Watch great Australian stage productions with popcorn and choc top in hand, when Australian National Theatre Live arrives in cinemas in April. Inspired by the success of the UK's NT Live series, this local endeavour will capture and screen locally made theatre shows in participating cinemas, with the aim of bringing the live theatre experience to audiences who'd normally miss out. Australian National Theatre Live will launch with the Griffin Theatre Company's production of David Williamson's acclaimed satire Emerald City. The show will make its cinema premiere at Melbourne's Lido Cinemas on Friday April 22, followed by Sydney's Ritz Cinema on Wednesday April 27. Further screenings will follow in cinemas around the country. Other shows set to light up the silver screen include Mary Rachel Brown's The Dapto Chaser, Geoffrey Atherden's Liberty Equality Fraternity, and the Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf Revue. "Australia produces world-class theatre and Australian National Theatre Live will give audiences across Australia the opportunity to experience some of the best productions available – good theatre will no longer just be for metropolitan audiences," said spokesman and actor Grant Dodwell. "ANT Live means many more people will get to see plays that usually have a very short season in metropolitan centres." "Our ultimate aim is to stimulate a greater interest in live theatre, to encourage and promote writers, performers and practitioners, and create a resource for students and theatre lovers across the country." For more information about Australian National Theatre Live, visit www.antlive.com.au.
Bluesfest has lifted the lid on its second artist announcement for 2018, adding 16 more names to the already hefty lineup. Heading this latest stampede is Senegalese artist Youssou N'dour, who will be bringing his 20-piece band to the five-day Easter long weekend festival just outside of Byron Bay. If the name isn't ringing any bells, you'll probably be familiar with this '90s classic. Other artists joining the lineup include greatest hit-bearers Jackson Browne and Seal, Bluesfest regular Michael Franti, and British band Gomez will return to the fest for their first tour in six years. They'll place alongside two huge headliners: Lionel Richie and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, who will play with his band The Sensational Space Shifters. Plant's performance at Blues will mark 50 years since he first performed with Led Zeppelin, so the gravity of the performance is sure to be pretty huge. Other acts taking to the stage Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm over the weekend include Aussies Tash Sultana and John Butler Trio, Swedish duo First Aid Kit and what will be a captivating set by José González. Bluesfest returnees Joe Louis Walker, Dumpstaphunk and Eric Gales are on there too. Anyway, here's the full lineup. Better start making Easter plans — and deciding what to eat — because tickets are already on sale. BLUESFEST 2018 LINEUP Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters Lionel Richie The John Butler Trio Tash Sultana The New Power Generation Chic Featuring Nile Rodgers First Aid Kit Jose Gonzalez Morcheeba Gov't Mule Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real The California Honeydrops Eric Gales Bobby Rush Dumpstaphunk Joe Louis Walker Rick Estrin & The Nightcats Youssou N'dour Seal Michael Franti & Spearhead Jackson Browne Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Gomez Rag 'n' Bone Man The Original Blues Brothers Band Jimmy Cliff The Wailers Benjamin Booker Hurray for the Riff Raff Canned Heat Walter Trout André Cymone The Teskey Brothers Image: Andy Fraser.
The illustrious restaurant Noma, the same one that consistently tops dining lists across the world, will be closing its doors after one last blowout on New Year’s Eve 2016. It will be a sad occasion, but not to worry; like the phoenix or a feathered Pokemon equivalent, Noma will rise again in 2017 in a new, evolved form. Noma head chef René Redzepi told the New York Times that although business at Noma is booming, it’s time for a dramatic change, and he was not kidding. Noma will move from its cute nook in the middle of picturesque Copenhagen to the outskirts of town where the extra space will be dedicated to an urban farm, a greenhouse, a farming team and a field that floats on a raft. The menu will be have a dramatic overhaul as well. Ex-Noma chef Trevor Moran will return to help with the expansion and commented that the menu will change with the seasons, from game and mushrooms in the fall to a full seafood menu in winter. And, rather poetically, Redzepi says when “the world turns green ... so will the menu”, meaning that, for several months a year, Noma will be a completely vegetarian establishment. If you have fat stacks and want to catch a taste of OG Noma before its closure (without travelling all the way to the Denmark), then get to its Sydney pop-up in Barangaroo, where they’ll be setting up shop for ten weeks in late January 2016. Better get in quick though; the Noma Tokyo pop-up accrued a 60,000-person waiting list, so register your interest on the Noma website ASAP. Via New York Times.
