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).
You might not have heard of Minor Figures, Australia's new cold brew-on-the-go coffee popper distributors, but you will soon. The coffee wizards, comprised of Jonathan Chiu, Stuart Forsyth and Will Rixon, have had a massive year since setting up their own microbrewery in London in August of 2014. After taking out the 'Most Innovative Product' award at the London Coffee Festival, they found their particular brand of ethically-sourced, ready-to-drink, long-life cold coffee on the shelves of Whole Foods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. Now they’ve conquered the north, their sights have been turned to us here in the Southern hemisphere. Jonathan and Stuart are both Melburnians at heart and when they collectively decidedly to bring their on-the-go cold brew to Australia, Jonathan packed up and came with it. Attempting to offer an alternative to the coffee powder-made, factory-produced iced coffees dominating the Australian market, Minor Figures has just launched two cold brews: a straight black version and one with organic milk. We had a chat to him about what it's like to move halfway around the world for the love of good coffee. So Jonathan, what made you come back to Australia after such a long sabbatical? I’ve been over in London for eight years. We started the Minor Figures business in August last year and one thing we realised pretty quickly was that it’s a summer drink and we were going straight into winter and we wanted to be able to sell all year round. Stuart Forsyth, one of the co-founders, and I are both from Melbourne, so we thought it seemed like the logical market to open a second office. From #bellsbeach to #bournemouth. #coldbrew #beach #esky #surf #takeanywhere #specialtycoffee A photo posted by Minor Figures (@minorfigures) on Oct 8, 2015 at 10:09pm PDT So the idea is specialty coffee in a stay-fresh popper. How exactly do you make it? Ours is a cold brew, we use an immersion method. We put our coffee straight into a tank, we control the oxygen and temperature of the tank and brew it for around 18 hours, using cold filtered water, and then we filter it out, catch all the coffee grounds and make sure it’s super clean. Can you walk us through why we should trade in our flat whites for cold brew? What happens when you brew in cold water over a long period of time, it reduces the acidity and bitterness of the drink and it leaves a naturally sweeter, clean coffee. It’s different from, say, if you had hot coffee that’s gone cold, that would be bitter, thicker almost, whereas this is cleaner, lighter and it’s a great alternative to a hot milky coffee on a hot day. It's just water and coffee, so you can’t hide behind anything — it has to be really high quality. Who brought the #ducks to the #swan party? #InDisguise #coldbrew #coffee A photo posted by Minor Figures (@minorfigures) on Apr 25, 2015 at 4:25am PDT What’s your aim with Minor Figures? What’s in the future for the brand? The future for us is to be the ones who make cold brew coffee more mainstream accessible so that more and more people drink good quality coffee, rather than the rubbish iced coffees that are out there. This is in a Tetrapak so you just stick a straw in and you’ve got real, specialty, single origin coffee ready to go whenever you want. We want it to be for everyone, not just the cool kids in the know who’ve got the disposable cash to buy it. It’s not about being just for the cool kids. I was out sampling at Narre Warren a couple of weeks ago and I was happiest to see the mums of Narre Warren buying it to go on their caravan holidays, rather than the cool kids in Collingwood. Find a Minor Figures cold brew coffee distributor here and get gulping the good stuff. Images: Simon Shiff.
As much as Mardi Gras is about the party and the parade, it just wouldn't be Mardi Gras without Fair Day. Every year, up to 80,000 folks descend on Camperdown Memorial Rest Park for a day that's half picnic, half party. You'll want to bust out your brightest colours because being the only person who didn't dress up really sucks. This year, there'll live performances from DJ Kitty Glitter, legend of drag Hannah Conda and a whole load more, over 200 stalls for food, bevvies and other delights, plus your favourite four-legged buddy can experience life in the spotlight at Doggywood. It's going to be a whole bunch of fun. Image: Jeffrey Feng for SGLMG 2016.
Dating can be pretty tiring, but meeting a fellow dog lover is rather effortless. The speed dating experts at Dear Pluto know this better than any, so they've teamed up with animal welfare charity Maggie's Rescue to combine pups and love and bring us a rather smart dating idea. Puppy Love is the hopeless romantic, dog-loving, human-loving speed dating social. For an entire three hours you can hang out with a collection of pups while mingling with eligible singles between the ages of 22 and 38. You don't have to have a dog to attend, but you're encouraged to bring them along if you do. Alternatively, Maggie's Rescue will have plenty of rescue pups for you to cuddle. There'll also be beer and burger breaks between dates. And hey, if things don't go as planned, you can always follow your furry friend's lead and play dead.
For Back to Back Theatre, a Geelong-based company renowned for pushing the envelope with their award-winning productions, a play about death is hardly outside the comfort zone. Lady Eats Apple is the company's newest production — and it's their most daring work to date. Taking the audience on an awe-inspiring, thought-provoking journey from the beginning of time to the present day, the performance is an otherworldly trip that engulfs you in a world of tragedy. The concept for the play emerged when Simon Laherty, one of Back to Back Theatre's six ensemble members, suggested the company devise a tragedy for their next production. The rest of the team took to the idea immediately, says artistic director Bruce Gladwin. "Death is always a confronting topic but it's also something every single person eventually has to come to terms with, so we decided to run with the idea and see where we landed." Lady Eats Apple premiered in Melbourne last year and will be performed at Carriageworks throughout March. From the set to the score, nothing about the play conforms to expectations. When the audience arrive at the theatre they are ushered into a massive inflatable black bubble, where everyone is given their own headset through which the play's dialogue and score are transmitted. "The idea was to create a visual and aural environment that would approximate the experience of death," Gladwin explains. Within this otherworldly black bubble — which has contours and colours that change strikingly at the end of each act — the play unfolds. Divided into three loosely-connected parts, each act focuses on a death of some sort. The performance begins heavy in dialogue, then plunges the audience into an ethereal world where long wordless scenes are accompanied by a soaring score. Themes of genesis, near-death experiences and reflections on humanity appear, before the final act brings the audience starkly back to the real world and the present day. Although Lady Eats Apple deals with a difficult subject, Gladwin assures it's done in a way that makes the production accessible to almost anyone. "If you're between the ages of 11 and dead, this is the play is for you," he says. Gladwin, who received the Australia Council for the Arts Inaugural Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre in 2015, hopes that the structure, themes and the abstract and hallucinatory nature of the performance will leave the audience spinning. "Ultimately as a theatre director, you hope your audience has some sort of transformational moment, leaving the theatre slightly altered from who they were when they walked in," he says. "It seems very high stakes," he adds laughingly, "but that's ultimately the goal." If you're yet to experience a Back to Back Theatre production, Lady Eats Apple will be a stellar introduction to how the company — whose ensemble features actors with perceived intellectual disabilities — continues to redefine contemporary theatre. "We've always made idiosyncratic art," Gladwin says. "It's what first attracted me to the company in the early 1990s and what keeps me inspired today." Lady Eats Apple will be performed at Carriageworks from 16-18 March, 2017 — get your tickets here.
Victoria's answer to Dark Mofo, WinterWild is returning to Apollo Bay this August for its second year. While last year's after-dark winter arts festival was structured around the elements — with four weekends each set to the theme of water, fire, air and earth — this year's theme is death and birth. Creeping into the coastal shire on the eastern side of Cape Otway, the festival will take place across two weekends in August. Each evening will begin with a ceremonial bonfire on the beach, with fire-cooked fare and warming drinks, before branching out to the Mechanics Hall and beyond. Standout events on the program for the first weekend Death, running from August 10–12, include Lyric Opera's Quietus — a musical meditation on the power of the sea — an outdoor cinema screening shorts, including political satire Terror Nullius, and The Sublime, an immersive (and haunting) AI-led tour of the quarry. Two weekends later, Birth, running from August 24–26, will again feature the cinema and workshop, alongside Feastiality, a whole-beast feast cooked along the foreshore, a rock 'n' roll party at The Brewhouse, and a conversation about Indigenous Australian food and drink with wine writer Max Allen and conservationist Jack Pascoe. "This festival won't be for the faint-hearted," said festival director Roderick Poole. "It is very much aimed at adventurous spirits ready to take on a challenge; to embrace the harsh environment and celebrate the beauty of the elements at their extremes. WinterWild will run across two weekends, Death from August 10–12 and Birth from August 24–26. To see the full lineup and purchase tickets, head to winterwildapollobay.com.au.
Man the glitter cannons, crank the human-sized hamster wheels and blast the oversized wind machines; SBS has just announced it's developing a version of the Eurovision Song Contest for the Asia Pacific region. Yep. HOLY. CRAP. Announced today, the Australian broadcaster has signed an exclusive option with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the owners of Eurovision, to establish an Asian version of the contest. And guess who's up for hosting? AUSTRALIA. Really. According to SBS, the inaugural event would be hosted by Australia in 2017 (next year, my giddy aunt) and would then travel to other countries in the Asia Pacific. Like the Eurovision Song Contest proper, the Asia Pacific event would allow countries to showcase their songwriting and performing talent. Think about it, from J-Pop to K-Pop to Bollywood, this is perfect territory for Eurovision. "As the official broadcaster of Eurovision for over 30 years, SBS is pleased to explore the opportunity to bring an event of this calibre more closely to our shores, strengthening the multicultural ties in our region," said SBS managing director Michael Ebeid. "Asia Pacific has a spectacular music culture and the perfect next step to extend the Eurovision brand, bringing its hugely popular appeal beyond Australian audiences and to the wider region." Capitalising on the undeniable global success, crazy, crazy production values and epic scale of Eurovision, this brand new (and insanely close-to-home) event would bringing together up to 20 countries from the Asia Pacific region to compete in one live annual grand final. SBS and Blink TV will spend the next few months talking to potential sponsors, commercial partners and regional broadcasters to bring the event to life by 2017. With the potential to attract an estimated one billion viewers across the Asia Pacific region, we're pretty sure these'll be positive chats. No pressure, Dami Im. Image: Thomas Hanses (EBU).
