Quarters, but we'd pick Wakefield Quay House, run by larger-than-life pair Woodi and Johnny. They were married at the Nelson lighthouse, so can spin you quite a few yarns about the area. Woodi's one of the biggest characters around; she'll sit you down for a wine, some local cheese and ocean trout and while the sunset away with fantastically woven tales. If you're a high roller and you're looking to stay in something worth more than your HECS debt ten times over? Mahana Villa. To put this place's importance in context, Charles and Camilla had this place on their itinerary for Nelson. It's an epic Pacific modernist palace sitting at the apex of the 25 hectare Mahana Vineyard, with four private ensuite rooms in the owner's house and two in the Loft. But the real drawcard of the villa? It's home to a multi-million dollar art collection that we can't believe you're allowed to bunk in with. Seriously, you'll be hanging out with some of the country's most impressive modern art while you're watching TV, cooking or doing yoga on the balcony. Just don't touch anything. LET'S DO THIS, HOW DO I GET THERE? Flights to Wellington from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are super short — around 3.5 hours on average. Jetstar have just launched a direct route from Melbourne to Wellington (from $159) and Queenslanders can fly direct from the Gold Coast (from $169). Air New Zealand fly direct from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Wellington (from $297). From Wellington, flights to Nelson from on Jetstar and Air Nelson can go for as little as $55 (or there are indirect flights from Melbourne or the Gold Coast from around $170), just check the website for some sweet cheap deals. Shannon Connellan travelled as a guest of Nelson Tourism. All images SC unless otherwise specified. Want to make it a week? Check out our Weekender's Guide to Wellington and make a real NZ holiday of it.
Cold and dark and gloomy, winters in Hobart aren't exactly the most attractive proposition. Or at least they weren't until the birth of Dark Mofo. Presented by the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), for the past few years this immersive arts festival has disturbed and dazzled locals and mainlanders alike with a mix of music, performances, installations, light and sound works, and art that simply defies categorisation. And from the looks of things, 2017 will be no exception. Dark Mofo's 2017 lineup is an expectedly weird and wondrous beast, featuring all manner of artists from around Tasmania, Australia and the world. Creative director Leigh Carmichael has called the program their "most ambitious yet", while pointing to a number of works — including iy_project 136.1 Hz, a large-scale laser work by the UK's Chris Levine, and Siren Song, a city-wide audio piece involving a range of female artists — as highlights sure to keep "the audience, the organisers, and some of the authorities enthralled." [caption id="attachment_616924" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Carmichael also draws attention to 150.Action, from Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch. The dark, disturbing performance piece involves an orchestra and around 500 litres of blood, and is sure to be one of the standouts of the final weekend. "This work will be extremely confronting and challenging, but we would encourage our audience to embrace the opportunity to witness the intensity of the ritual, in this one-off exclusive performance, unlikely to ever happen in Australia again," said Carmichael. Then there's Crossing, a 200-kilometre pilgrimage down the Midlands Highway, which will take participants on a pilgrimage to six different churches over six consecutive nights. They'll experience a mix of light, sound and video art along with organ and theremin performances from Melbourne's Miles Brown. [caption id="attachment_616925" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Image: Antony Crook. Courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Of course it should go without saying that this is just the tip of the iceberg. This year's enormous music lineup features the likes of Scottish art-rock legends Mogwai, indigenous hip-hop act A.B. Original, and Norwegian black metal pioneers Ulver in concert with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. There'll also be an industrial-scale transcendental rave at Hobart City Hall presented by the Red Bull Music Academy. MONA, meanwhile, will use Dark Mofo as a platform to unveil its latest exhibition, The Museum of Everything, described by its curators as "an astonishing assortment of artworks from the world's first and only wandering institution for the untrained, unintentional, undiscovered and unclassifiable artists of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries." The exhibition will have its grand opening on the first Saturday of the festival, and will be on display at MONA until early April 2018. Then there are the Dark Mofo staples. The annual Winter Feast will once again feed all comers, while Dark Mofo Films will feature a selection of big screen curios new and old. And who'd want to miss the annual Nude Solstice Swim, a communal dip in the ocean at sunrise the day after the longest night of the year? Just remember, winter in Hobart can be pretty bloody cold. Dark Mofo runs from June 8-21. For more information and tickets visit .darkmofo.net.au. Top image: MONA/Rémi Chauvin, 2014. Courtesy MONA Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
When it came to putting together a live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, director Jon Favreau must've found himself thinking about the bare necessities. We don't just mean the catchy song that helped make the major Disney version such an enduring hit, though the tune does feature again this time around. In trying to bring the story's wilderness setting and talking animals to life, the actor-turned-filmmaker had to consider which aspects were essential. Would it be killer special effects? An all-star voice cast? A fresh new talent to play the film's only human role? Capturing a sense of movie magic? Yes, no doubt they all crossed his mind as he prepared to tackle the tale of man-cub Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), his jungle upbringing and the creatures — wise panther Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley), hypnotic snake Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), honey-loving bear Baloo (Bill Murray), giant primate King Louie (Christopher Walken) and fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) — he encounters. Indeed, the proof is in the enchanting end product, which blends both the book the animated film people know and love into a photo-realistic, live action package in the best way possible. So just how did the man that partied with Vince Vaughn in Swingers, kickstarted the current superhero cinema craze by directing Iron Man and made everyone crave Cuban sandwiches in Chef approach such an ambitious project? With Favreau in Australia recently to promote The Jungle Book, we took the opportunity to ask him about making talking animals look real, tracking down Bill Murray, getting advice from the kitchen and more. ON ADAPTING (AND PAYING TRIBUTE TO) SUCH A BELOVED STORY "I think you have to capture the spirit of the animated film, but if you're doing it in a photo-real way — which is what we set out to do — making it a G-rated kids movie probably wasn't going to work for us. So we felt that doing a PG-rated movie that skewed a little bit older and appealed more to adults as well as kids was not that big of a leap. We did try to include music and characters and tone, and cast it in a way that felt like it was related to the older film. And it's always tricky as a director when you're trying to balance tone. Because not only were we influenced by the '67 animated Disney film, but we're also influenced by the stories written by Rudyard Kipling that were quite a bit darker and scarier and more adventurous. So we tried to combine those things and pay homage to all the influences." ON CREATING A GRAND CINEMATIC ILLUSION "There was an opportunity here to do something really exciting and fresh and new that would surprise children and adults alike, because we're using technology that has never been used before. And people who see this are very hard-pressed to figure out what's been generated by computers and what's real. And there's very little real at all. It's very hard to wrap your head around it when you see it. I think nowadays, honestly, there's so much competition on television, on the internet, on cable. There's so much good programming and so much good content out there that if you want to ask people to go to the movie theatre and spend their money and sit with 3D glasses on, you'd better give them an experience that they can't get anywhere else. And that was the appeal here. It's like being a magician coming up with a magic trick. You really want to create a grand illusion. There's nothing like the big screen and 3D to do that. So there's a lot of techniques that I combined in a way that really hadn't been done before. I borrowed a lot of the technology from Avatar when it comes to motion capture, and building out the characters and the world. I also studied pretty closely how they did Gravity and how they put those live action characters into this computer-generated environment." ON CREATING 'REAL' ANIMALS (AND TAKING CUES FROM AN AUSTRALIAN TALKING PIG) "So much of the planning is so technical. But at the end of the day, after you plan how the magic trick is done and you figure out what elements you need to deliver to be able to convincingly fool the audience that they're looking at something real, then you have to wind it back and make sure you infuse it with character and emotion — and in some cases music — and make it feel effortless and invisible. Because the real reward here is that you show people a movie that's very tech-heavy, that's completely synthetic, but yet they feel like they're looking at real animals in a real jungle and feeling real emotion for real characters. And that's always tricky. Some movies do it well. Although here, over ten years ago, Babe did a great job with relatively low-tech effects. So it shows that if you have a good filmmaker and a good story, that does half your work for you." ON GETTING HIS DREAM CAST (AND GETTING HOLD OF BILL MURRAY) "This is a dream cast for me — I didn't think I would get them all. I didn't think I would even get access to Bill Murray, who is notoriously difficult to get a hold of. He doesn't have an agent so you can't get to him through the normal channels. So through writing letters and leaving messages and sending artwork I finally got a call back from him, and that was a one of the great victories in this process. I would've had to change the character [of Baloo] if it was someone else." ON HOW WORKING WITH CHEFS PREPARED HIM FOR THE JUNGLE BOOK "I think the best preparation was actually the training I did with the chefs [on Chef]. Because I had to learn how to cook and I worked with the chefs on the film, and they're very good at overseeing other chefs. A big part of their culture is you have a head chef but then there's other chefs who are also very talented and well-trained and want to present a vision. And part of being an executive chef is bringing together all of those talented people and having them work towards the same goal — and overseeing all the artists and overseeing the vision of all these technical people was a big part of The Jungle Book. Two thousand people worked on this movie. And sometimes one person is working on a shot and another person is working on another shot that are going to be right next to each other, but they don't really reference each other's work until it all lays into the film. I had to stand over the whole process and make sure it was all consistent and fits together in an invisible way. Chefs are very good at keeping consistency in their restaurants from dish to dish and from night to night, and watching how they oversaw and inspired and maintained quality control over the process was quite inspiring and informative for what I do as a director." The Jungle Book is currently screening in Australian cinemas. Read our full review.