15,000 white shells and 20,000 square metres of the beautiful, springtime setting of the Royal Botanic Gardens form the basis of this year's Kaldor Public Art Project. Its 32nd incarnation and the first to be created by an Indigenous artist, the piece is an installation by Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones, interpreting the footprint of the Garden Palace. Constructed in 1879, the building was destroyed by a fire three years later, taking with it thousands of Indigenous objects, which had been collected by colonisers. Titled barrangal dyara (skin and bones), the work is a whopping 250 metres by 150 metres. For Jones, it is a "response to the immense loss felt throughout Australia due to the destruction of these culturally significant items" and "represents an effort to commence a healing process and a celebration of the world's oldest living culture despite this traumatic event." At the installation's centre sits a meadow of native kangaroo grass, contrasting with the Royal Botanic Garden's European-inspired formality. As you wander through, you will hear soundscapes in eight Indigenous languages, which were put together in collaboration with southeastern communities. Keep an eye and ear out for presentations of Indigenous language, performances, talks, special events and workshops, which are happening daily. barrangal dyara (skin and bones) opens to the public on Saturday, September 17 for 17 days, closing on October 3, 2016. Entry is free and you can visit anytime during the Garden's opening hours, which are currently 9am and 5.30pm.
The Art Gallery of NSW has announced the finalists for the 2016 Archibald Prize — and this year's got some good'uns. This is the 95th year for the highly sought-after portraiture award.Considered the "who's who of Australian culture", portraits entered into the prize generally depict notable Australians, from politicians and celebrities to artists and athletes. This year's finalists include Natasha Bieniek's oil painting of Wendy Whiteley (above), Clara Adolphs' portrait of actor Terry Selio, Betina Fauvel-Ogden's painting of MasterChef's George Calombaris (which is also the winner of the Packing Room Prize) and — our personal favourite — Carla Fletcher's portrait of fashion icon Linda Jackson. The Archibald finalists will be exhibited at AGNSW from July 16 to October 9, along with the finalists for the Wynne Prize (which awards the best landscape painting of Australia or figure sculpture) and the Sulman Prize (for the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project), which were also announced yesterday. After exhibiting in Sydney, the finalists will then tour regionally until August 2017, after which time the winner will be announced by the trustees of AGNSW. The winner will be awarded $100,000 in prize money and some serious bragging rights to boot. The prize was created by Jules Francois Archibald, the founding editor of The Bulletin magazine. He established the prize with the goal to promote both great Australian portraiture and great Australians. The only real stipulation within the contest is that the painting must have been created in the last 12 months and include at least one live sitting with the subject. The award is an open competition, which means that any resident of Australia or New Zealand can enter. Something to keep in mind for next year. Top image: Natasha Bieniek, Wendy Whiteley, oil on wood, 34.5 x 32.5cm, © the artist Photo: AGNSW, Mim Stirling.
Louis Vuitton's stamp of luxury (that popular LV) and Supreme's iconic red and white boxed logo are joining forced for their first collaborated pop-up shop — and they've picked Sydney to launch. From Friday, June 30 until Friday, July 13, the Bondi beach pop-up will feature coveted LV-stamped apparel paired with the Supreme logo accessories as seen in the men's autumn/winter 2017 line, which was announced at Paris Men's Fashion Week in January. Count yourself lucky, Sydney, this pop-up shop request was denied in New York City. The pop-up will stock the duo's new collaborative baseball caps, t-shirts and backpacks. And if you're feeling bold, the collection also features denim baseball jerseys, leather jackets, cross-body bags and much more. The store will also offer exclusive pop-up shop pieces that you'll have to check out for yourself. While the two brands were established 140 years apart, their collision of high fashion and New York City streetwear is a world-first — and a huge coup for Australia. Louis Vuitton x Supreme will pop up at 95 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach from June 30 to July 13. Open Monday to Sunday 10am–6pm, Thursday 10am–7pm.