Since their inception in late 2012, Seattle-based electronic duo Odesza have stunning the been consistently pumping out smooth-listening, R&B infused melodies. They've mastered the art of shimmery, emotion-laden beats, with loveable vocal riffs that are just easy to dance to as they are to kick back and laze a day away with. They're the power couple of the electro-synth world, and they're about to hit Australian shores to trance our capital cities with their addictive sounds. In the two years they've been together, Odesza racked up two full length albums, an EP and a few remixes under their belts. Their first album Summer's Gone stood out in a crowd of competing electro albums for showing off not just beats, but startlingly dreamy songs. From the album, songs 'How Did I Get Here' and 'iPlayYouListen' instantly leapt to #1 on the Hype Machine Chart, and with their success came a flock of pilgrims ready to pay homage to new greats on the international electronic music scene. Their brand new album In Return reaps a number of catchy, soulful tunes, namely 'Say My Name' and 'Bloom', which have been flacked with positive reviews from avid listeners and reviewers alike. To celebrate a new album, and the ever-growing attention swamping these electro-savants, Odesza will be making their way around the country for a series of beats-heavy gigs. Supported by Charles Murdoch.
If you're looking for a raging block party, St Leonards is probably the last place you'd look. But for James Winter from Brand X, who run the area's TWT Creative Precinct, a night of hardcore cabaret and female-led artistry on Friday, March 20, is just about the best way to wrestle a sleepy suburb into the hands The Artist. Most of us wouldn't have put St Leonards at the top of our list for pushing the artistic envelope. But James Winter tells us St Leonards has a history of creativity that seems to have fallen by the wayside. "The history of St Leonards is that it was a place of publications, graphic art and also broadcasting in the '60s, '70s, '80s." As Winter tells it, the TWT Creative Precinct is bringing all of this back. The TWT Creative Precinct has been running in St Leonards for six months now. Through a partnership with property developer Auswin TWT, they've taken empty commercial spaces and put them into the hands of emerging artists to use for free as part of short-term residencies or for cheap hire. "At this stage we've got eight studios that range from live music recording and rehearsal studios, to dance studios, to bike workshops to print press to visual arts studios," says Winter. Brand X has been running similar projects across Sydney for a decade, including the popular FraserStudios initiative that emerged from the Kent Brewery development, now Central Park and a lively Chippendale Creative Precinct. For Winter these projects are about more than just giving artists space to emerge; it's about putting the future of Sydney's suburbs in the hands of the public. After two years of the TWT Creative Precinct, development continues, but with (hopefully) a new sense of community ownership and engagement. "We're transforming a very sleepy, a very deserted area very, very slowing into something that the community has access to," he says. "So I love the idea of we're making private property now public property again ... we're returning the power back to people to be able to take control of their neighbourhoods." This Friday night the TWT Creative Precinct will be celebrating six months of success with a night full of cabaret, body painting, a new laneway cinema and artists strutting their stuff. "The block party this time is going to be a little different," promises Winter, "This block party is getting a little bit wilder." "I wanted to program experiences ... that maybe the people of St Leonards don't have access to," he says. "We're initiating a dive bar, where we've got lots of cabaret performance, which probably is going to be really hardcore cabaret kind of stuff, stuff that maybe is a little bit alternative, a little bit queer. I really wanted to provide that for St Leonards as a little cheeky tip of the hat to an alternative underground culture that we hope will be using our studios in the future." "We've locked all of the dirty stuff into the dive bar," he laughs. He promises that this Friday it will female artists taking the lead. "We've got a significant amount of female performance in the dive bar, plus also quite a lot of the exhibitions are created by female visual artists ... The beautiful thing is that we were able to commission Jodee Knowles to do the second of our mural projects in Atchison lane. That was really important for me to commission a female street artist, being that it's quite male dominated. She's done a beautiful work that she is just completing at the moment that will be revealed on the Friday." So get over to St Leonards, where you can have a drink, take in some cabaret and shout "power to the people" at every possible opportunity. It's all happening on Friday, March 20, from 6pm. Images: TWT Creative Precinct
A collection of Australia's most talented street artists will transform Centenary Square in Parramatta into a temporary open-air art studio. Each morning for nine consecutive weekdays beginning on Monday March 14, a different artist will produce a brand new, large scale artwork live in front of the public, demonstrating their technique and turning the space into a vibrant artistic hub. An initiative of the Parramatta City Council and real estate developers Walker Corporation in partnership with creative arts organisation Work-Shop, the Live Walls Project has tapped a number of notable names to take part. Anthony Lister, Anya Brock, Guido Van Helten, James Jirat Patradoon, Sid Tapia, Georgia Hill, Aidan "Sprinkles" McKenzie, Phibs, Nico and Jumbo will all take part, each working from 10am to 3pm on their allocated day to create a new artwork on the hoarding in front of the Parramatta Square development. At the conclusion of the event, each work will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Parramatta Mission. Nice one. LIVE WALLS LINE-UP Monday 14 March – James Jirat Patradoon Tuesday 15 March – Sid Tapia Wednesday 16 March – Georgia Hill Thursday 17 March – Anthony Lister Friday 18 March – Aidan "Sprinkles" McKenzie Monday 21 March – Anya Brock Tuesday 22 March – Phibs Wednesday 23 March – Guido Van Helten Thursday 24 March – Nico & Jumbo For more information about Live Walls, visit www.parracity.nsw.gov.au/livewalls. You can also keep tabs on the project via Instagram.
Untamed, the Sydney Dance Company's latest performance will have your senses in a bind. A double bill exclusive to Sydney, the exuberant show includes the world premiere of Anima by artistic director Rafael Bonachela and Wildebeest by homegrown star Gabrielle Nankivell. Anima, a piece that explores matters of the soul and spirit, is a beautiful showcase of Spanish-born Bonachela's award-winning choreography. Vivid dancing is complemented by evocative videography by Clemens Habicht (who's produced video clips for Tame Impala and Flume) and a cello-and-strings concerto by Bulgarian Grammy nominee Dobrinka Tabakova. Wildebeest, meanwhile, returns to the stage in reworked form after a sold-out premiere season in December 2014. With a moody score by Luke Smiles, the piece — which won Best New Work in the 2014 Dance Australia Critics Survey — is a reflection of our inherent animalistic nature. So go on, get a little wild and buy tickets to an evening of magnificently delirious dance.
If you think T2 has made tea trendy today, you should've been around in ancient China. In fact, it was the Golden Age — or the Tang Dynasty — which kicked off around 618, that turned the mighty tea leaf into a Thing. Whether you were a mere commoner or royalty, you'd spend a heck of a lot of time sitting around, brewing, sipping and assessing. In celebration of this and the many other wonders of the Tang Dynasty, the Art Gallery of NSW is holding a mega exhibition. They're bringing you 130 objects — from gold dragons to artworks to terracotta sculptures — to help you relive Chinese history. On top of its tea culture, the Tang Dynasty is famous for a bona fide #ladyboss by the name of Wu Zetian, who took the reigns between 690-705, and was the only female in China's history to rule as Empress. What's more, the empire's capital city, Chang'an, was the absolutely colossal gateway to the famous Silk Road. While London was still a wee baby town, this gargantuan city numbered one million and sprawled as far as Korea in the north and Vietnam in the south. The exhibition opens on April 9 and will finish up on July 10. If you're keen for a Sydney date that isn't just 'grabbing a drink', this is a surefire winner.
Pinbone's great Kensington pop-up might have just wrapped up over the weekend, but the good news is that fans won't be left hanging for long. The pop-up pros have already announced their next culinary venture, which will see them (surprisingly) teaming up with Merivale and taking over an unlikely space within the Tennyson Hotel, which the group acquired for $37.5 million last year. The Botany Road pub's drive-through bottle shop is set to be transformed into Mr Liquor Dirty Italian Disco, as Pinbone chefs Mike Eggert and Jemma Whiteman turn their focus to American-accented Italian fare. In true bottle shop-style, guests will be able to select their own booze out of the walk-in fridge. What's not so typical is that they'll then be able to order food at the counter and pull up a chair at one of the 90 seats set up in the driveway. It's all kicking off in October, with Eggert promising a food situation that's "fun and fast, simple and delicious". Expect everything from pasta and bruschetta, to succulent meats from the wood-fired oven and grill. The venture is another new direction for the Pinbone trio, who, after running their much-loved Woollahra eatery and doing a takeover at 10 William Street, were most recently doing exceptional Chinese food in a no-frills restaurant space on Anzac Parade. Mr Liquor Dirty Italian Disco by Pinbone and Merivale, will pop-up at the Tennyson Hotel, 952 Botany Road, Mascot. It'll take over the pub's drive-in for six months, starting this October. We'll keep you updated with more info and an opening date.