Some of Australia's best bar teams will go head-to-head to nab mad bragging rights, an epic photo shoot and a huge trip to Glasgow this winter, with the announcement of the 12 finalists for Auchentoshan's national Distilled Different competition. Each bar team was invited to conjure up a unique new cocktail incorporating Auchentoshan American Oak for the competition, with entries open since April 2016. Why'd they all do it? Oh, just a cheeky chance at winning a casual a trip to Glasgow, home of Auchentoshan — the only triple distilled Scottish single malt whisky in the world. Triple distilled, people. Before the winner is crowned, all 12 bar teams will find their talented faces featured in a national exhibition, Dare to be Distilled Different, with their submitted cocktail entry. So who's in the top 12? AUCHENTOSHAN DISTILLED DIFFERENT 2016 AUSTRALIAN FINALISTS: Della Hyde (NSW) Donny's Bar (NSW) Stitch Bar (NSW) Doris and Beryl's Bridge Club and Tea House (NSW) Ramblin' Rascal Tavern (NSW) Eau de Vie Sydney (NSW) Kittyhawk (NSW) Highlander Bar (VIC) 1806 (VIC) The Gresham (QLD) Mr Goodbar (SA) Dominion League (WA) Here's a little sneak peek at the concotions that made the cut: Flight of Fancy // Auchentoshan American Oak, Fortified Sour Grapefruit, Honeyed Walnut Syrup, Salted Apricot and Goats Cheese Bitters, Orange Blossom Egg White // #DistilledDifferentAU A photo posted by Kittyhawk (@kittyhawksyd) on Jul 19, 2016 at 11:25pm PDT • The Shake & Bake • 🍰 Auchentoshan American Oak, Cacao, spiced berry patisserie syrup & lemon. This bad boy goes live tomorrow at Della Hyde. See you at the bar 👌🏼 #distilleddifferentau #auchentoshan #americanoak #dellahyde #cocktails #darlinghurst #theexchange #liquiddessert #stopit A photo posted by Lachlan Sturrock (@lachysturrock) on Jul 20, 2016 at 12:22am PDT Late night creations! Our #hot #whisky #cocktail the #OakenToastan is perfect for this freezing #winter night in #melbourne! Made with #auchentoshan #americanoak! #distilleddifferentau A photo posted by Highlander (@highlanderbar) on Jul 12, 2016 at 7:35am PDT The team's been hard at work preparing our new cocktail list, and we're almost ready to let the cat out of the bag. Here's a little teaser for you to get your tastebuds ready: #Auchentoshan American Oak, Pineau Charente, honeycomb & rose vermouth with tannic acid and walnut. #DistilledDifferentAU #whisky #cocktails #darlinghurst #drinkporn A photo posted by Eau De Vie Sydney (@eaudeviebar) on Jul 19, 2016 at 11:34pm PDT Our Gordon Hunter created for the national Auchentoshan competition..! #DistilledDifferentAU #cocktails #cocktailporn #drinks #bar #auchentoshan @theauchentoshan #whiskey #picoftheday #instagood #honey #good #manly #AU @the_blend #mixology #donnysbar #manly A photo posted by Donny's Bar & Restaurant (@donnysbar) on Jul 11, 2016 at 8:16pm PDT Introducing the swing low(land) 🍸Auchentoshan American oak, fig and allspice syrup with pear. Our entry into the Auchentoshan distill different cocktail competition. #distilleddifferentau #auchentoshan #mrgoodbar #agoodplacetosin A photo posted by Kate O'Donnell (@kateivyo) on Jun 30, 2016 at 7:31am PDT
It's not often that an art exhibition also offers you the option of grabbing a haircut, but upcoming show Garage Barbershop is offering exactly that. Head down to Blacktown Arts Centre between May 11 and June 3 and you'll not only see a collection of portraits by international fashion photographer Harold David alongside music and candid video interviews with men from Western Sydney, on Thursdays you can actually get a cut, fade or shave with Charles Lomu at his pop-up barbershop. David's portraits, shot in a Blacktown garage, capture the experience of men getting a haircut from Lomu and his five apprentices ('The Original Five'), exploring not only the act of the haircut itself but how the space provides young men in the community an opportunity for mentoring, bonding and conversation without feeling judged or out of place. Just a heads up — if you want a barbershop appointment you'll need to book ahead here. Image: Harold David, The Barbershop (2017).
When was the last time you lay down to listen to an organ performance? For many people, that's never. Sound artist Robert Curgenven will be dusting off the historic organ at Sydney Town Hall to bring you that experience for Sydney Festival. Disregard any ideas of a stuffy, traditional music recital — this will be comforting and transportive. Take one of the cushioned mats and close your eyes to fully appreciate the sonic textures of Bronze Lands (Tailte Cré-Umha in Irish). Open your eyes to appreciate the majesty of the physical and architectural space filled with light and restful bodies.
Set in the eclectic milieu of the metropolis, the performers of Cirque Eloize mix modern and contemporary dance, circus trickery and a blend of curated multimedia. The 15 different performers specialise in 12 different disciplines, and these combine to create a celebration of the unique creatures that live side by side. Director Jeannot Painchaud has taken the show all around the world, where the song remains the same — the ideas put forth by the Canadian circus troupe resonate around the global centres of multiculturalism. A new type of Big Top experience with bells and whistles in tow, this is one circus act worth checking out. This is one of 15 next-level events to see at Sydney Festival. Check out the whole list. The Emporium and El-Phoenician are offering dining packages with this event. See here for details.