Vivid LIVE is expanding this year with its Artist Talks Program (May 27 to June 13), which will see artists taking the stage for their Vivid show and also for a special Q&A. Artists like New Order, Anohni and Wafia will be chatting to audiences across multiple Opera House foyers, as well as in the Playhouse. The talks are designed to give audiences the ability to both hear artists perform and also reflect on their creative process. Perhaps the most highly anticipated talk, New Order in conversation with filmmaker/MFS label head Mark Reeder ($25+BF), is the only ticketed event, but will definitely be worth the bucks. The talk will focus on the years of Factory Records, Joy Division and Manchester. Veteran rock journo Paul Morley and former NME photographer Kevin Cummins will also delve into Manchester as part of The New Order Project. Festival headliner Anonhi will join collaborator and Australian artist Lynette Wallworth in the Playhouse to speak about our fragile connection to the natural world. Legendary experimental composer Max Richter will chat to Paul Morley (mentioned above), and Song Exploder see Hrishikesh Hirway unpacking Hiatus Kaiyote's Grammy-nominated songs in a live session with the band. MusicNSW will lead a panel on women in the Aussie electronic music scene — with Wafia and Flume/A$AP Rocky vocalist Kučka holding separate free sessions. FBi Radio's Chris Twite will chat to Polica about their work before their Vivid show, and Double J's Myf Warhurst is taking an integral part in this talk series. Having a hard time choosing? With most events completely free, you won't have to. Tickets go on sale Monday, May 16 with most tickets free. More information on the events is available on the Vivid LIVE Artist Talks website.
Urban wineries are a popular facet of European and New Yorker lifestyles, but winemaker Alex Retief's new cellar door, Urban Winery Sydney, is the first of its kind in Australia — it's the only large-scale, working winery in Sydney's inner suburbs — in the inner west, to be exact. Retief has owned his label, A.Retief Wines, since 2008 and has seen much commercial success, especially with his 2013 – 2015 collaborations with Bourke Street Bakery. The born and bred Aussie spent the early 2000s in Bordeaux where much of his inspiration for an urban winery took root. "In France, everyone knows about wine — how it's made, where it's produced," he says. "They all have such a passion for their local wine that it's almost like the love of a futball team it's so ingrained in them." Retief hopes to bring a bit of this European culture to Sydney — his wines have a strong focus on locality, the vineyard and the origin and type of grape used for each wine. The A.Retief Shiraz is sourced from his parent's biodynamic vineyard in the Gundagai wine region just outside of Wagga Wagga. "I have a deep passion for NSW wines and want to bring that to Sydney," says Retief. "People want to see where things are made more and more and we're happy to be able to bring that to them," he adds. The industrial space is housed in St Peters new Creative Precinct 75, with neighbours like Willie the Boatman, Sample Coffee and Upcycle Studio. At once ornate and rugged, the concrete-floored warehouse is home to a gorgeous handmade bar of rough cut wood and pallets, a luxurious 40-seat dining table and a library-like lounge area — with the shelves filled with wine instead of books, of course. The walls of French oak barrels are not just for show and are accompanied by shiny, shiny winemaking pumps, presses, syphons, filtration systems — all things you might get to understand a whole lot better with Reitef's planned future classes. "We really want people to get involved with the winemaking process — to get to come down and squash grapes, or blend their own wines and understand why they like what they like." While they're only opening for tours and blending classes for now, next on the list is monthly chef's dinners, with the May 6 edition hosted by The Farmed Table — you can check out chef Brendan Cato's mushroom foraging route for the event on their Facebook page. While a lot of what's to come is still under lock and key, we have been promised much local collaboration and surprises are in store. Urban Winery Sydney is located at Suite 6.01, Precinct 75, 75 Mary St, St Peters. Tours and blending classes are currently available by bookings of five or more. Images: Marissa Ciampi.