What starts with a slice of New Zealand comedy, ends with one of this year's Sundance hits, and will screen no fewer than 326 films from 65 countries across its 12-day 65th-anniversary run? That'd be this year's Sydney Film Festival, which takes place from June 6 to 17 across the city — and, 28 days before the big event (yes, we're counting), has just revealed its huge 2018 lineup. SFF had already announced that The Breaker Upperers would kick off this year's program, getting the event into gear with plenty of laughs. It'll also finish up proceedings with humour thanks to closing night film Hearts Beat Loud, which stars Nick Offerman as a record store-owning dad spending time with his budding musician daughter (Kiersey Clemons) before she heads off to college. Apart from the glitzy bookend events, SFF's biggest news this year stems from its annual competition, which is now in its 11th year. Twelve films will compete for the $60,000 Sydney Film Prize, with six of them boasting female directors. At a time when women's roles in the film industry have finally become a significant topic of conversation, that's a welcome statistic. With that in mind, highlights range from Sundance grand jury prize winner The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Berlinale hit Daughter of Mine, to Leave No Trace from Winter's Bone director Debra Granik and bewitching Bali-shot effort The Seen and Unseen. Other notable competition entries include world premiering Australian drama Jirga, about an Aussie solider returning to Afghanistan; Berlinale standouts such as Aga, Transit and The Heiresses; documentary Matangi / Maya / M.I.A. about, well, M.I.A; and Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman, the true tale of an African-American cop who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan, which comes to Sydney straight from Cannes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8oYYg75Qvg While SFF usually adds a number of straight-from-Cannes flicks to the lineup in the days before opening night, the existing program already includes a few films that are making their debuts in France. 3 Faces, the latest feature from iconic Iranian director Jafar Panahi (Tehran Taxi) is one of them, as is as Japanese animation Mirai, from me Wolf Children filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda. Also jumping from the Croisette to Sydney is the 188-minute-long The Wild Pear Tree, the follow-up to 2014 Palme d'Or winner Winter Sleep by Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan. And, then there's Rafiki, the first-ever Kenyan film screened at Cannes — and a movie that's been banned in its homeland due to its lesbian love story. Elsewhere, You Were Never Really Here stars Joaquin Phoenix in his 2017 Cannes best actor-winning role, as directed by We Need to Talk About Kevin's Lynne Ramsay — and Phoenix also puts in a vastly different but equally excellent performance in Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, where he plays real-life cartoonist John Callahan. Or, catch the Jon Hamm-starring espionage flick Beirut, new doco Whitney about the ill-fated pop queen, online thriller Searching, Lav Diaz's four-hour rock-opera Season of the Devil, or what's certain to be the dottiest and brightest film in the whole lineup: Kusama — Infinity, the documentary about Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE-ycxu_-Oo Plus, Aussie talent will shine in the likes of Juliet, Naked, the Nick Hornby adaptation featuring Rose Byrne opposite Ethan Hawke and Chris O'Dowd; Upgrade, the John Wick-esque effort from Recovery star turned Saw writer and Insidious filmmaker Leigh Whannell (who'll also be in town to chat about the film); and murder thriller Piercing with Mia Wasikowska. Still on the local front, SFF will screen Australian biker effort 1%, featuring Ryan Corr and Matt Nable; the Melbourne-shot father-son drama West of Sunshine; and the Shane Jacobson-starring black comedy Brothers' Nest. Soda Jerk's Aussie movie mashup Terror Nullius is an absolute must-see, while the festival's documentary competition once again boasts a range of local factual efforts — such as the previously announced ode to boy band fans everywhere, I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story. Throw in SFF's Aki Kaurismäki retrospective, a spotlight on Italian films, two episodes of the Mark Strong-starring TV series Deep State, and an exploration of the intersection of art and cinema, and the 2018 Sydney Film Festival is shaping up to be a jam-packed affair. Also part of the program are returning strands like the horror-focused Freak Me Out, Sounds on Screen which highlights movies about music, a virtual reality showcase at the festival hub, Screenability's platform for screen practitioners with a disability, and a ten-movie exploration of female filmmakers from Europe. And, of course, the fest already dropped a huge bunch of titles last month. The 2018 Sydney Film Festival will run from June 6 to 17. To peruse the full program and to buy tickets, head to the festival website.
Themed restaurants are a hard beast to master. Go too broad and you end up with a gaudy monstrosity that may one day fade into kitschiness, but go too niche and you might strangle the market. But the best themed restaurants are the ones where you don’t even realise there is a theme, which is exactly the deal with Restaurant Hubert. Sydney’s newest restaurant is coming to you from the mighty Swillhouse group (The Baxter Inn, Frankie’s Pizza, Shady Pines Saloon) and is set to open early February on Bligh Street. The theme? That elusive feeling you get when you’re waiting to enjoy something. Weird right? Bear with us. According to the Swillhouse group and reported by Australian Bartender, the place is designed to feel cramped, claustrophobic and gnarly; more like the bar where you wait for your table than the dining room itself. The theme, we suppose, is that delicious feeling of anticipation. Hubert's design aims to create a sense of movement and be a social place where people can eat and meet. Perhaps not so appropriate for an intimate, romantic dinner for two but certainly an excellent idea for every other social occasion. The menu is still to be determined, but will reportedly be "French-ish" and the whole vibe entirely European (think jazz, think wood, think burgundy leather). And as with all of the Swillhouse venues — especially The Baxter Inn — there’s a big emphasis on tasty booze. At Hubert, wine is king. The same flair for the dramatic that makes Baxter's basement whisky den so enchanting will be carried over in the form of a wine balcony (aren’t all balconies wine balconies though?) that you can send your sommelier scuttling up to retrieve your choice of nectar. Restaurant Hubert, you’ve certainly piqued our interest; we can’t wait to see what you’ve got. Find Restaurant Hubert at 15 Bligh Street, Sydney. Opening early February. Via Australian Bartender. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
If Black Swan didn't make the ballet world look tough enough, the boys from The Dream are sure to fix that. The Australian Ballet has been putting its dancers through their paces ahead of the company's launch of the production early next month. A fascinating rendition of Shakespeare's iconic A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Dream is part of a triple bill of works by leading 20th-century choreographer Frederick Ashton at his spectacular best. Expect magic and musicality, and did we mention men en pointe? Forget boys in tutus, these guys are throwing everything you think you know about this elegant art form out the window. Hopping and bounding across the stage for the role of Bottom, coryphée Christopher Rodgers-Wilson gives the warts-and-all goss on what it takes to transform into this loveable, eccentric donkey. TURNING THE TABLES A hulking pair of hairy legs en pointe is a rarity in ballet, where the technique is usually reserved for female dancers. There is a bit of history of men taking part in the practice — specialised companies, such as the American all-male drag parody group Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, do it regularly, while unorthodox roles have seen guys slip into these satin numbers on a variety of occasions. "There has been a previous production of Cinderella with the Australian Ballet with Stanton Welch which had the stepsisters played by males en pointe," tells Rodgers-Wilson. So The Dream is not the first to ask this of its males, but for audiences, the sight is still a novelty. A wonderful, muscly-calved novelty. THE BALLET MISTRESS, PILATES AND GETTING STARTED EN POINTE Professional ballerinas make tiptoe twirling look like a walk in the park, but years of gruelling training goes into perfecting the positions of their satin-wrapped trotters. Despite a lifetime of stage experience, Rodgers-Wilson had to go back to the barre to tackle the fundamentals with the help of conditioning coaches and London's Royal Ballet heavyweight Christopher Carr to pull this off. "We actually learnt a lot of the ballet, the steps, late last year in December ... just in our normal, flat shoes to get a feel for what we actually needed to do," says Rodgers-Wilson. With two decades of pointe expertise from the company's (amazingly titled) ballet mistress and rehabilitation specialist Megan Connelly at the ready, the guys were then taken through their paces lying down on a humble Pilates reformer to learn "how to manipulate the shoes without your full body weight". MAKING THE SLIPPER FIT The next step towards the stage saw these boys head off for a spot of shopping (of the less conventional variety). Acquiring the all-important shoes proved to be no mean feat. "[There] can be slight little discrepancies in the shape," says Rodgers-Wilson. "You do find some pairs that you pop on and you find that they’re really great straight away and there are other pairs that are just not going to work". Then it's time to really strap in. Many hours of sewing, scraping and softening later, and each dancer's perfect pair was born. These adjustments can have more of an impact than you'd think. "That’s been one of the biggest challenges for me," says Rodgers-Wilson, "working out how best to prepare the shoes before you actually get en pointe, because being comfortable and feeling like you can work your feet and manipulate the shoe is really important. Sometimes the way the shoe breaks down, it can end up pulling you off pointe ... like you’re working extra hard just to stay up." And the bloody battle scars? A veteran in the way of bumps and blisters, Rodgers-Wilson says "I think we’ve all found that our feet are stronger for [dancing en pointe], aside from the odd sore toenail or odd bruise here and there." AND JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU'D SEEN IT ALL: A GIANT HEAD The Australian Ballet doesn't do things by halves. Those learning the role of Bottom have been dealt the short straw in terms of challenging costuming. Not only will they be dancing en pointe, they'll be doing it from inside a life-size donkey mask. "The first time," Rodgers-Wilson says, "it’s like shutting your eyes and standing on one leg a little bit." With vision blocked to the point of obscurity, dancers can "sort of see out the donkey’s nostrils", making mastering this new skill about as challenging as it gets. But for these guys, obstacles like this are de rigueur. "Gradually it feels more and more normal ... and obviously, practice makes perfect". BALLET FOR THE NON-BELIEVER Aside from the novelty of boys en pointe, The Dream packs a serious punch in the way of performances. Bringing Shakespeare's most magical work to contemporary audiences, think of this as the perfect first-taste of ballet for anyone who's never dared step foot inside the Opera Theatre. "It’s got a beautiful variety," says Rodgers-Wilson. "It’s dramatic and funny and there’s magic and it's got all these beautiful elements." Throw in compositions by Felix Mendelssohn, plus a choir of singers tucked away beneath the stage, and this show guarantees a seriously surreal theatre experience that will say with you long after you've left your seat. The Dream opens on Wednesday, April 29, at the Sydney Opera House. Tickets range from $19 to $189 + bf and can be purchased online from the Opera House website.