Nightcrawler glides through the streets of Los Angeles, following the efforts of a young man doing whatever he can to make a living. Trying to survive and thrive, Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) warms to a career as a freelance cameraman. He stalks the Los Angeles streets by night to find and film humanity at its worst, all for television news consumption — and maybe gets a little too good at his new profession. Nightcrawler also brings two familiar creative forces together, but in a new fashion. For writer/director Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler marks his first helming effort after more than two decades writing screenplays for the likes of The Bourne Legacy, Two for the Money, The Fall, and Real Steel, among others. For star Jake Gyllenhaal, his leading man looks are whittled down to a lean, mean figure of determination and desperation. Their combination results in what's widely regarded as one of the best films of the year — and certain highlights of both of their careers. We chat to Gilroy about collaborating with Gyllenhaal, creating such a distinctive character, and telling this dark, cynical and twisted tale of modern life. How did Jake Gyllenhaal come to be involved in the film as an actor and a producer? Jake's agent read the script. Jake responded to the script. I flew to Atlanta when he was doing Prisoners. We had a four-hour dinner, and we had just an instant creative spark. If I was going to distil it down, Jake very much wanted to rehearse and be a collaborator, and I very much wanted to collaborate with Jake. He never changed a word of the script, but what we did do is, we rehearsed for months before we started to shoot. We would discuss the script, the scenes, the character. We would then start to rehearse the scenes themselves, trying them different ways — "what if the character was this? What if the character was that?" And was Jake's physical transformation part of that? During the process, Jake came up with a number of very crucial components. One was that it was his idea to lose the weight. He was thinking about a coyote, which you see at night in Los Angeles. They're very hungry and lean looking creatures, and Jake used that as a sort of symbol animal for himself. So it was Jake's idea to lose like 26, 27 pounds, and it utterly transformed him. It was a very bold decision. Very difficult to keep that weight off, and it changed him physically, but it also gave him a tremendous odd energy in the film. I feel like he just wants to consume everything around him — and it's not just food. I feel like he wants to consume ideas and people and anything he can get his hands on. It is a very scary energy that it adds to the character, and to the movie. It was Jake's idea to put his hair up in a bun any time he does something larcenous. These are the small things. Jake and I worked as creative collaborators on this film in every way. Let's talk about Lou Bloom. He's such a distinctive character. Where did Lou Bloom as a creation come from? I have tremendous empathy for tens of millions of young people around the world who are looking for work, and being offered internships and wages that you can't sustain yourself on. So I was very interested in a younger man who was desperate for work. That was the doorway that I came through for the character, which is why at the beginning of the film, he is truly desperate for work. I took that desperation and started to play around with it, and use it as an inner force that has driven this character over the bend in terms of what he was willing to do and not to. And that was pathway to lead me into the character. Looking at the film more broadly, what inspired the story? There's many components — the media, at face value, as well as questions of ethics and the complicit nature of the audience in consuming news stories, and also the current state of the American economy, trying to chase the American dream... Well, the story on its largest level, I wanted to do an entertaining, engaging story, so obviously there's suspense and there's uncertainty and there's drama. So all those things I knew were going to be the things that were at the top of my list when crafting the story. As I started getting into the story, it started to become personal on the level that you just talked about. Which is, I feel that the world I am seeing right now, that I am living in right now in Los Angeles, and I guess the United States, and probably globally in some degree, is one where everything has been reduced to transactions. It seems like the bottom line is driving everything, that capitalism — and I'm not advocating any other system other than capitalism, because I don't know if there is anything better — but capitalism seems to be becoming hyper-capitalism, and it is forcing people to do things in the workplace that I don't think is healthy and I don't think they would normally be inclined to do if they weren't being forced to do it. I saw in Jake's character the opportunity to create an employer who has started a business and very much embodies that principle — that because of the landscape and the lack of work for people, he can pretty much get people to do whatever he wants to each other. The film is set in Los Angeles, showing a side of LA we don't often see. How did the location shape the film? Could it have been set and made anywhere else? Well, the location shaped the film in the sense that Robert Elswit, the cinematographer and I, were trying to show the Los Angeles you don't normally see. Los Angeles is usually a very urban environment with cement and buildings. Los Angeles for me is a place with much more of a wild, untamed energy. It is place of mountains, ocean and desert. So we were looking for locations where civilisations met a national park, as in literally. Or we were up on top of a hill looking down, on top of almost a mountain, looking down where you could see forever. We were trying to show a large, sprawling landscape that was physically beautiful — that really was as untouched by man as it tamed by man. And that the character of Lou is like a coyote moving through this nighttime environment of this wilderness. The sense of tension is unrelenting — not just in the action scenes, with cars racing along the street, but in all of Lou's conversations. How did you maintain that sense of pressure throughout? The pressure, in many ways, came from the script. The script is designed that way. He is an unsettling character. He is a character who has all these touchstone qualities of humanity — he wants a job, he wants a relationship. He is earnest, he is polite, he is respectful. But at the same time, he is utterly unhinged, and because we shot so close to him, and we would always keep him in frame, and because the score was always going counterpoint, I think the tension is an inner tension of "why am I so emotionally involved in this character?" Or "why are they making me pay attention for this guy? Why am I rooting for him at times when I know I shouldn't be rooting for him?" And I think there's a subconscious energy that starts to build up, a disquieting energy of tension. Questions of "where is it going?" and "why do I like him?", which was as much a design of the script as anything. Given that Nightcrawler falls into a number of genres, were there films that inspired you in writing and making it? The films that inspired me more weren't so much journalism films, but films where the hero was also the antihero. Where you could take a character who was your hero and your villain at the same time. One of them was Scorsese's The King of Comedy. And another one is actually Nicole Kidman in To Die For. I loved that film, and I thought she did a great job. I love the idea that she is so perky and personable, and she is a complete murderer. But at the same time, she is your hero — she is your hero and your villain. That was very illuminating when I saw that film. That film was in my mind. Nightcrawler opened in cinemas on November 27. Read our full review.
The Sydney Fringe Festival has unveiled its ambitious 2018 program, promising over 400 shows in more than 60 venues across six hubs — and 21 postcodes. There are a few major firsts, too, including a takeover of the Oxford Street Precinct, a touring hub sponsored by Archie Rose, a partnership with physical theatre company Legs on The Wall, and three initiatives in Western Sydney: a theatre program at Penrith's Q Theatre, a new hub at Liverpool and a series of live music pop-up events in Parramatta's CBD. Just a couple of the acts slated to appear at the Archie Rose Touring Hub, which you'll find at the Old 505, Newtown, are Sh!t Theatre's DollyWould, which will be travelling from the UK, having twice sold out at Edinburgh Fringe, and Maggot by New Zealand trio Angela Foughy, Elle Wootton and Freya Finch, who won Outstanding Ensemble at New Zealand Fringe 2018. Meanwhile, the Legs partnership, to take place at Lilyfield's Red Box, will host The Women of Chasing Smoke by Casus Circus, Australia's only Indigenous contemporary circus ensemble, and Letters To An Unborn Child by Brown Paper Circus, from Sydney's Trapeze School. In Liverpool, the Fringe will invade the former Northumberland Arcade and Macquarie Bistro with a free program curated by Nisrine Amine, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Parramatta Actors Centre, covering pop-up performances, music, art and a laneway cinema dedicated to animation. Several Fringe classics will be back, including the official opening party Fringe Ignite, happening on 1 September. This year, however, you'll find all the shenanigans in the Oxford Street Precinct, running across 11 venues, from the National Art School and UNSW Art & Design to Ariel Booksellers and Stonewall. Keep a lookout, too, for the return of the Fringe Club at the Kings Cross Hotel, the Emerging Artist Hub at Erskineville Town Hall, the Dance Hub at the PACT Theatre in Erskineville and Festival Village at Kensington Street, Chippendale. Down Chippendale way, at Broadway Sydney, you'll also find a rooftop roller skating rink and a pop-up store selling Frida Las Vegas and Nicol & Ford wares.
Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to be a professional bartender or barista to whip up a good espresso martini. You just need to have a good technique, great ingredients and something that sets your drink apart. At Grey Goose's Boulangerie Bleue waterside mansion party this summer, a salted espresso martini was served — a classic post-dinner combination of vodka and coffee liqueur with a little chocolate and a pinch of salt as a finishing touch. We asked Grey Goose's lively global ambassador Joe McCanta to show us how to make this variation on the classic — check out his technique below. ESPRESSO MARTINI 50ml Grey Goose Vodka 30ml (one shot) single origin espresso 20ml coffee liqueur 1 pinch of salt Garnish: salted dark cocoa powder Chill your coupe by adding ice. Mix your vodka, espresso and coffee liqueur in a shaker. Add a pinch of salt and some ice. Shake, and then strain your mixture into your coupe. Top with cocoa powder and salt. Fancy trying another? Grey Goose Vodka's 'discover' function will tell you what cocktail you're perfectly suited for. Dive into the luxury that your city has to offer — check out our Luxe Guide to Sydney and Melbourne. Food, spas, glamorous hotels and extraordinary experiences are waiting. Image: Steven Woodburn.