There's a gallery in Sydney's eastern suburbs whose artists and curators never pack up and go home. They are home. Welcome to Le Petit Bateau, an eastern suburbs art community with a backyard that's a grown-up culture playground. Without knowing the location of this little art haven, you could easily assume it was nestled in the streets of Kreuzberg in Berlin or Montmartre in Paris, rather than tucked away in the sunny streets of Bondi Beach. Just around the corner from the main road is a little sign welcoming you to Le Petit Bateau. Blink and you’ll miss it. Le Petit Bateau celebrates local creatives, housing art, dance and cooking classes. Home to 25 people residing in six flats, it functions as both a communal living and art space. Anne-Sophie Ridelaire is the curator behind this venture. Six months after coming across the space in Sydney and settling into the life of the complex, she and her boyfriend, Gaetano Russo, decided to convert an old garage into a multipurpose art studio and gallery, open to everyone in the community who wants to view and participate in art, with an emphasis on combining the cultural and social. “When I was in Paris, I was working for an art gallery, [and] my dream was to open a space like this where people can come and feel free to see the artwork,” she says. Everything you see is recycled, from the couches to the decorations — all bits and bobs collected from the street. Fitting in perfectly with the community's nautical name, an old boat donated by the Pyrmont Heritage Boating Club stands prominently at the entrance. “All this we found stuff on the street, so we don’t spend much," she says. "[We wanted] to show people that you can build something with nothing.” Art being accessible is at the heart of Le Petit Bateau, evidenced by the open door policy. The classes, the jam sessions, the art — it’s all for free. Anne-Sophie sees it as important to overcome the dissonant idea that art is reserved for the upper classes. She sees Le Petit Bateau as an important opportunity to reach out to people through art and to encourage dialogue across cultures. In keeping with that, the current exhibition is The Big Picture, an international photography exchange as part of the Month of Photography in Denver, Colorado. The Big Picture involves photographers from all around the world displaying their prints inside galleries and on the streets. Anne-Sophie has been working on this project for a year now. Along with five talented local photographers, she has recently returned from six weeks in Europe, in which she and her team pasted their photographs all around the streets of Lyon, Strasbourg, Rome, Sicily and Milan. Sydney is among many other cities participating in the project, alongside Perth, Paris, Vienna, Portland, Denver, Berlin, London, Mexico City and Buenos Aires. “It is an exchange of culture through photography, and the idea is to go around cities and to pass these pictures along,” she says. Working with a gallery in Sicily, the team pasted a photo of a shark at the local fish market, which attracted a crowd of observers. “The fishermen were like, 'What is that? Is it a shark? Is it real?'” she recalls. “This kind of conversation starts, and this is exactly what the project is about.” At the moment, the photos are pasted around the gallery. Her next step is to post some of these attention-grabbing works around the streets of Sydney. The success of Sydney’s Le Petit Bateau has inspired a similar projects in Anne-Sophie’s hometown of Lyon in France, as well as in Sicily in Italy. Despite that, she is not sure if the current Bondi Beach site will remain the home of Le Petit Bateau; she views its current form as a trial. Mindful that Bondi is a residential neighbourhood, she hopes to expand somewhere where there are fewer limitations. Watching Le Petit Bateau inject a bit of Paris into the streets of Sydney has been very welcome. And it would appear that the admiration is mutual. “Sydney is a sharing place, and there’s so many different cultures in Sydney, it’s beautiful," she says. "It’s a cosmopolitan city, and it’s important to create connection between each culture, to not have gates.” The Big Picture exhibition will be running at Le Petit Bateau until May 28. To keep up to date with all their events, check out their Facebook page. Images by Bodhi Liggett.