With the American political system in a state of flux, and the Obama years coming to an end, John Robenstone's latest exhibition, In the Time of Hope, could not be better timed. The Melbourne-based photographer moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and spent the first years of the Obama presidency capturing daily life on the city's streets. The result is a moving collection that shows American society in all its complexity and probes the idea of the American dream, as vibrant colours contrast with decaying roads, littered streets, and rundown motels. A testament to photography's power to capture complex realities, this exhibit is an absolute must-see. In the Time of Hope runs November 22 to December 4. Opening night November 24 6-9pm.
Sydneysiders have been stepping things right up in 2015. Our bars are more groundbreaking and imaginative, our events more brilliant and immersive, and our restaurants more inventive and experimental. With new openings left, right and centre, Sydney is more vibrant, playful and fun than it ever has been. At Concrete Playground we encourage exploration and showcase innovation in our city every day, so we thought it fitting to reward those most talented whippersnappers pushing Sydney to be a better, braver city. And so, we are very pleased to announce Concrete Playground's Best of 2015 awards. Sydney's restaurants that have been recreating the city one dish at a time — quite literally, in the case of Bennelong's mini pavlova ode to the Opera House. Our cafes that continue to redefine our coffee breaks, from crab cake sandwiches to house-brewed coffee lemonade. Our bars that have been reclaiming the night in the face of prevailing lockout laws, one solid negroni at a time; from entire spritz menus to cigarette-inspired cocktails, sharp Japanese whisky joints to Sydney's first distillery in 160 years. And our new (or renewed) pubs that have the biggest hurdle to face — history. Renovating a pub is one thing, but creating a new local is an art. Sydney's new event producers that have found new ways to celebrate Sydney life, reinvigorating dwindling or hidden spaces, and taking us on wild adventures in our own home. Our savvy business minds that have been hard at work inventing and developing the nifty new gadgets, services and products we can't stop talking about. From SmartCups to crowdfunded gin, anything-goes delivery services to alternative gym passes, local businesses have been making our lives much easier this year. Click through for the nominations for: Best New Bar Best New Restaurant Best New Cafe Best New Pub Best New Event Best New Product These 36 outstanding Sydney (or Sydney-based) ventures have been handpicked by CP for a combination of their originality, innovation, creativity, accessibility and sustainability — we straight-up love 'em. Winners will be announced Monday, December 21.
If you're heading to New Zealand's Christchurch region for a short holiday, you can't leave without going bungy jumping. There are plenty of opportunities to get your adrenaline going, so why not live on the wild side of life? Experience breathtaking views of the Southern Alps, beautiful coastal vistas and lush green forest while you get reacquainted with the thrill-seeking side of yourself. If you're into the kind of fun that leaves your stomach in knots, then this guide will not disappoint. The adrenaline-junkie kiwis seem to know a thing or two about going on an adventure. TACKLE THE RAPIDS IN HANMER SPRINGS Drive for 90 minutes to Hanmer Springs and book yourself in for a white water rafting adventure. You'll find yourself situated within a stunning mountain range, with pink marble land formations heading all the way down the Waiau River canyon. The rapids are Grade 2 in Hanmer Springs, so expect medium-size rapids and low drops with waves less than a metre high. After all the twists, turns and drops you can still get your fair share of serenity — Hanmer Springs is known for its beautiful blue water and stunning scenery. Don't forget to pack something to swim in, there's no doubt you're going to want to relax with a swim at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools after a day out on the rapids. Even adrenaline junkies need some time to chill out. GO JET BOATING IN WAIMAKARIRI GORGE The Waimakariri River, translating to 'cold water' in Māori, is the home of jet boating in Christchurch, with canyons, gorges, rock faces and native forest lining an adventure trail through the water. You can choose between a 30- or 60-minute jet boating adventure in the beautiful blue water — expect 360-degree spins, hairpin turns and a high-speed ride that'll get your heart racing. The Waimakariri river is 90 minutes from Christchurch, but Alpine Jet organises transfers that pick you up from the city and drop you back when the day is done. Because there are so many beautiful rivers in the Christchurch region, there are many places to go jet boating. Another option is at Hanmer Springs. Once you've tested the strength of your stomach there'll be plenty of opportunities to sit back and take in the fresh air in both locations — catch a glimpse of the snow-capped Southern Alps if you're lucky. BUNGY JUMP AMID STUNNING SCENERY You're heading to New Zealand, which means you're going to want to throw yourself from a tall structure connected to an elastic cord — this is the home of bungy jumping after all. Why not let yourself free fall from a bridge for 35 metres towards a surging river to get the blood pumping and the bones jumping? It's an adrenaline rush like no other and one that you're bound to get addicted to. The idyllic Hanmer Springs Bungy, 90 minutes from Christchurch, is the perfect spot for first timers who may need to distract themselves with stunning scenery before taking a leap of faith. MOUNTAIN BIKE THE EDGE OF THE CITY The Christchurch region's beautiful scenery and stunning mountains make it an ideal destination for avid mountain bikers. There are many cycling tracks to discover, but the Port Hills is one of Christchurch's best kept secrets and one of our favourites. With its dramatic landscape of tussock grasslands and rugged mountain terrain, it's easy to see why. Ten different trails in this area each have their own unique highlights — and they're perfect for both new and experienced riders. The new Christchurch Adventure Park is another mountain biking option. The huge trails inside range in difficulty — from beginner courses to those designed for experts only. If you're new to mountain biking and want to learn some skills in a safe environment, head here. It's the biggest mountain biking path in the Southern Hemisphere — you won't be short on space. FLY THROUGH THE ADRENALIN FOREST If you consider yourself to be a little bit of a George of the Jungle, here's your chance to prove yourself in the tree tops. A 20-minute drive from Christchurch is the Adrenalin Forest, a two-kilometre aerial obstacle course set in the beautiful Spencer Park. We can't promise you'll have the opportunity to hang from vines, but there's more than enough to keep you challenged with over 100 activities and six courses to sink your teeth into. If you're a real adrenaline junkie, tackle the high-wire course. It's not quite walking between the twin towers Man On Wire-style, but you're sure to get up to 20 metres into the forest canopy — that's at least two or three stories off the ground and more than enough to get you shaking in your boots.
Crusaders for saving Sydney's nightlife Keep Sydney Open have issued the battle cry once again, announcing another large-scale rally in Sydney on Sunday, October 9. Protesting NSW's controversial lockout laws and Justice Ian Callinan's (honestly pretty general) liquor law review, released by the NSW Government yesterday, the KSO rally will reiterate the sentiment that fuelled their huge February rally that saw around 15,000 Sydneysiders take to the CBD streets. "It's good to finally hear what Sydneysiders have already known for a long time, that these laws are putting Sydney's reputation as a dynamic, international city at risk," says Keep Sydney Open founder Tyson Koh. "We shouldn't have to settle for lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key policy solutions, when only an hour's flight away Melbourne has created a safe and dynamic nightlife with a cool-headed smart policy." "With each passing day the lockouts are in place, Sydney's cultural life is damaged, small businesses are jeopardised and our internationally recognised artistic talent is finding it harder to be paid for their work", said Koh. "A thirty minute extension misses the point, that Sydney wants policy that encourages safe and vibrant nightlife at anytime. Major cities around the world can do it and we can too." Keep Sydney Open will hold a rally in Sydney's CBD at 12pm on October 9. Here's the Facebook event if you're keen to attend. Image: Kimberley Low.