It's been three decades since Sydney institution Golden Century opened its doors in Haymarket. The late-night Chinese restaurant is famed for its unbeatable midnight feasts and the queues of chefs, celebrities, hospo workers and everyday diners that line up to partake into them. And last year, the Golden Century Group announced it will be opening a new restaurant in Darling Square's in late 2019. So, it's been a long time coming, but the group's much-anticipated XOPP by Golden Century has just opened inside the brand new Exchange Building. Those who have eaten at the original restaurant might recognised the name as a homage to its pipis in XO sauce, a dish that's so revered that even David Chang has called it "the best dish in the world". The new 160-seat restaurant is helmed by Billy Wong — son of original owners Eric and Linda — who has developed a more contemporary dining concept that he's hoping will speak to a new generation of casual diners. Most notably, there is a bar serving snacks and smaller dishes alongside cocktails — think XO mayo prawn rolls and chicken liver parfait served with Chinese doughnuts. Oh, and 250 wines. Just as the vibe is different to Golden Century in Chinatown, so is the menu. Chinatown regulars will notice the addition of hiramasa kingfish with finger lime, and a southern rock lobster done in a messy, delicious typhoon shelter-style. Other modern additions include kale and brussels sprouts and a jasmine bubble tea panna cotta. But you can expect to see a few nods to the OG restaurant — including the pipis in XO, of course. [caption id="attachment_742977" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The pipis in XO sauce[/caption] The impressive venue is located on the mezzanine level within Darling Square's striking new six-storey Exchange building designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The dining room makes use of the circular building with floor-to-ceiling windows that show the timber that wraps around the facade. Inside, it's all very sleek with black ceilings, leather banquettes patterned light fittings. It joins the recently opened Maker's Dozen on the ground floor of the building, which includes a Tokyo-inspired milk bar from the Devon team, a new bar from craft beer specialists Bucket Boys and a Japanese pasta shop from Hamish Ingham and Rebecca Lines of Banksii and Kerby Craig of Ume. The building will also be the new home for Haymarket Library — that's set to open next month, on October 28. The original Golden Century will remain open until 4am each morning as usual — it's even scored a fancy new upstairs 'wine bank' for private dining and events. Along with The Century, which opened at The Star in 2012, this will be the group's third restaurant. XOPP by Golden Century is now open on mezzanine level of The Exchange, 1 Little Pier Street, Darling Square, Haymarket. It's open every day of the week from 11.30am–11pm. Images: Steven Woodburn.
Whether you watch television programs on your laptop, phone or TV set (or a combination of the above, depending on your mood and situation), the small screens in your house got quite the workout in 2020. That's a definite side effect of this strange year, with everyone spending more time on the couch than normal. You don't need us to tell us that, of course — but, thankfully, there was no shortage of things to watch. Checking out the latest seasons of your favourite shows probably helped while away some of the hours. More than a few, we're guessing. Restreaming classics likely did the same as well, because everyone likes some comfort viewing in tough times. But if you were looking for something new and exciting to fill your time in 2020, the various networks and streaming platforms all did their part. Stunning new dramas, savage historical comedies, engaging miniseries — they all made their debut over the past 12 months, and we've picked the ten best of the year that you should check out if you haven't already. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjlurdbNnw I MAY DESTROY YOU Newly returned from a working trip to Italy, struggling to write her second novel after her first struck a sizeable chord and pushing up against a draft deadline just hours away, Arabella (Michaela Coel) takes some time out from an all-nighter to procrastinate with friends over a few drinks in a couple of London bars. The next morning, the Twitter-famous scribe is shaky, hazy and feels far from her normal self — and across the next 11 episodes of this instantly blistering 12-part series, I May Destroy You delves into the aftermath, as Arabella realises that she was raped that evening. Not only created and written by the unflinching and captivating Coel, but inspired by her own real-life experience with sexual assault, the result is as bold, raw and frank as it is sensitive and affecting. It also feels personal at every single moment. An immensely powerful series that intimately interrogates power on multiple levels and features an unsurprisingly potent performance by Coel, I May Destroy You is easily this year's number-one must-see show — and its absolute best. I May Destroy You is available to stream via Binge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODYjA9H4qcw NORMAL PEOPLE When Sally Rooney's Normal People first hit bookshelves in 2018, it thrust readers into a disarmingly relatable love story, following the amorous ups and downs of an on-again, off-again couple from Sligo, Ireland. Teenagers Marianne and Connell have known each other for years, as tends to happen in small towns. And although she's aloof, intense and considered an acerbic loner, while he's outgoing and popular, a torrid and tumultuous secret romance blooms. That's just the beginning of the Irish author's novel, and of the both tender and perceptive TV series that brings the book to the screen. As it dives deep into a complex chronicle of first love, it not only charts Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Cold Feet) and Connell's (newcomer Paul Mescal) feelings for each other, but details the recognisable and realistic minutiae of being a high schooler and then a uni student. This is first and foremost a romance, and a passionate and intimate one at that; however, the series can't tell this complicated couple's story without touching upon everything else that pops up along the way. Normal People is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI0q-jFWx-s LOVECRAFT COUNTRY Viewing US race relations and the nation's treatment of its black residents through a horror lens has long been Jordan Peele's jam, dating back to his Key & Peele days. Anyone who has seen Get Out and Us, the two films he has directed thus far, also knows this — and it is evident in Hunters, the TV series he executive produced earlier this year, as well. So Lovecraft Country, HBO's new horror drama based on the 2016 of the same name, was always going to be in Peele's wheelhouse. He's an executive producer again, and he's firmly in his element. Set in the 50s in America's south, this extremely well-executed series follows returned soldier Tic Freeman (Da 5 Bloods' Jonathan Majors), his uncle George (Project Power's Courtney B Vance) and his friend Leti Lewis (Birds of Prey's Jurnee Smollett) as they set off on a road trip to both find Tic's missing dad and locate African American-friendly places for George's Green Book-style guide. Their journey takes them to a part of the country where famed real-life sci-fi and horror writer HP Lovecraft found inspiration for his tales, too — and the results are smart and unnerving on multiple levels. Lovecraft Country is available to stream via Binge. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1htuNZp82Ck&feature=youtu.be TALES FROM THE LOOP If Black Mirror set all of its bleak futuristic tales in one small town, followed interconnected characters and sported a low-fi, retro sheen, the result would be Tales From the Loop. This patient, beautiful, poignant and incredibly moving sci-fi series is actually based on a series of paintings by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag — and even if you didn't already know that fact while you were watching, you'd notice the show's distinctive aesthetic. The title refers to a mysterious underground machine, called The Loop, that's designed to explore and unravel the mysteries of the universe. For the folks living above it, their lives soon take strange turns. Anchoring jumps and pauses in time, body swaps, giant robots and more in everyday situations and emotions (such as being envious of a friend, falling in love, betraying your nearest and dearest, and trying to connect with your parents), Tales From the Loop is as perceptive as it is immersive and engaging. And, its eight episodes are helmed by an exceptional array of fantastic filmmakers, including Never Let Me Go's Mark Romanek, WALL-E's Andrew Stanton, The House of the Devil's Ti West and actor-turned-director Jodie Foster. Tales From the Loop is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8klax373ds DEVS Radiating unease from its very first moments, yet sporting both a mood and a futuristic look that prove simultaneously unsettlingly and alluring, Devs is unmistakably the work of author-turned-filmmaker Alex Garland. His first jump to the small screen, it instantly slots in nicely beside Ex Machina and Annihilation on his resume — and it's just as intriguing and involving as each of those excellent movies. The setting: Amaya, a US technology company that's massive in size yet secretive in its focus. When Sergei (Karl Glusman) is promoted to its coveted, extra clandestine Devs division, his girlfriend and fellow Amaya employee Lily (Sonoya Mizuno) is thrilled for him. But when Sergei doesn't come home from his first day, Lily starts looking for answers — including from the company's guru-like leader Forest (a long-haired, very un-Ron Swanson-like Nick Offerman). Devs is the kind of series with twists and turns that are best discovered by watching; however, as each second passes by, the stranger and more sinister it all appears. Expect conspiracies, tech thrills and big questions, in a series that does what all the very best sci-fi stories do: tackle big existential queries and intimate everyday emotions in tandem, all while asking 'what if?'. Devs is available to stream via Binge. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BVoYKwTc4E AUNTY DONNA'S BIG OL' HOUSE OF FUN 2019's I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson was the best sketch comedy of that year. In 2020, the equivalent title goes to Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun. If you're familiar with Australian comedy troupe Aunty Donna, then you'll know what to expect. Writers and performers Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane, director and writer Sam Lingham, filmmaker Max Miller and composer Tom Armstrong have been treating audiences to absurdist gags, satire, wordplay and songs since forming in 2011 — but now the group has channelled all of its silliness and surreal gags, and its astute ability to make fun of daily life in a smart yet ridiculous way, into a six-part Netflix series. Bonanno, Kelly and Ruane star as themselves, and housemates. Each episode revolves around a theme, starting with the search for a fourth member of their household when they decide to turf their annoying talking dishwasher (voiced by Flight of the Conchords' Kristen Schaal). There's nothing too over-the-top for Aunty Donna, or too trivial, including treasure hunts, an out-there recreation of Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, a pitch-perfect takedown of trendy barber shops to a parody of male posturing when the guys turn their house into a bar. And there's little on offer in the extremely binge-able show that doesn't deliver just the dose of side-splitting absurdity that this hectic year needs. Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5vLgpdXz0g THE GREAT It takes its title from its central figure, Russian empress Catherine the Great. It's filled with lavish period-appropriate costumes, wigs, sets and decor. And, it explores an immensely famous time during the 18th century that had a significant impact upon the world. Normally, that'd all smack of a certain kind of drama; however The Great is firmly a comedy as well. As starring Elle Fanning as the eponymous ruler, Nicholas Hoult as her husband Peter III and Bohemian Rhapsody's Gwilym Lee as a fellow member of the royal court, that means witty, laugh-out-loud lines, an irreverent and often cheeky mood, and having ample fun with real-life details — much in the way that Oscar-winner The Favourite did with British royalty on the big screen. Of course, the comparison couldn't be more fitting, with that film's BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Australian Tony McNamara, using his savagely hilarious satirical skills to pen The Great as well. The Great is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaMIcuVH83M&feature=emb_logo THE BEACH Whenever Warwick Thornton makes a new project, it demands attention — and the Indigenous Australian filmmaker has never made anything quite like The Beach. The director of Samson & Delilah and Sweet Country turns the camera on himself, chronicling his quest to escape his busy life for an extended soul-searching getaway. With only chickens and wildlife for company, Thornton bunkers down in an electricity-free tin shed in Jilirr, on the Dampier Peninsula on the northwest coast of Western Australia. He fishes, cooks, chats to the chooks, wanders along the shoreline and reflects upon everything that's led him to this point, with this six-part documentary series capturing the ups, downs, sublime sights and epiphany-inspiring moments. Unfurling quietly and patiently in the slow-TV tradition, Thornton's internal journey of discovery makes for both moving and absorbing viewing. Indeed, combined with stunning cinematography (as shot by Thornton's son and Robbie Hood director Dylan River), it just might be the best piece of Australian television you see this year. The Beach is available to stream via SBS On Demand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVhRId0BTw UNORTHODOX Deborah Feldman's best-selling 2012 autobiography Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots makes the leap to Netflix as a four-part mini-series. And, as the book's title makes plain, both explore her decision to leave her ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Williamsburg, New York, flee her arranged marriage and everyone she's ever known, and escape to Berlin to start a brand new life. Names and details have been changed, as tends to be the case with dramas based on real-life stories; however Unorthodox still follows the same overall path. In a tense but instantly commanding opening to the show's first episode, 19-year-old Esther 'Esty' Shapiro (Shira Haas) slips out of the apartment she shares with her husband Yanky (Amit Rahav), picks up a passport from her piano teacher and nervously heads to the airport. The end result proves a unique and intriguing coming-of-age tale, a thoughtful thriller, and an eye-opening but always careful and respectful look at a culture that's rarely depicted on-screen in such depth. Israeli actress Haas (The Zookeeper's Wife, Foxtrot, Mary Magdalene) turns in a nuanced, weighty and gripping performance as Esty, too — which is absolutely pivotal in making Unorthodox so compelling to watch. Unorthodox is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv-Mb4vTxj0 WE ARE WHO WE ARE Two on-screen tales about American teenagers in Italy. Two floppy-haired male leads oozing with uncertainty and yearning. One filmmaker. After Call Me By Your Name, Luca Guadagnino returns to familiar territory with HBO miniseries We Are Who We Are — and if its star Jack Dylan Grazer reminds you of the now ultra-famous Timothée Chalamet, that's completely unsurprising; in 2018's Beautiful Boy (not directed by Guadagnino), the former even played a younger version of the latter's character. But don't go mistaking Guadagnino's eight-part TV show for a mere or lazy rehash of the director's past work. Following two neighbouring 14-year-olds who live on a US army base with their enlisted parents, including Grazer's newly arrived loner, We Are Who We Are once again taps into universal themes about finding one's own identity and place in the world, and navigating affairs of the heart as well, but it definitely has its own story to tell. Also starring first-timer Jordan Kristine Seamón, plus Chloë Sevigny (Queen & Slim), Alice Braga (The New Mutants), Scott Mescudi (aka Bill & Ted Face the Music's Kid Cudi), Francesca Scorsese (daughter of iconic filmmaker Martin Scorsese) and Tom Mercier (Synonyms), this patient yet involving series once again boasts Guadagnino's eye for gorgeous and revealing imagery, though, with every intoxicating shot (and every camera angle and placement used for each shot) luring viewers in. We Are Who We Are is available to stream via SBS On Demand. Looking for more viewing highlights? Check out our list of film and TV streaming recommendations, which is updated monthly. We also picked 12 standout new 2020 series in the middle of the year, too.
Art Month is looking pretty damn incredible this year. Not only are the city's creative spaces to be blessed by a veritable smorgasbord of artistic talent, but we're also looking at the return of Art at Night, where guests can explore the artistic underbelly of our fine city under the cover of darkness. The Art Month program features a number of talks, tours, exhibitions and contemporary theatre shows happening across a huge number of gallery and creative spaces in Sydney. We've picked out ten of the best things to see and do during Art Month, to save you from becoming overwhelmed. LEARN THE COMPLEX TRADITIONS BEHIND JAPANESE CERAMIC ART In this artist talk at the Japanese Foundation Gallery in Chippendale, two members of the boundary-pushing Japanese art group Ikeyan will discuss modern art, sculpture, function and methods of constructing ceramics according to Japanese tradition. Japanese art holds the form and function of a piece at equal importance. It finds the beauty in crafting everyday objects with care. The two award-winning speakers push the boundaries in ceramics and pottery, and seek to invigorate traditional craftsmanship with their experimental glaze research, new forms, suggestive sculptural works, and functional tableware. VISIT A COLOURFUL EXHIBITION IN CHIPPENDALE Our society as a whole has moved into the digital age, so it's no surprise that art is coming along for the ride. Art is a reflection of our culture, and this is reflected in Genevieve Felix Reynolds' latest exhibition, Vanity Cult. Reynolds' artworks look at the impacts that technology have had on art, especially within the medium of painting. She created geometric versions of historical objects, to comment on the pleasure-seeking immediacy of the post-internet generation. The exhibition is on from February 15 to March 12 in Chippendale. SEE A THOUGHT-PROVOKING PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION Atong Atem is from Melbourne via South Sudan. These two worlds mix in her photographs, which will be on show at the Australian Centre for Photography, in partnership with Customs House. Her textural, colourful and thought-provoking photographs lean on portraiture to explore the behavioural relics of colonialism that still pervades the lives of a dislocated people, and the identities that individuals create. Atem's portraits stare at you, challenging the audience to look at the politics of looking and being looked at. It's a powerful exhibition that explores the interplay of private and public, history and identity. Us is on from February 13 to April 30. EXPLORE FANTASY AND REALITY AT A MYSTICAL EXHIBITION There's something magical in Leah Fraser's work. There's a sense of mysticism that surrounds Within You, Without You, an exhibition on show at the Arthouse Gallery in Rushcutters Bay from March 2 to March 18. Her work blurs the frayed edges between fantasy and reality, and is heavily influenced by the non-corporeal world, from the myths of gods amongst men, stories of our creation, and the beginnings of life in the universe. The characters that appear on the canvas create a story in which they participate, manipulated on the canvas to explore the more complex questions we, as humans, have. LEARN ABOUT THE CHANGING NATURE OF COLLECTING ART The art world has had to change the way that it delivers work, in order to keep up with this rapid shift in information consumption. Click & Collect is a panel discussion between five contemporary artists that examines the changing climate of art and art appreciation, and how the art world has changed with the advent of digital consumption and instant gratification. The informative talk will be a discussion of the changing climate of art collection, in the age of Instagram, social media and smaller art fairs. Five diverse collectors will share their fun, fears and fortunes. [caption id="attachment_609719" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Jenny Chews.[/caption] GO ON A GUIDED TOUR OF CONGEE BREAKFASTS HAYMARKET Before the Rain, an exhibition currently on show at the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, looks at the power of a nation's people and explores what can be accomplished when we all share a common goal. To complement the exhibition, gallery director Michael Do is taking a small group on a Hong Kong-style breakfast congee tour of Haymarket. At 10am on Saturday March 11, take a 30-minute tour of the congee options in Haymarket and indulge in some of the best dishes in town, before heading to the gallery to take in the exhibition. SEE SOME SURREALIST DINOSAURS WITH BOOBS Art can often be confusing. What does the artist see? What do I see? Is that an arm? I'm not sure, it could be a surrealist pencil leaking out of a pink tap. Art relies on the disjunct between what we see and how we feel, and it's in this uncomfortable confusion that we'll often get lost. Sometimes, though, an artwork is called Booby Dinosaur and that's exactly what it is. This image, among others, is on display at the Newtown ArtSeat, and asks questions about the fluidity of gender, female identity and sexuality. It's on show from March 1 to March 31. TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT ICONIC AUSTRALIAN IMAGERY Max Dupain's iconic photography has become synonymous with Sydney, from the images of the construction of our landmarks, to the simple observation of people at the beaches. Sunbaker (pictured) is one of those works. Taken in 1937, it's a simple image of a man, still wet from the ocean, lays out on the sand and soaks in the sun. The Australian Centre for Photography invited 15 Australian artists to prepare their own response to this iconic photograph as part of an exhibition called Under the Sun. At the ACP, take a look at these artist's own impression of what Sunbaker means to them. WATCH SOME CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE CRIME THEATRE The newest play from rising Japanese playwright Suguru Yamamoto, The Unknown Dancer in the Neighbourhood explores the lives of the residents in a suburb that fringes on the Japanese hinterland. Like so many cities around the world, the suburb is alive by day, bristling with the energy of countless bodies shifting around and ignoring each other. At night, however, the neighbourhood gives way to a cesspool of crime and fear. It's a fusion of dance and theatre, as actor Wataru Kitao uses his body as well as Yamamoto's words to explore the deep histories of the residents of the neighbourhood. This dance theatre and contemporary drama is presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney at Eternity Playhouse in Darlinghurst. EXPLORE THE ROLE OF ART IN GENDER POLITICS The role of art is to question, and this exhibition of glass and ceramic works assumes its role with great gusto. Domestic Goddess explores the themes surrounding the domestic routine, and how the preparation of the home has been something seen as female-centric throughout history. As well as confronting the issue of gender politics, the exhibition also looks at the way that commercialism has crept into the home, unnoticed, and affects the way we live in our private spaces.