Whether you spend January 26 pumping the Hottest 100 and wading in an ankle-deep paddling pool, knocking back tinnies and listening to live music, proactively partaking in Indigenous culture, joyously rewatching your favourite Australian films or taking the opportunity to wear your favourite bucket hat un-ironically, Australia Day means different things to different people — and that's just fine. It's all covered by these events from our favourite places and people — each one worth congregating around on the public holiday.
Lately we feel like we've been the bearer of bad news when it comes to the fate of festivals, but this time we've got the complete opposite. The cats behind Falls Festival have this morning announced something pretty darn exciting: a brand new three-day festival is coming straight at ya over the Melbourne Cup long weekend. They're calling it The Lost Lands, a name which has enough mystery (and a vague enough reference to Jurassic Park) to have us very intrigued. The three-day camping festival will not only feature heaps of music, but will centre around art, theatre, comedy and outdoor activities as well. It'll be held over the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the October long weekend just outside of Melbourne at Werribee Mansion, the luxe AF mansion and grounds that has played host to So Frenchy So Chic and the late Harvest Festival (RIP). But the real point of difference for The Lost Lands is that it's designed to be hella family friendly. Festival organiser and Falls founder Simon Daly has a family of five, and he recognised the need for a more European style of festival in Australia that not only lets kids attend, but actually involves them in the festival's activities. "The Lost Lands will give parents the chance to reconnect with the festival experience while instilling in kids a love and appreciation of music, arts and adventure," said Daly. "I think there's an appetite for more experiences crafted with parents and kids in mind and it's exciting for the industry." The festival will be focused around "shared experiences" that can be enjoyed by everyone — be that parents, kids, friends, and anyone who rocks up — and it looks set to incorporate so many activities, such as bushwalks, bike rides and even day trips to the Werribee Open Range Zoo. They're also offering a range of workshops to expand the mind (such as cooking and songwriting) or lengthen the legs (like circus play and yoga). Um, sign us up for everything. A photo posted by The Lost Lands (@lostlandsfest) on May 26, 2016 at 1:05am PDT But just because there's kids around doesn't mean that the menu is limited to chicken nuggets and juice boxes. The Lost Lands is promising a huge range of festival eats and drinks, including a curated range of Mummy and Daddy drinks such as craft beer, wine, organic spirits and even an on-site distillery. All this will be happening with a backdrop of classic Italianate-style architecture amongst the sprawling formal mansion gardens (designed by W.R. Guilfoyle, the man behind the Royal Botanic Gardens) and a chill but fun musical line-up. Expect to be swaying along to The Waifs, Harts, The Grates, Ozomatli, Missy Higgins, CW Stoneking, Architecture in Helsinki, The Bamboos with Tim Rogers, Mariachi El Bronx, Tash Sultana, Olympia, Ali Barter, The Little Stevies, Pounded By The Surf, The Royal Jellies, Nicky Bonba, Ainslie Wills, and Alex Lahey. As it's a three-day, two-night festival, camping (and glamping) will be available, but with Melbourne only half an hour away by car or train, it's not a necessity like most festivals. However, if you want to feel like Marie Antoinette for a weekend, you can even rent accommodation in the actual mansion and live like damn kings. It may be dark and gloomy right now, but we cannot wait for festival season to return. The Lost Lands will run from October 28-30 at Werribee Mansion. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, June 2 from thelostlands.com.au.