What, you haven't just spent two weeks watching movies in the snow with celebrities? Sadly, us neither. But just because we can't all head to a film festival in Utah and hang out with Robert Redford, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the main attractions — or at least hope that we can in the near future. Since the one-time on-screen Sundance Kid first started his celebration of movies in 1978, the festival has given many of your favourite filmmakers and films their big breaks. Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies and Videotape, Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, and Darren Aronofsky’s Pi all debuted there, as did Clerks, The Blair Witch Project, Donnie Darko, Napoleon Dynamite, Moon, What We Do in the Shadows and Animal Kingdom. Like Paul Thomas Anderson or Wes Anderson? They worked their way through Sundance’s short film section. Last year, three big hits of the festival went on to bigger things, including the AACTA Award for Best Film and likely Oscars later this month. We’re talking about The Babadook, Boyhood and Whiplash, all of which premiered at Sundance 2014. The Babadook has wowed critics around the world, and just days ago shared Australia’s top film prize, also winning best director for Jennifer Kent in her own right. At the upcoming Academy Awards, Boyhood director Richard Linklater and supporting actress Patricia Arquette top the odds for their respective fields, as does the film in the best picture category. Whiplash’s JK Simmons is expected to take out the best supporting actor award for playing the jazz drumming teacher that frightened us all. Without a crystal ball, we don't if this year’s crop of Sundance features will have the same success, but we do know this: there are plenty of movies from the festival’s 2015 slate that we want to see. Some are guaranteed, thanks to local distribution. More than a couple will pop up at the Sydney and Melbourne film festivals mid-year. Others might earn a DVD, VOD or streaming release. A rare few — ’71, It Follows, and White God — have already screened at Aussie fests. Regardless, we’ve selected ten we hope Australian audiences get the chance to watch, and named some more we’ll also be looking out for. MISTRESS AMERICA If any film was guaranteed to make our list, it is this one — and with good reason. Who didn’t love the combination of writer/director Noah Baumbach and writer/actress Greta Gerwig in the delightful Frances Ha, their version of a quarter-life crisis comedy filtered through a black-and-white homage to French New Wave? And who doesn’t want to see them do it all again, this time jumping back to the troubles of college years with Lola Kirke, sister of Girls’ Jemima Kirke? The answer to both those questions is no one. If you’re not convinced, the synopsis promises cat-stealing. What more could you want? Also watch out for: Greta Gerwig also features in Eden, Mia Hansen-Løve’s journey through the French house music scene of the early 1990s and beyond. THE END OF THE TOUR One of the most talked about films of the festival sees Jason Segel leave How I Met Your Mother long behind to turn into acclaimed author David Foster Wallace. In 1996 after the publication of his groundbreaking novel Infinite Jest, Wallace agreed to be interviewed for five days by Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky, who is played here by Jesse Eisenberg. Following on from Sundance hits Smashed and The Spectacular Now, director James Ponsoldt delves into the story that was never published in the magazine, but did fuel Lipsky’s memoir after Wallace’s suicide. The movie itself is earning considerable acclaim, as are the two central performances. Also watch out for: Taking out the dramatic category double of Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award that Whiplash achieved last year, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a teen cancer comedy hopefully worlds away from The Fault in Our Stars. DOPE Dope tells you that it is great in its title — and if the buzz coming out of the festival is accurate, such bragging should be believed. That’s not just because of the retro ‘90s vibe that sees a high school geek sport a high-top fade and wear Cross-Colours, nor because of the DIY punk meets YouTube aesthetic. What excites is that this underdog coming-of-age film is being called the ultimate teen movie for '90s kids, as well as earning comparisons to greats gone by. Most of the young actors won’t be familiar, not that it matters, but you will spot The Grand Budapest Hotel’s lobby boy Tony Revolori among the cast. Also watch out for: Seoul Searching, a 1980s-set Korean teen comedy that pays homage to the films of John Hughes, and The Diary of a Teenage Girl, set in the counterculture haze of the 1970s. KNOCK KNOCK It’s okay, Keanu fans: you’re finally cool again. It's about time! John Wick readjusted the way everyone now thinks of the man beloved as Ted, Neo and Johnny Utah, and Knock Knock keeps him in the same dark, violent territory. The film shares a few storyline similarities with Reeves’ most recent hit, as a happy life unravels once again after strangers come calling; however, here director Eli Roth is in the driver’s seat. It might not be quite like the filmmaker’s unsettling Hostel or his recent cannibalism homage The Green Inferno, but expect to feel disturbed during this psychological horror effort. Also watch out for: Two ten-year-olds take a police vehicle for a joyride in Cop Car, but have Kevin Bacon to contend with. THE WOLFPACK No, this isn’t about the gang of annoying guys in The Hangover movies — and thank goodness for that. In The Wolfpack, six brothers grow up in the confines of a New York City apartment, watching movies and re-enacting them with elaborate props and costumes. Film is their teacher, friend and window to the outside world, in a scenario that would probably be hilarious if it wasn’t real. Yes, Crystal Moselle’s effort is a documentary, winning the field’s Grand Jury Prize, in fact. Given extraordinary access into the family's lives and their home movies, she tells the tale of children literally raised by the movies. Also watch out for: Canada’s Guy Maddin pays homage to the lost movies of the silent era in The Forbidden Room, with the off-kilter assistance of Mathieu Amalric, Charlotte Rampling and Udo Kier. SLOW WEST Michael Fassbender plays a mysterious stranger. Australia’s Kodi Smit-McPhee is a 17-year-old Scottish aristocrat. They meet on the untamed American frontier towards the end of the 19th century as the latter tries to find his lost love, and the former helps him traverse his troubles. Shot in New Zealand by first-time filmmaker John Maclean, Slow West delves into a genre too little seen these days, the western, and impressed Sundance attendees in the process. Not that you need any more cause for excitement, but did we also mention that it won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema – Dramatic category? Also watch out for: Another film hailing from New Zealand, Turbo Kid sounds a bit like BMX Bandits meets Tank Girl meets every ‘80s synth-scored sci-fi flick, and that can only be a very good thing. KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK Some can remember where they were when they heard the news of Kurt Cobain's death. Others discovered Nirvana’s grungy tunes afterward. Either way, the story of the singer has entranced several generations for multiple decades, and shows no signs of fading. Brett Morgen, the filmmaker behind the also excellent The Kid Stays in the Picture, delves into the man rather than the music after spending eight years — yes, you read that correctly — sifting through private journals, recordings and home movies. This isn’t the usual rock star biography, but something much more intimate and revelatory. Also watch out for: Another personal effort that challenges expectations, fictional transgender sex-trade film Tangerine was shot almost entirely on an iPhone. DIGGING FOR FIRE Mumblecore maestro Joe Swanberg has been knocking it out of the park of late, as anyone who saw Drinking Buddies and Happy Christmas knows. Could he be three for three in his adventure into more mainstream fare? With Digging for Fire, starring and co-written by New Girl’s Jake Johnson, it certainly sounds like it. The film tells of a husband and wife on separate adventures over an unusual weekend. Rosemarie DeWitt, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Jennie Slate, Melanie Lynskey, Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina, Ron Livingston, Mike Birbiglia and Orlando Bloom also pop up, in a cast any movie wishes it had. Also watch out for: Reviews have been mixed for Results, but fans of Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess will be keen to see his next film, starring Cobie Smulders and Guy Pearce. THE WITCH The Witch is yet another award winner, this time recognised in the dramatic category for its direction by debut filmmaker Robert Eggers. In horror movies, New England is perhaps best known for its association with the 1692 trials in Salem, Massachusetts; however, colonial farm life generations prior is the focus, as recreated in painstaking detail in the name of historical realism. Given the setting and the title, superstition plays a large part in proceedings, but the usual account of the occult this ain't. Anxieties, myths, inherent malevolent traits and sources of hidden menace come to the fore, helped by a creeping camera and ominous score. Also watch out for: Similarly steeped in its sense of place, Last Days in the Desert lets Ewan McGregor play both Jesus and the devil. SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE A sex addicts' meeting morphs into one of the age-old movie dilemmas: can platonic friendship exist between men and women? In Sleeping with Other People, Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis are college lovers who reconnect to put the question to the test, but while it may sound a bit like When Harry Met Sally, this isn't your standard rom-com. Writer/director Leslye Headland’s Bachelorette was divisive a few years back, but whether you loved it or not, the premise and roster of talent here is certain to pique your interest. Adam Scott, Amanda Peet, Natasha Lyonne and The League’s Jason Mantzoukas also feature. Also watch out for: In The Overnight, Adam Scott fools around with Taylor Schilling and Jason Schwartzman in another adult-oriented sex comedy.
If ever you needed an excuse to bunk off work on a winter Wednesday, get your doc to write Pokemon Go get-together on your certificate. Sydney Opera House is hosting a Poke-gathering on Wednesday between 12pm-2pm, so you should start practicing your sick voice now (and probably gear up for a job hunt). The Opera House has pledged to load up their adjacent Poke stops with lures for two hours and let the crowd go nuts. But they're not the first ones to capitalise on the game's extreme global popularity (or the attraction of a well-placed lure). Events have been popping up all over the country, from Poke-walks, Poke-pub crawls, Poke-parties ("We suggest you have Nurse Joy on standby Saturday morning, this is going to be big,"), to Pokemon Go social groups — there are contingents in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Perth and some even localised to specific suburbs. Local businesses are also jumping on the Pokemon Go bandwagon. A Chinese restaurant in Melbourne has offering up to 30 percent off for Pokemon Go players with specific Pokemon, Virgin Australia is offering free charging at all their stores, and local businesses are scrambling to nab some of the foot traffic with the Pokemon Go-ers. Niantic Labs have recently confirmed that one of the new features as the game develops will be sponsored Pokestops (McDonalds is rumoured to be one such stop), which brings with it a new range of possibility (and corporate sponsorship) for players (we just desperately hope it means some sort of Jigglypuff-themed McFlurry). Image: Flickr.
Unravel the mysteries of human conflict with a Bengal tiger. Eavesdrop on a meeting between Salvador Dali and Sigmund Freud. Drop into Charles Dickens' house for 'fallen' women (that actually existed. Autumn wields quite a hefty stash of theatre for Sydneysiders, so we've picked the shows you should focus your attention on. They're not light, they're not cruisy, but they're the best on stage this month. By Matt Abotomey, Hugh Robertson, James Whitton and Rima Sabina Aouf.
When news dropped of Sydney getting its own burger festival, many of you understandably lost your collective shit. And by many, we mean tens of thousands of you. When Hashtag Burgers announced the glorious, glorious news of the very first Burgapalooza back in February, over 10,000 clicked 'attending' on Facebook. For an event... at Marrickville's Vic on the Park pub. Due to this overwhelming response to an event at a pub, Hashtag Burgers have now found a new home for their whopper of a burger event. HB's Archie Saliba and Ben Kagan have announced the relocation of Burgapalooza to a much bigger venue — University of Sydney’s Manning House. Having already accommodated the likes of OutsideIn, One Day Only and many a student rager, Manning is a bloody good choice for an epic burger fest. "We were as concerned as you when 24 hours after launching BURGAPALOOZA we had over 10,000 people interested," says Saliba and Kagan on their renewed Facebook page. "Our original event would have had lines from Marrickville to Redfern so we knew we needed a big change and fast." Burgapalooza is now running over two whole days (April 16 and 17) instead of the original one. Now you have an entire weekend of burger scoffing to look forward to. And of course, those bigger numbers mean the event is indeed now ticketed to control the crowds — and will be split into lunch and dinner sessions. Tickets go on sale this Wednesday, March 16 and are only $6.99 (+BF). There are also a few lineup additions, thanks to the bigger venue. Sydney favourite One Tea Lounge has joined the party, bringing their beloved ice cream sliders to the table. They're joining an all-star cast of Sydney's most lauded burger crews including Bare Grill, Pub Life Kitchen, Barrio Cellar, Redfern’s Milk Bar by Café Ish, Chefs Kitchen and Bar Luca — each bringing with them one burger creation exclusive to Burgapalooza. There'll be stocked bars on the day as well, alongside one heck of a set from Sydney lad Mike Who hits the decks alongside Hashtag’s regular DJs. Burgapalooza is now running April 16-17 at Manning Bar at Sydney Uni. Stalls open from 11am until 4pm, with the second session kicking off from 5pm until 9pm. Tickets are $6.99 (+BF) and go on sale Wednesday, March 16 at Hashtag Burgers' website. Images: Bar Luca, Barrio Cellar.