So, you've mastered all the usual yoga poses, and you think you've attempted every variation that there is. Not so fast. There's a style you mightn't have tried, and it's all the rage in Brisbane. That'd be blindfolded yoga, aka one of the main attractions at the Left Brain / Right Brain workshop at Woolloongabba's Princess Theatre on January 29 and 30. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. All that bending and breathing you're familiar with — well, it's about to seem a whole lot different when you're doing it without being able to see anything. Using sensory deprivation to sharpen focus, shift attention inward and heighten instincts is the name of the game, with the trend towards sightless stretching gaining traction around the world for a couple of years. If you're keen to give it a go, you might also want to peruse the rest of the event's program. A sound bath session or other movement and music-oriented mind-expansion techniques, anyone? Of course, we haven't yet mentioned the most exciting part — well, for those a little self-conscious about their form, that is. With a blindfold wrapped around your head, you can't see your exercise classmates and they can't see you either. You don't get that at bikram or disco yoga. For more information, visit the Left Brain / Right Brain website. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
The upper level of The London Hotel in Paddington is about to get a major foodie facelift with the opening of East London this Friday, June 3. The restaurant and bar — which will sit on the upper level of the hotel — will have a "Chinese comfort food" menu influenced by both Shanghai and Sichuan cuisines. The new eatery will be headed up by Executive Chef Jack Steer, whose resume includes the likes of Rockpool, Spice Temple and Melbourne's Chin Chin. It's not surprising then that he won't be dishing up your basic greasy takeaway Chinese food — instead, the menu will focus on fresh, quality produce to lighten up the cuisine's typically heavy dishes. Of course, guests can still expect to savour the traditional Sichuan spices and flavours, which range from spicy to flowery, sour to sweet and bitter to smokey. The family-style share plates are Steer's version of Chinese comfort food, and the menu will change monthly. The new restaurant will open with signature dishes like drowned fish with dried chilli and shallots in chicken broth, grilled lamb neck with tofu skin, and chilli oil and crispy five-spice Sichuan duck. . East London is also a bar so, naturally, Asian-infused cocktails will accompany the food; the Sichuan Love — a concoction of Havana three-year-old rum shaken with strawberries, Thai basil, palm sugar, lime juice and Sichuan pepper — is the one we're most keen to try. Steer is keeping it local with the wine list though, which features all-Australian wineries, from Tasmania's award-winning House of Arras to the edgy Some Young Punks from the Clare Valley. The space has been redesigned by Humphrey & Edwards architect Chris Grinham, whose previous work includes Opera Bar and Chiswick. He's designed the place with a subtle Shanghai décor with a colour palette of jade, black and white. The 80-seater will be a classy yet homey newcomer to the Paddington restaurant scene. East London will open in The London Hotel's upstairs space at 85 Underwood Street, Paddington on Friday, June 3. It will be open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday and lunch on Sunday. For more information, visit hotellondon.com.au. Images: Alana Dimou.
Potentially one of the more important events at this year's Sydney Festival is this posthumous exhibition from Australian Myuran Sukumaran. Now a household name in this country, these works were all created during Sukumaran's incarceration in Bali's Kerobokan Prison. Curated by 2011 Archibald winner Ben Quilty and Campbelltown Arts Centre director Michael Dagostino, Another Day in Paradise displays not only Sukumaran's work, but works by other artists specially commissioned in response to the death penalty. This exhibition brings to the fore the discussion surrounding capital punishment around the world, and opens up a dialogue regarding art, redemption and rehabilitation. This is one of 15 next-level events to see at Sydney Festival. Check out the whole list.
The self-proclaimed 'queen of rice paper rolls' is expanding yet again, this time taking up residence along Glebe Point Road. Residing in the space which previously housed La Boheme European Restaurant, Miss Chu's new inner city tuckshop will surely be met with throngs of excited locals as she opens the doors today. Owner Nahji Chu hasn't changed her style over the years, despite the speed with which her empire is growing (and after wresting her business back from administrators). The Glebe Tuckshop, like the other venues, includes a kitschy interior and bustling service model. The major change, though, is the much larger space that better resembles a full-on restaurant. The menu may rely on the classics, but it's also seriously extended to match the larger space. From the aforementioned rice paper rolls, options will include old favourite tiger prawn rolls ($8) as well as the new sashimi tuna rolls ($13.50). The banh mi section has many of these Vietnamese sandwiches available throughout the day as opposed to lunch only — think braised beef brisket ($9) and grilled chicken and pate ($9). The steamed dumplings even include dessert options, from organic chocolate to Nutella buns ($3). Of the new offerings, we're most excited to try the vegan banh xeo ($14), a Vietnamese crepe which is on today's chalkboard specials. Vegetarian and vegan options take an even wider role across the Glebe menu. Sticking to her business model, the dishes are still made of sustainable, ethical ingredients and are, most importantly, fast food that doesn't taste cheap at all. From Melbourne to Manly, Miss Chu has fast become the majesty of Viet fare in Australia. Damn the administrators. Miss Chu's Glebe Tuckshop is located at 199 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. Open seven days a week from 11am to 9pm.
Not too long ago, you'd be hard-pressed to find a good craft beer in Sydney. Now there are so many small breweries dotted all over the country producing amazing craft. Mid-October signals the return of Sydney Craft Beer Week, a celebration of these beers. It doesn't matter if you're a foodie, a beer geek or just a casual drinker. With over a hundred events across nine days, there's something for everyone. Come meet the brewers, taste their products and have a good ol' time.
Spend a day immersed in Aboriginal culture and wander around Sydney's Barangaroo Reserve at the next edition of Blak Markets. In celebration of NAIDOC Week, the festival will take over the park on Sunday, July 2 from 11am–5pm, showcasing artists from 11 remote Australian art centres. Learn up at bush tucker cooking demonstrations, peruse Rarrk painting exhibitions and watch dance performances. Among the 30 stalls, there'll be an array of Aboriginal artwork, sculptures and textiles. If you want to get hands-on, you can sign up for a weaving workshop. Blak Markets is a project of First Hand Solutions Aboriginal Corporation. With the help of the Barangaroo Delivery Authority, Aboriginal artists come together to celebrate their culture.