If you're going to truly get to know a suburb, ask a local. Bondi's full of proud neighbours, from top restaurateur Maurice Terzini to Bondi's Surf Life Savers to dance music duo Angus Mcdonald and Connie Mitchell of Sneaky Sound System. Angus is a bonafide Bondi local, who knows the difference between a tourist trap eatery and damn good brunch destination — so it makes sense he's been appointed as an experience curator and partner at QT Bondi (Bondi's newest local). We asked Angus to hand over his go-to spots in Sydney's most famous beachside suburb. Write 'em down for next time you're beachbound. THE BUCKET LIST "Every Sunday from October through to April we run our weekly club night, Sneaky Sundays, at The Bucket List in Bondi Beach. This is the place to be if you wanna really let your hair down to some quality house music, especially after a day at the beach. With a who's who of weekly guests and the best tacos in town, you cannot go wrong — unless you get there too late." SEFA KITCHEN "The gang at Sefa Kitchen have been quietly putting out some of the tastiest food in Bondi, and definitely some of the most adventurous mediterranean/middle eastern food in Sydney. It actually feels like a secret Parisian bistro and if we had it our way, we'd keep it a secret. The shared plates are ridiculously reasonable (you gotta try the chicken livers, molasses, sumac onions and manoush bread — yep get adventurous — and the brussel sprouts, almond tarator & zhoug). The wine list and cocktails are enough to drag you up to this Bondi Road treasure chest, and they also do an amazing brunch menu on the weekends." THE ANCHOR "If this place had a face, it would have a cheeky smile with a glint in its eye… permanently — it would also be permanently hungover! Andy and the boys who run The Anchor are consummate hosts. The bar is stocked full of quality tequila, mescal and rum and they play some of the dopest music ever… and very loudly! Small, intimate, loud and fun. Perfecto!" ICEBERGS DINING ROOM AND BAR "No list is complete without this legendary place. Maurice Terzini is a genius when it comes to creating magical environments at iconic locations, and this is his piece de resistance. With Monty Koludrovic plating some of the most delectable morsels you will ever indulge in, and Rachel Duffy running some of the finest staff in the biz, this place has it all… and views don't come much better! If you're lucky enough to be around on the first day of the year then you can't miss the Icebergs x Sneaky NYD party — where it transforms from a top-end restaurant into a heaving party. Oh, and the bar is perfect - always!" BREAKFAST AT LOX STOCK AND BARREL "It's hard to express just how much I love this place — when I'm in town you'll find me at Lox Stock and Barrel every other day! The Bowlarama is my go-to breakfast but also try the chia, quinoa & coconut bircher or the french toast. For lunch you are spoiled for choice with super generous healthy salads (like the smoked ocean trout with brown basmati rice, red apple, crispy brussels sprouts, pickled cabbage, bean sprouts, spinach & almonds with konbu soy & lemon dressing), or take a trip to the dark side with their devilishly good reuben. Dope coffee, delicious chai and truly wonderful staff. Tick." Stock up on more tasty Bondi local secrets in our Bondi Neighbourhood Guide.
The inevitable robot uprising is one step closer to becoming a reality, with the launch of Domino's first ever pizza delivery drone. The store-to-door aerial pizza man was unveiled this week in Auckland, where it will be rolled out across New Zealand in the coming months. According to Domino's, the drones will be used as a delivery method alongside the existing fleet of human couriers (well, until they outlive their usefulness) and will be "fully integrated into online ordering and GPS systems". They've developed the technology with U.S. drone developers Flirtey, who last month helped 7-Eleven deliver their first slurpee by drone. Expect the drones to make short distance deliveries in fine weather, because the last thing we need is pizza falling from the sky. …actually, scratch that. That sounds excellent. Of course, this isn't the first time that Domino's has invested in robotics. In March of this year they gave life to DRU, a robotic delivery unit capable of extinguishing the human race by the time your pizza is cold. Sure, he looks adorable, but we're pretty sure that beneath that Apple store exterior lies the unfeeling cybernetic heart of a Terminator. Then again, maybe we're over-reacting. Maybe all he wants to do is to deliver us a pizza and garlic bread and be done with it.