If you emerge from Sydney Festival's House of Mirrors this weekend just barely clinging to your sanity, rest assured there's plenty of comfort to be found in the festival's culinary offerings. Keep an open mind, though. Sometimes a shipping container and a pizzeria can be the same thing. In the Festival village, Porteno's Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz from have run riot for the second year in a row. At the Porteno Pie Shop, they'll be shovelling a few of their best-loved Argentinian-influenced combos into pastry parcels and expecting you in turn to shovel them into your gobs. No egg and cheese here — think barbecue brisket and jalapeno, or marinated peppers with eggplant and salsa verde. The gents will also be serving up a range of South American street food at the nearby Bodega Cantina. Tamales, quesadillas, check. Also in the village, the chefs from Sake will be cranking out prawn shumai with ponzu for as long as you can eat them. Fratelli Fresh have an envoy in the mix too, with squid-loaded hotdogs (not for those traumatised by HP Lovecraft) and a duck ragu penne with orange and bitter chocolate. Taking over Gelato Messina's usually lauded Sydney Festival spot, Cow and the Moon will be lurking at the dessert end of proceedings. There'll be coffee and fresh pastries in the Double Roasters Caravan and the inevitable summer frose from James Estate Wines' pop-up bar. Over in the Cutaway, after you've finished soaking up the fake surf and sun of The Beach at Barangaroo, grab a next-level sausage sandwich from Newtown's Sausage Queen Chrissy Flanagan, or continue the nautical theme with a visit to Pizza da Mario Pop-Up, a Da Mario-run pizzeria disguised as a shipping container. Apparently this is for mobility purposes, but the novelty alone makes it worth a visit (there's a three-tonne pizza oven inside). There are plenty more pop-up establishments squirreled away in the village, including numerous spots for a quiet or not-so-quiet drink. We're told that these will only be revealed to those who have stared into infinity and wrestled their doppelgangers back into the mirror-realm, though. Good way to build up an appetite. Check out what to see at Sydney Festival over here.
Over the weekend, Brendan Cato of The Farmed Table and Matt Branagan of Work-Shop came together to teach a bunch of our readers how to cook up an outstanding barbecue. In partnership with Heineken 3, we showed you how to create the ultimate last-minute barbecue spread in under an hour. Then we decided that we wanted to take it to the next level, and teach you how to do it IRL. On a beautiful sunny day in Sydney's Prince Alfred Park, steak, vegetables and mussels were all cooked up and eaten, served alongside some cold Heineken 3s. Don't let the sporadic showers fool you — summer is most definitely on its way. It's time to pull your beachwear out from the depths of your cupboard, dust off your tatty straw hat and prepare for three months of good food, good music and stunning sunshine. Take a look at the photos from the day, and get inspired for your next summer afternoon barbecue — you'll be able to implement everything you've learned. Enjoy your summer afternoons with the new low-carb Heineken 3 — we're helping you make the most of them. Images: Steven Woodburn.
Sydney's harbour control tower has long stood as the lonely watchman of Barangaroo, monitoring ferry activity and making sure boozy teenagers don't vandalise too much heritage-listed property in The Rocks. The 'concrete mushroom' as it's been referred to in very, very niche circles of Sydney, was originally planned for destruction by tiny, tiny remote-controlled robots, according to SMH. But now, the historic control tower is now set for a landmark makeover worthy of Coney Island, playing host to an epic swing chair carousel ride, planned for instalment in late 2016. Originally locked in for at least three amateur How to Host a Murder parties and a giant neon wang installation for Vivid Sydney 2017, the control tower's fate was uncertain. Now, thanks to an anonymous billionaire and his multi-Grammy-winning fiance, the tower will function as a free swing ride for anyone brave enough to waive the staggeringly vague insurance policy. Set to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the swing ride has been dubbed 'Sydney's new BridgeClimb' by every other high-flying Sydney tourist attraction that isn't Sydney Bridgeclimb. Keen to hop on the Barangaroo swing ride? Punters will have the chance to win a spot on the highly coveted ride, after passing a series of rigorous tests. While the exact contents of the test have yet to be revealed, insiders suggest punters may be judged on whether they think Gumshara has the best ramen in Sydney, whether Steven Avery is not guilty or not guilty, and whether putting Nutella inside a food item that may not necessarily always be the best pairing for Nutella is reason enough to open an entire cafe around the idea. Register here for your turn on the Sydney Harbour Swing Ride. Getting your shoes back after said ride is your gamble.
When most people think of Vivid, they think of all of the lights all of the lights taking over the city. But with Sydney being transformed into a giant light rave, we're ready to find ourselves a shindig. Luckily, Vivid's program is heavy on the parties this year — everything from secret synthwave raves to hip hop festivals to hidden wine parties and epic birthday bashes. There's even a pyjama party for the '90s kids. Plan your nights out with some of Sydney's best party crews. This is by no means all of the parties happening during Vivid (cough, Bjork, sold-out), but it's a damn good start. By Kimberley Mai, Jasmine Crittenden, Imogen Baker and Shannon Connellan.
One-and-a-half kilograms of paper are making their way to Australia from studio in Suffolk, England, via sea. “It’s a whole shipping container’s worth,” laughs Mira Calix, the artist behind the ream. To be transformed into an enormous, ethereal maze, the cargo will form the basis of her new work, Inside There Falls, premiering at Sydney Festival 2015. Spoken word, original classical music and dance will combine in an immersive experience. The project began life about three years ago, as a result of a chance email from a stranger, who sent her a piece of writing. “I started reading it and responding positively. It really resonated,” she says. Or, as she puts it in her artist statement, “The text had taken hold of me. A stream of consciousness I found so enigmatic and elusive, creating feeling before reason. I felt compelled to take that avalanche of words off the page and let them breathe in a new form ... The writer had handed me the shoots and left me to grow my own forest.” A year or so later, with the initial concept in mind, Mira came to Sydney, where other elements fell into place: seeing Carriageworks and meeting Sydney Dance Company artistic director Rafael Bonachela. “When I saw [Carriageworks] it was like love at first sight. My little heart said, ‘This is perfect.’ It has character, but it isn’t dominating, and, physically, it’s such an exciting space, if you’re thinking big ... We don’t have places like this in England. Space is at a premium. In London, anything on this kind of scale would be turned into chichi apartments very quickly.” As for Rafael, Mira was already a fan. “He used to run a dance company on South Bank in London,” she says. “I gave him my construct and my narrative and he’s interpreting it. I like to work this way, sparking ideas, so that even among us, the work is becoming different versions of itself.” In keeping with Inside There Falls’ spontaneous, temporal nature, the dancing, despite being choreographed, won’t be scheduled. So whether or not audiences catch a fleeting figure among the paper will depend on chance. In the meantime, they’ll be kept busy with an open invitation to touch the installation at their will. “I want people to physically interact,” Mira explains. “There’s a bit of ritual and participation element to this work. You step into the story through a big blue room, which is like an overture or a prologue, so you start off as a blank page. Then you step into a white room, where the paper starts off very dense, but opens out. At the same time, you are surrounded by the story – the text [narrated by actor Hayley Atwell] and the music are moving around you ... Everything to me is the story, including you." Some artists are driven by their chosen medium, which they commit to for life. Mira, on the other hand, is driven by ideas. Combining music, sound and art, she draws on whichever materials are best suited to the story she has to tell. “I shift materials a lot,” she says. “Philosophically, to me, they’re all materials and it’s all composition. I see it all as one thing.” In 2009, a 100-strong choir played an integral role in her installation, My Secret Heart, which won the Royal Philharmonic Society Award. And, in 2012, a monolithic stone sculpture featured in her interactive piece, nothing is set in stone, which appeared at the London 2012 Olympic Festival. “You know what’s really strange about Singapore?” Mira Calix leans in, as though she’s telling me a secret. “Even though it’s tropical – even though it’s steaming hot – there are no insects. Isn’t that the weirdest thing?” “Last time I was there,” she continues. “I did a performance with an orchestra, where I put insects inside boxes, and mic-ed them. That was interesting.” Inside There Falls will show at Bay 17, Carriageworks (245 Wilson St, Eveleigh), from January 8-17, between midday and 8pm. Entry is free.