We all love tea. But we all don't want to carry it around with us in a dinky travel mug or the thermos-equivalent of a velour tracksuit. Enter ChaBottle, the bottle making tea a pleasure to port. Australian company Life of Cha is pretty new on the scene, but their ChaBottle is already making waves on Instagram. The bottle is specially designed to allow anyone to brew loose leaf tea anywhere and not cramp their style in the process. It's not just for tea, either; the 2-in-1 infuser lets you brew coffee and fruit infusions as well. You can also forget about burning your hands, thanks to the double glass walls of the bottle. It's a great example of simple yet functional design. If you couldn't already tell, Life of Cha is passionate about tea and the #tealife. Founder Natalie Choprasert was inspired to set up Life of Cha after being disappointed by the teas available in the market. The goal of the company is to "bring excitement and innovation to the industry by creating new ways to enjoy tea" while not losing sight of what's "simple, healthy and great tasting", according to Natalie. A perfect example is Crystal: their natural blue tea made from pandan, lemongrass and butterfly pea that turns from blue to purple when lemon is added. Its high antioxidant levels are linked with all sorts of health benefits, such as improved circulation to the eyes and healthy hair. Not only that, we've also heard that it tastes like fruit loops. Sign us up now. Now here's a girl who knows how to enjoy her afternoon!! @megand3veg is chilling at the park with her 2 x #chabottles ??? Filled with #spiced tea, coconut and almond milk with a dash of raw honey. The other filled with iced water, fresh mint and lime!! Voilà!! Perfection ? What's in your chabottle today?? #monday #freshstart #winter #sydney #drinks A photo posted by Life of Cha (@life.of.cha) on Aug 16, 2015 at 11:02pm PDT Another tea of note is Up; each tea leaf is hand rolled into little pearls and infused with jasmine. It's a favourite of Natalie's, who describes it as "the champagne of all green teas". The array of products available in their online store isn't limited to tea though. There's the stylish ChaBottle and the soon-to-be-released ChaPot. We've all been guilty of letting tea brew for a lot longer than necessary, and this is why we need the ChaPot. "[It] allows you to lift the tea infuser back into the lid to prevent over brewing," says Natalie. The ChaPot will be available in mid/late September 2015. If that wasn't enough work on their plates, they've also started dabbling in tea-infused cocktails like sangria with the Hydrate Sparkler Syrup (a hibiscus flower tea). There's a lot of wellbeing products on the market these days, but Life of Cha's is helping to deliver the message that living healthy doesn't have to be hard. It can be as simple as enjoying a cup of tea that tastes great, does you good and turns purple while you watch. Find out more and shop for Life of Cha products at their website.
Attention all animal lovers, mark your calendars for this month's Cruelty Free Festival. A day-long event that celebrates likeminded anti-cruelty businesses and organisations, the festival is a must for anyone who is dedicated to, or even vaguely interested in, an ethical, possibly vegan lifestyle. This year's festival features a packed program including talks by an illustrious group of speakers (Dallas McCulloch's 'One Ageing Punk Rocker's Guide to Veganism and Fitness on a Budget' is sure to be a hit), live music, an animal art show, a raffle, and a fashion parade. And, who knows, you might even find your fellow animal loving soulmate at the Speed Dating event. Don't forget to bring your appetite — with stalls by Lord of the Fries, Suzy Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher, Space Bars Ice Creamery, Rhubarb Bakes, and many others, you won't go home hungry. In case you haven't heard of them, this is what a Space Bar vegan ice cream sandwich looks like: Images: Rhubarb Bakes, Space Bars.
After tantalising pop-ups around town and most recently at GABS, Salmon and Bear is set to open on Newtown's King Street later this month. The 'casual seafood eatery' has its roots in Zetland and boasts chef Mark Jensen behind the helm — a seasoned vet in the restaurant scene, Jensen runs Darlinghurst's Red Lantern, the world's most awarded Vietnamese restaurant. Jensen is bringing Newtown his same commitment to sustainability with Salmon and Bear. "Sustainability will certainly be a strong focus for us and we are working closely with our suppliers to ensure they are following environmental practices," he says. Along with business partner and GM Joe Ward, the team has created a solid menu that offers seasonal produce at affordable pricing. The basic fish shop fare maintains a bit of polished flare — think Hawaiian-style Poke sushi salads ($21-24) and array of charcoal grilled fish options, from ora king salmon to Spanish mackerel ($18), as well as a special catch of the day. It may be a fish shop, but it's fresh as, not a greasy dive. We're most excited to try the tacos ($6), ranging from a sticky soy glazed salmon to crispy prawn and corn. All tacos are lovingly wrapped in a soft corn tortilla and topped with cabbage, salsa verde, pickled pink onions, coriander, lime and, most importantly, sriracha mayo. If you're starved, go for the Grizzly Plate ($28), which includes your choice of fish, dipping sauce and any two sides/salads. Jensen's favourite combination for these cooler months is the ora king salmon with salsa verde, bean salad and sweet potato fries or chive mash — his version of comfort food personified. We'd be remiss not to mention that the legends at Gelato Messina are behind the desserts ($7 each) — choose from the 'Bear' chocolate gelato cookie sandwich or the 'Salmon' strawberry gelato paddle pop dipped in white chocolate. We'll take one of each, please and thank you. Craft beer fanatics will also be glad to hear that they're already working with local favourites, like Young Henrys, Grifter and Willie The Boatman, to keep their shop fully stocked with all things craft. "We love Newtown. It's just pumping with energy day-in, day-out, and we really enjoy the massive melting pot of people," says Jensen. Salmon and Bear will open later this month at 226 King Street, Newtown. Keep an eye on their website for updates.
Owning art is one of those tangible signs that you’ve finally reached the level of a fully functioning adult. And now it's easier to level up than ever. As part of their first ever cultural policy, the City of Sydney committed to launching an interest-free art loan program, and now with 10 Group (the brains behind Art Month Sydney) on board, the idea is becoming reality. Dubbed Art Money, the new initiative allows participating galleries to offer interest-free loans to people purchasing art valued between $750 and $20,000. After putting down a 10% deposit, buyers are able to take the artwork home, paying off the remaining balance in monthly increments over the next nine months. It's good for you, because your home gets an instant aesthetic upgrade, but it's also good for galleries and artists, who see increased sales. The program was inspired by a similar scheme in Tasmania, where it's not only successfully generated purchases but has had zero defaults. “More than five million dollars has gone through the scheme [in Tasmania],” Rachel Healy, executive manager of culture at the City of Sydney, told us last year. “Arts Tasmania would never have been in a position to give out five million dollars in grants to Tasmanian artists. What they did do, though, was develop a scheme where they enabled five million dollars to go into the wallets of Tasmanian artists, who are otherwise doing it pretty hard.” Interested parties can apply for a loan via the website or at any participating gallery. More than two dozen galleries have signed on so far, including Roslyn Oxley9, Artereal, Darren Knight, Dominik Mersch, Galerie pompom, Platform 72, Sullivan+Strumpf, The Commercial and Utopia Art. For the time being loans will have to be finalised in person, although there are plans to develop alternative methods of delivery to open the scheme up to people who live outside of NSW. For more information on how you can apply for your own interest-free art loan and thus prove your grown-up credentials, visit the Art Money website.
Australia's boutique camping festival descends on the small NSW town of Berry each December, taking over the local showgrounds with two days of stellar global and local musicians. The annual music, food and art festival somehow feels like a country weekend fete, but it's also where you'll catch a surprising number of big-name acts. This year one of Brit Pop's leading troublemakers, Liam Gallagher, sits at the top of the bill, followed by Triple J faves DMA's, Meg Mac, Hatchie, Dope Lemon and Julia Jacklin. But Fairgrounds isn't just about the tunes. Sydney-based vintage market host Dear Pluto has brought together over 20 different stalls of makers and collectors on the Saturday (11am–10.30pm), there's a vinyl record fair (also on Saturday) and Games on the Green with tug-of-war and egg-and-spoon races. Plus, the festival arranges for free use of the local swimming pool every evening until 7pm. And Jervis Bay's award-winning Paperbark restaurant is back with its popular pop-up — expect housemade ice creams, locally sourced seafood, flatbreads and dips, as well as spiced berries. See the full music lineup below. FAIRGROUNDS 2019 LINEUP Liam Gallagher Dope Lemon Meg Mac DMA's Julia Jacklin Kasey Chambers Hatchie The Babe Rainbow Fritz The Lazy Eyes The Buoys Nilüfer Yanya 100 Clews The Lemonheads Stevan Images: Ian Laidlaw and Gabriel Vallido.
Last September, John Malkovich took time off from being John Malkovich to be Everyone Else for a change. Shot by Sandro Miller in Los Angeles, the highly publicised series of photographs dubbed Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich recreated some of the most iconic portraits in recent history — from John and Yoko to Che Guevara, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Woman to Andres Serrano's Piss Christ. And now the series is coming to Sydney as part of this year's Head On Photo Festival (running May 1 - 31), showing at Darlinghurst's Black Eye Gallery from April 28 - May 5. According to the exhibition statement, Miller decided to undertake the project in 2013, wanting to honour the photographers whose work had inspired him and shaped his career. After selecting thirty five images to recreate, Miller got in touch with his ol' mate Malkovich — who apparently immediately agreed. "John is the most brilliant, prolific person I know," says Miller. "His genius is unparalleled. I can suggest a mood or an idea and within moments, he literally morphs into the character right in front of my eyes." All at once creepy and genius with Malkovich rocking an excellent Marilyn and a spot-on Dali, the series is actually less about Malkovich than it is an homage to the photographers responsible for the portraits themselves: Dianne Arbus, Annie Leibovitz, Art Shay, Dorothea Lange, Alberto Korda. That being said, it's supremely satisfying to see Malkovich in dress-up like this — his Jack Nicholson and Albert Einstein are top notch. Sandro Miller, Albert Watson / Alfred Hitchcock with Goose (1973), 2014 Sandro Miller, Philippe Halsman / Salvador Dalí (1954), 2014 Sandro Miller, Alberto Korda / Che Guevara (1960), 2014 Sandro Miller, Andy Warhol / Green Marilyn (1962), 2014 Sandro Miller, Annie Leibovitz / John Lennon and Yoko Ono (1980), 2014 Sandro Miller, Arthur Sasse / Albert Einstein Sticking Out His Tongue (1951), 2014 Sandro Miller, Andres Serrano / Piss Christ (1987), 2014 Sandro Miller, Dorothea Lange / Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California (1936), 2014 Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich is just the tip of the iceberg for Head On. The photography festival will showcase works from local and international photographers in over 50 featured exhibitions across Sydney, running from May 1–31. There's some pretty diverse exhibitions at the new Head On Festival Hub at Sydney Lower Town Hall. There's Georges Pacheco’s exhibition, Amalthée, which takes cues from Italian and Dutch renaissance painting to look at the universal and timeless act of breastfeeding. There's also Sydney-based photographer Nic Bezzina's show Cam Girls, which consists of screen grabs from 'Cam Girl' websites — where women enact instructed sexual fantasies via webcam. There are retrospectives aplenty this year too. Internationally acclaimed photographer Emmanuel Angelicas has a retrospective detailing his 45 years of documenting Marrickville's often overlooked residents, and portrait photographer to the stars George Fetting will also delve into years of shooting the likes of Buzz Aldrin, Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann, Spike Milligan, Lee Lin Chin, Marcel Marceau, Barry Humphries, Ralph Fiennes, Billy Idol, and many more. For the whole Head On Photo Festival program, head to the website over here. Images: Sandro Miller.
Practitioners and supporters of the arts danced in protest in capital cities all over Australia today, in response to cuts to the Australia Council, the Australian Government's arts funding and advisory body. During the 2015-16 budget announcement, made on May 12, the Government revealed that $104.7 million will taken away from the Council and sent to a new ‘National Programme for Excellence in the Arts’, to be directed by George Brandis and the Ministry for the Arts. Last night, the Australia Council revealed how it will cope with this financial decimation. And the arts community is reeling. For a start, the June grant round isn’t going ahead. So if you’ve been working on an application, you can stick it in a drawer and keep your fingers crossed for September. Second up, the six-year funding program, which supports medium-sized organisations with continuous funding at the rate of $75,000+ per year, is suspended. It was a brilliant initiative, developed in conversation with the arts sector, which simplified the grant application process by removing piles of red tape. And if you’re an emerging, independent or community-minded artist, your opportunities are now much narrower. Three of the Australia Council’s most important programs in these areas – ArtStart, Creative Communities Partnerships Initiative and Artists in Residence – are all kaput. At the Sydney Writers' Festival today, author Tegan Bennett Daylight encouraged audiences to “think about” this reduction in “arm’s length” funding. On introducing Helen Garner, Daylight read a dedication in Garner’s 1992 novel Cosmo Cosmolino, which thanks the Australia Council for providing her with the funding and time to think and write. More than 7,000 individuals have signed a petition, indicating their opposition to "the dramatic funding cuts to the arts announced in the recent federal budget, including shifting more than $100 million away from The Australia Council", as well as their opinion that "individual arts ministers should not be the exclusive arbiter of artistic expression". Signees include Thomas Keneally, Christos Tsiolkas and J.M. Coetzee. Meanwhile, Circus Oz has expressed its concern in a media statement. As a member of the Major Performing Arts Group, made up of 28 companies, Circus Oz is not in line to lose funding. However, the statement communicated the group's solidarity with, and dependence on, those that will suffer. “Circuz Oz is an active member of the vibrant, yet delicate arts ecosystem. Changes to any part of this ecology can have dramatic affects on all artists creating work for the audiences of Australia. We know, for example, that the success of Circus Oz is built on the incredibly vibrant work of all the individual artists, independent, small and medium companies that are eligible for the funding that has been moved.” Concerned? Sign the Australians for Artistic Freedom petition. Vaguely related art image from the wonderful Underbelly Arts.
Slurpees served from a treehouse? A grass-covered Hobbit-like rooftop? Things are going to get fantastical on the Bondi to Coogee walk this summer. After keeping art lovers fuelled and feasted last year, The Grounds of Alexandria will be popping up again at Sculpture by the Sea in 2015. This time, their temporary cafe will taking its inspiration from the literary endeavours of English authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. So be careful about slipping any rings onto your fingers or stepping inside wardrobes. “This year’s Grounds by the Sea is for kids and adults wanting to experience a new adventure and to be transported to a fun and quirky world,” says Ramzey Choker, co-director and creative head of The Grounds. The Grounds isn’t giving away too many details — where would the magic be in that? But we do know they’ve been dreaming and scheming for ages. In fact, for the past six months, they’ve been growing grass specifically for the rooftop. And they’ve also told us that, like any respectable Hobbit home, the pop-up is designed to blend in with its natural surroundings. Food-wise, you can expect healthy, hearty breakfasts and lunches, including legendary The Grounds burgers, slow-cooked lamb shoulder wraps and sausage sandwiches. To match all this deliciousness, there’ll be top-notch drinks like The Grounds' slurpees, served from a purpose-built treehouse. Last year, we chatted to them about building a café in nine days. Check out last year's damn impressive feat here. Grounds by the Sea will be bringing its fantastical fun to Mark’s Park from 7am till 7pm every single day between Thursday 22 October and Sunday 8 November.
Fans of Sydney-based illustrator and graphic designer Harrison Earl will no doubt be eagerly anticipating his second solo show, Black Rainbow, coming up soon at M2 Gallery. In a series of surreal, dreamlike works, Earl's latest exhibition aims to explore the ideas of opposition and contrast. A single recurring character is seen travelling through the artworks, weaving an interconnected story. There's an almost hallucinatory quality to the series. Think eerie floating bodies suspended mid-air and giant heads looming in hazy, candy-pink skies. Apparently this is totally unlike anything Earl has done before — he doesn't usually focus on painting. Definitely one to see if you like your art on the surreal side and with a strong comic book vibe. If you're not familiar with him already, you can check out Earl's Instagram and get a feel for his style. Black Rainbow opens on Thursday June 8 from 6-9pm and then continues until Tuesday, June 20. Pop in between 12 and 6pm. Image: Harrison Earl (2017).