The Biennale of Sydney will turn twenty in 2016. Artistic director Stephanie Rosenthal spilled the beans on what we can expect, outlining her concept and naming the first 73 artists. Her programming draws inspiration from a line by sci-fi author William Gibson: The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed. When the event takes over Sydney between 18 March and 5 June, it’ll explore this quotation across seven venues and numerous other 'in-between' spaces. Keen to get as many site-specific works happening as possible, Rosenthal commissioned 70 percent of artists to present new pieces. For this Biennale, we’re asked to consider the venues as temporary 'embassies of thought' rather than galleries, with each 'embassy' embracing a specific theme. So, Cockatoo Island will become the Embassy of the Real, where artists will meditate on our perceptions of reality in the digital world. Major works by Korakrit Arunanondchai, William Forsythe, Camille Henrot, Lee Bul, Chiharu Shiota, Ming Wong, and Xu Zhen will investigate the grey areas between the physical and the virtual, with a particular focus on the human body. To transcend the physical, head to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which will be transformed into the Embassy of Spirits. Works here will explore the crossroads between the spiritual and the philosophical, often focusing on personal and religious rituals. Scheduled artists include Johanna Calle, Sheila Hicks, Nyapanyapa Yunupingu, Jumana Manna, Sudarshan Shetty and Taro Shinoda. Meanwhile, Carriageworks will become the Embassy of Disappearance. In a world of rapid change, many cultures are continually losing their distinguishing features — from languages and histories to currencies and landscapes. Taking on this concern will be Lauren Brincat, Neha Choksi, Yannick Dauby and Wan-Shuen Tsai, Yuta Nakamura, Otobong Nkanga, Mike Parr, Bernardo Ortiz, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The other four venues are Artspace (Embassy of Non-Participation), Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (Embassy of Translation), a bookshop (Embassy of Stanislaw Lem) and Mortuary Station (Embassy of Transition), in its first ever Biennale appearance. Breaking its traditional obsession with the Harbour and CBD, the event will present more one-third of artworks in Sydney’s inner west. In Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, for example, you’ll find a site-specific work by Swedish artist Bo Christian Larsson. And, elsewhere, Brown Council artist collective will present a participatory performance, challenging us to think about how we remember the past and how we imagine the future. “If each era posits its own view of reality, what is ours?” said Rosenthal. “One of the key ideas this Biennale explores is how the common distinction between the virtual and the physical has become ever more elusive. The embassies are also inspired by the unique locations and individual histories of each venue; they will provide safe spaces for thinking … A focus on ‘in-between spaces’ is key: in terms of our interaction with the digital world, displacement from and occupation of spaces and land, and the interconnections and overlaps between politics and financial power structures.” The 20th Biennale of Sydney runs between 18 March and 5 June. As always, the exhibition is free. Head to the Biennale website for more info. Images: Mella Jaarsma 'Until Time is Old' 2014, Bharti Kher 'Untitled' 2013, Lee Mingwei 'Guernica in Sand' 2006 and 2015, Ming Wong 'Windows On The World (Part 1)' 2014, courtesy of Para Site and Spring Workshop Hong Kong, Mella Jaarsma 'The Pecking Order' 2015.
For the first time ever, the Sydney Opera House is scoring a pop-up bar for Vivid LIVE. And the last thing you can expect is chicken sandwiches and regulation sparkling. Because the duo making it happen is Jeremy Blackmore and Alex Dowd — whose work you already know if you've ever knocked back a tequila or two at Tio's or a tiki cocktail at The Cliff Dive. The bar, to be known as the Deep Purple Pool Hall (what a name), will be found inside the Concert Hall's northern foyer, where you can get cosy and warm while still taking in those epic harbour views. Expect a crafty menu, featuring what Blackmore and Dowd have dubbed 'downtown favourites', as well as live DJs and free pool. "I have wanted to set up a cool bar in this space for five years, ever since I arrived at the Opera House," said Ben Marshall, curator of Vivid Live. "Overlooking the harbour, it has the best view in Sydney and people will be absolutely blown away that this jewel in the crown of the Opera House hasn’t been used for this before. Whether you’re up for a pre or post-gig drink or on the look-out for the neon eight-ball outside, you can sneak up the back stairs of the Opera House to the Deep Purple Pool Hall and settle into an incredible secret space in the heart of the city, in the middle of this incredible festival." The Deep Purple Pool Hall will open from 6pm till late every night of Vivid LIVE, which runs between May 22 and 31.
She's made a living filling your Instagram feed with insane baked creations that wouldn't look out of place in Willy Wonka's factory. Now, high-school teacher turned self-taught dessert queen Katherine Sabbath is taking things to the next level by crowdfunding her very own 3D pop-up cookbook. Titled Katherine Sabbath - Greatest Hits - The Pop Edition, the 80-page hardcover book will feature 40 unique, removable, "kitchen proof" recipe cards, and ten intricate paper pop-ups, which will be created by Sydney paper artist Benja Harney (who we recently got to make us a burger piñata). Sabbath hopes to raise $227,000 by mid-December, enough to publish an initial run of 5000 copies. A pledge of $65 will get you your very own copy of the book, with an expected delivery date of September 2017. The book will have a recommended retail price of $80 once it hits stores. "Home bakers will be able to recreate all of my most well-known cakes and recipes," wrote Sabbath as part of her Kickstarter pitch. "The high-quality recipe cards are designed, for functional, everyday use in the kitchen, whilst the book itself is a beautiful art piece. Every cake featured also comes with its own story, revealing my inspiration behind each creation. A keepsake of dessert inspiration and paper engineering to both admire and display!" For those unfamiliar with her work (your dentist would be proud of you, to be honest), Sabbath rose to fame thanks to her absurd cakes and other sweet creations, and has since worked with the likes of Luke Mangan and Anna Polyviou. For more information, or to chip in a few bucks, check out Sabbath's project on Kickstarter. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram for more insane dessert photos. Images: Nikki To.
One of Sydney's best party events, Heaps Gay, started as a set of shindigs for the pleasure of Sydney's LGBTQI community, and over the years, the crew have turned out some of the biggest parties this side of the rainbow. Next up in this long line of happenings? Heaps Gay is throwing a huge party for Sydney Mardi Gras, taking over The Factory in Marrickville. Music-wise, the crew from YUMMY Melbourne are on board, alongside Zuri Akoko, Bahdoesa, LOW TON DJs, Oh Boy and a whole host more. There'll be spoken word by Immani Love, a live stream of the Mardi Gras Parade, main stage visuals by Optic Soup, immersive visuals curated by QUEERTECH.IO, plus there'll be a speakeasy whiskey bar pop-up, a fortune teller, silent cinema and the now infamous work, The Clitorati, by Deep Sea Astronauts. You're encouraged to wear "bad '80s wedding attire", so you might want to rewatch The Wedding Singer for a little inspiration.
We've already given you scores of reasons to head up to the Blue Mountains for a weekender. Just when you thought the Scenic Skyway and the Hydromajestic's spiffing new bar couldn't be topped, we bring you an epic pop-up, outdoor sculpture gallery — in bona fide Jurassic rainforest. Heading into its fifth year, the annual Sculpture at Scenic World will run from April 8 till May 8. As you wander along the 2.4 km boardwalk, you'll pass 29 works created by 33 artists from all over the world, as far afield as Iran, Japan, Finland and Slovenia. They've been handpicked by an independent panel, made up of Michael Snelling, Felicity Fenner and Claire Healy, and one of them will win the whopping $20,000 Scenic World Major Award, to be announced at the opening. This year's artists include Braidwood's Suzie Bleach and Andy Townsend, known for their fabulous, animal-inspired sculptures; Lucy Barker, whose works explore time, light, glass and perceptions; and Fleur Brett, who creates woven sculptural forms. If you're travelling all the way to the mountains for these glorious artworks, you may as well make a sleepover of it. The good news is that, to encourage peeps like you to drop by, six of the Blueys' most excellent accommodation options are offering art-inspired packages. All include Ultimate Sculptures Passes, which mean you can spend as much time at Scenic World as you like, wandering among the sculptures at your leisure, whizzing up and down the Scenic Railway and freaking out while soaking in extraordinary views through the glass bottom of the Scenic Skyway, which hangs 270 metres above a gorge, affording panoramas of Katoomba Falls, The Three Sisters and Jamison Valley. Depending on where you're staying, stacks of other extras are thrown in, from buffet brekkies with lake views to high teas in lush gardens to spas. Your options are the Hydro Majestic, Parklands Country Gardens and Lodges, Echoes Boutique Hotel, Lilianfels Resort and Spa, The Carrington Hotel and Fairmont Resort. “The promise of a break that mixes a choice of tailored accommodation packages with Sculpture at Scenic World, amazing Blue Mountains views and a Public Program that offers something for everyone is enticing for art lovers, enthusiasts and families alike,” said Justin Morrissey, Sculpture at Scenic World exhibition manager. “Of course, location is key when it comes to a mini art escape and being familiar with the area is what gives us the edge in helping recommend accommodation packages for Sculpture at Scenic World guests.” Sculpture at Scenic World will run from April 8 till May 8. Top image: Artwork — Elyssa Sykes-Smith, A Canopy of Thoughts (2015), Image — Keith Maxwell. Body Image: Artwork — Nathan Keogh, Compression (2014).
The best, most beery week of the year is nearly upon us. Yes, Sydney Craft Beer Week is back again from Friday, October 21 through Sunday, October 30 — and, as always, we're all a-fluster trying to decide exactly how we're going to fit it all in (and still turn up to work each day). With over 100 events across more than 75 venues, the festival is Sydney's largest (formal) celebration of beer. The festivities will kick off with a huge opening gala at Giant Dwarf, which will run over two sessions (Friday evening and Saturday afternoon) and allow you to taste the beers local brewers have brewed specifically for the festival. Other highlights of the 2016 program include a Craft Beer Fight Club at the Dove & Olive, a beer history lesson at Bucket Boys and Beerlympics at the Lord Raglan. In short, there's a lot of beer to drink. Pace yourself, and check out our top ten picks.
Clear your calendar for a jam-packed week of dance, food, art, music, talks, screenings and get-togethers — NAIDOC Week is here. Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and contemporary culture, NAIDOC Week is a national, annual program of free events celebrating Australia's vibrant Indigenous cultural landscape. For a big free festival of storytelling, dance, performance, music, workshops and food stalls, head to NAIDOC in the City (Monday, July 4 from 11am to 3pm). Buy local art, craft and produce from the marketplace, tuck into a free lunch from the Earth Oven, take an illustration workshop with Dub Leffler, do an art workshops with Aunty Gail Mabo, and learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures with displays from various organisations from the Australian Museum to the NSW Aboriginal Land Council. Head to Klub Koori at Carriageworks for the best and established and emerging Indigenous hip hop, take a cultural history tour of Glebe, catch a lunchtime screening by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers at the MCA, see how contemporary artists comprehend their ancestors at the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Sentient Lands exhibition, explore Sydney's rich Aboriginal history via bike tour, learn about the lives of Aboriginal people in coastal Sydney in relation to the city's history. There's plenty more on the program, check out the website for more.
The sun is shining, the palm trees are gently swaying, and there's a laid-back vibe in the air; you must be in Brisbane. As well as almost able to guarantee holiday-like weather every day of the year, the Queensland capital offers locals and visitors alike the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely yet luxurious weekend. Think taking your pick of gourmet sausages or hash browns for breakfast at a brand new cafe dedicated to both, shopping for vintage threads at the city's only curated boutique market, or eating all the cheese your stomach can handle. Book a room at the Pullman Brisbane and make the hotel's King George Square digs your launching pad. Spend a whirlwind 48 hours eating, drinking, strolling and generally being merry, particularly if you follow our itinerary. [caption id="attachment_587777" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Morning After. Image: @____morningafter via Instagram.[/caption] SATURDAY A Saturday in Brisbane should be spent treating your tastebuds and your eyes to the best the city has to offer. That starts with the most important meal of the day, though don't feel like you need to rush to West End for an early morning bite, because breakfast at Morning After is available all day long. With a name like that, this eatery clearly knows that everyone kicks into gear at their own pace. Have a serving of brekkie carbonara and wander down Vulture and Boundary streets for your next adventure. [caption id="attachment_587791" align="alignnone" width="1280"] GOMA. Image: @qagoma via Instagram.[/caption] To be specific, keep moseying along until you reach the Gallery of Modern Art. For ten years now, the gleaming building on the banks of the river has showered Brisbane with the kind of exhibitions art lovers dream about. There will be something great on regardless of when you're in town (in 2015 and 2016 alone, GOMA has hosted shows focused on photographer Cindy Sherman, filmmaker David Lynch and the best contemporary pieces from the Asia-Pacific, for example). And if you somehow have a few hours to spare, be sure to check out the Australian Cinematheque within the building for a classy afternoon at the movies. [caption id="attachment_587781" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Fromage the Cow. Image: @vintage_lil via Instagram.[/caption] Next, prepare to make friends with Brisbane's water-based transport, the City Cats. Head down the river to Milton, then make a beeline by foot to Fromage the Cow on Park Road. Since this licensed fromagerie opened its doors it has become an indulgent favourite, serving up everything from twice-baked cheese souffle to croque monsieur and cheese toasties. We recommend opting for a flight, which will pair three slices of dairy goodness with three of your chosen type of beverage. [caption id="attachment_587783" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Cobbler. Image: @cobblerwestend via Instagram.[/caption] So, that's the cheese and wine section of day done and dusted. Now, it's on to the whisky and cocktail part of proceedings. You'll find plenty of both at Cobbler back in West End, and yes, you can travel part of the way by City Cat again if you want another chance to soak up the Brisbane river air. Once you arrive on site, even if you generally like your spirits untainted by mixers, we're going to strenuously suggest that you try a cocktail. Why? Well, Cobbler's menus are something special, with both Die Hard and Top Gun-inspired tipples served up in recent times. Working your way through their cocktail list is how you turn a few quiet drinks into an evening to remember. If you're in Brisbane on the right weekend you can stop by Test Kitchen, a fortnightly five-course degustation that takes place at Thomson's Reserve and lets you taste dishes before they go on the menu. [caption id="attachment_587785" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Food trucks at Metre Market. Image: @metremarket via Instagram.[/caption] SUNDAY Start your Sunday with sausages and hash browns. Skip the fast food brekkie though; at Annerley's Snag & Brown in the inner-south, you're going to want to take things slowly. Pick from chorizo, pork chipolatas, chicken, spinach and pine nut, and semi-dried tomato, thyme and polenta bangers, plus classic, sweet potato, and tomato and feta hash browns. There's other food available, but here, it's all there in the name. You'll need all the sustenance you can get for your next stopover: the Metre Market. Every public space around town might turn into a stall-based shopping spot come Sunday morning, but this is the only boutique, clothing-focused venture that's so selective about the vintage wares on display, you'll instantly walk out with a new wardrobe. Alas, Metre Market is an every now and then kind of deal, so we also have a list of alternatives. Secondhand fiends should head to Suitcase Rummage's regular pop-up events at Brisbane Square and Brisbane Powerhouse, while those with designer tastes can give their wallet a workout at South Bank's monthly Young Designer's Market. After a busy morning browsing, buying and wondering what you can realistically fit in your suitcase, there's only one thing to do. Treat yourself to some swoon-worthy sweet stuff (and no, we're not talking about Doughnut Time, though eating one of their epic pastries is something every visitor to Brisbane should do too). Instead, head to New Farm Confectionery for some salted caramel lollipops, chocolate raspberry bark, passionfruit sherbet and more. [caption id="attachment_587796" align="alignnone" width="1280"] New Farm Confectionary. Image: @nfconfectionary via Instagram.[/caption] So, you've feasted, shopped and had something sugary; now it's time for dinner in a heritage-listed building that once housed a medicine dispensary. Yes, really. The food menu at The Apo is a rotating affair, but we're sure one of the seasonal dishes on offer (such as Lebanese tacos with spiced goat and frozen Arabic coffee dessert martinis at the time of writing) will take your fancy. You'll want to grab an Apo Old Fashioned while you're eating, but save some room for a nightcap at Barbara around the corner. They're known for their cocktails and for being a classy late-night hangout everyday of the week – that's how you should bring an ace two days in Brisbane to a perfect end. [caption id="attachment_588386" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The Apo. Image: @theapo_ via Instagram.[/caption] Pullman Hotels make a great base to explore Brisbane for a weekend.
Now that the Olympics are over and done with, the real sporting contests can begin. Next week, more than 300 competitors will descend upon a small, abandoned town in Italy. Their purpose? To decide beyond all doubt the greatest hide-and-seek player in the world. The epic contest will take place on September 3-4 in Consonno at the foot of the Alps. Once known as the 'Land of Toys', the village is home to an old amusement park, but was abandoned after a landslide in the mid-'70s cut off the only access road. If you can think of a better place for a massive game of hide-and-seek, we'd certainly like to hear it. This year will see 64 five-person teams complete for gold and glory. One of the members of last year's winning team told Quartz that the two-day tournament was "pretty competitive", and that "each team had their tactics." Just don't expect his team to share theirs, because "obviously we will never disclose them." Sounds like a wise move, especially since a Japanese university professor began lobbying the Olympic committee to include hide-and-seek at the Tokyo Games in 2020. Although to be honest, as Olympic sports go, this probably wouldn't make for particularly good TV viewing. Image: Marcello Brivio.
Celebrate all things soil this Thursday, April 14 with the not-for-profit Nourish, who are hosting the next instalment in their bi-annual gourmet dinner and talk series, Nourish Talks: 'The Ground Beneath'. Nourish gives attendees the chance to connect with Mother Nature and eat a fantastic meal, all while donating to a great cause. Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis will lead a panel discussion on the importance of soil to the health of our food, community and personal wellbeing. The eclectic guest speakers will include Young Henrys brewer Agnes Gajic and popular Sydney yoga teacher Stella Chambers, both supporters of Nourish and their commitment to local, social outreach programs. The Thai menu of organic and locally sourced ingredients will be served by chef Ty Bellingham (ex-Sailors Thai) and a team of refugees and migrants from Bright Hospitality. On the drinks side, Young Henrys, Krinklewood Wines and Trolley'd are partnering up and also using locally foraged produce. Tickets are on sale through Eventbrite with all proceeds going toward St Canice and women in community domestic violence shelters.
Suffice it to say, it's been an exciting few days in the world of Australian politics. And by exciting, we mean depressingly familiar. Although the recent Liberal Party leadership spill did manage to spark some truly excellent memes, its primary function seems to have been to drive home just how shambolic things in Canberra have become. It's also a flat-out terrible turn of events for the federal Opposition, who you have to imagine will have a harder time taking back the leadership from a prime minster whose foot isn't permanently lodged in his own mouth. The good news is that Labor does appear to have finally cottoned on to the fact that in order win to the vote, you do need to occasionally take a position. As such, opposition MP and Shadow Minister for the Arts Mark Dreyfus has publicly pledged that, if elected, Labor will reverse the current government's $105 million worth of cuts to the Australia Council for the Arts. Speaking to The Australian last week, Dreyfus said that the raid on the Australia Council's funding, overseen by Federal Arts Minister George Brandis, was "a disaster for the arts" — an opinion that he shares with large swathes of the nation's artistic community, who have been protesting the cuts since they were announced back in May. The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance today released a statement describing Labor's decision as "good news" and have promised to continue their campaigning in the lead-up to the next election. That being said, Brandis may have more pressing concerns than a potential Labor challenge in 2016. According to The Daily Review, a number of artists and arts groups are planning to gather outside Malcolm Turnbull's Sydney electorate office at 2pm today, where they will petition the shiny new PM to sack his much-maligned Arts Minister and take over the portfolio himself. "We think Malcolm Turnbull would make a terrific arts minister," executive director of the National Association for the Visual Arts Tamara Winikoff told TDR. "If the PM actually took on the arts portfolio, in one fell swoop this action could profoundly change the way Australians value the arts and culture." If nothing else, it really can't feel good to be George Brandis right now. It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for him. Almost.