With hard-hitting dramas, imaginative comedies and a retrospective tribute to one of the all-time greats, the latest edition of the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival doesn't disappoint. Lighting up the screen from March 1-24 in Sydney before heading out to Parramatta and Casula in April, from March 2-24 in Melbourne, and March 11-April 3 in Brisbane, the 2016 program features a diverse mix of titles showcasing the very best the French film industry has to offer. Cannes winners are set to be a highlight, with Rust and Bone director Jacques Audiard tackling the issue of asylum seekers in his new offering Dheepan, and Philippe Garrel's masterful romantic drama In the Shadow of Women. Legendary French filmmaker Michel Gondry's new film Microbe & Gasoline will also feature in the festival — which will be closed by Jean Luc-Godard's 1963 film Contempt. Here are our top five picks to see at the festival. But first, enter the comp for some sweet, sweet tickets. [competition]561842[/competition]
In a year that saw Sydney's cultural ecosystem and the legislative shackling of certain elements of it become a more polarising subject than ever before, the city's most innovative, forward-thinking residents have made outstanding lemonade. Some get up earlier than most, Sydney's cafe crowd, who continue to cultivate compelling coffee breaks and brunches for locals, building neighbourhood haunts from pop-up to permanency, championing local producers and turning old bowling clubs into urban farms. 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, these six new cafes, opened in 2016, have been nominated for Best New Cafe in Concrete Playground's Best of 2016 Awards. Vote for your favourite.
The future of one of Sydney's most beloved green spaces has finally been secured. After a concerted effort by local campaigners, the NSW government has agreed to lease the patch of harbourfront land known as Wendy's Secret Garden to the North Sydney Council on a 30-year renewable lease, confirming its position as a public garden for future generations. "Wendy has poured her blood, sweat and tears into the garden," said Transport and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance at the announcement on Friday. "She, along with the people of Sydney, deserve certainty that it will be here for years to come. Our announcement today ends the question mark over the garden’s future." The widow and muse of celebrated artist Brett Whiteley, for the last two decades Wendy Whiteley has tended to the government-owned land behind her Lavender Bay home, transforming it from an unofficial rubbish dump into a beautiful leafy oasis. Brett's ashes are buried in the garden, as are those of their daughter, actress Arkie Whiteley. The history of the garden was recently recorded in the book Wendy Whiteley and the Secret Garden, whose author Janet Hawley helped lead the push to ensure the space remained open for public enjoyment. "People wrongly assume the council or the government pays for Wendy’s Secret Garden and wrongly assume it is permanent and secure," said Hawley last month. "But Wendy has paid for everything, and, alongside her four gardeners, done all the work from day one." "I can't quite grasp it yet. It's still a bit unreal," the 74-year-old Whiteley told reporters in the wake of yesterday's announcement. "It will become a collaboration now, instead of there being the slightly worrying feeling that somebody could arrive with a bulldozer one day, or a chainsaw or something, and it would all be gone overnight." Via The Guardian.
It would be pretty excellent if there was some kind of magical way to view the entirety of Vivid Sydney over the city from one vantage point. It'd be even better if there was some way you could do it with a group of friends, while busting out slick dance moves on an illuminated dance floor suspended from the lofty heights of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. BridgeClimb has created exactly the circumstances described above. During the annual festival of lights in Sydney, you can climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge and proceed to a dance floor, which will be welcoming groups of up to 14. Spend three and a half hours climbing one of our most recognisable symbols, only to throw a wicked, incandescent dance party at the summit. This rave that's literally on another level is happening exclusively during Vivid Sydney — from Friday, May 26 to Saturday, June 17 — and we've got two double passes to give away. Pop your details in below to enter, or if you don't win, head here to grab a ticket. [competition]619795[/competition]
Over the past five years, Melbourne's Hiatus Kaiyote has scored two Grammy nominations, recorded two full-length albums and toured the world — from Tokyo's Blue Note to London's o2 Forum. Along the way, they've attracted the approval of Erykah Badu, Questlove and Prince. Now, they're bringing their self-described "multi-dimensional polyrhythmic gangster" to the Opera House for the first time. For the first time. How has this taken so long? Joining on the night will be Timeboy, who'll be sorting out visuals, and one of our favourites, Sydney by way of Zambia MC, poet and singer-songwriter Sampa the Great, who recently supported Kendrick Lamar, after collaborating with Urthboy and Okenyo on 'Second Heartbeat' and with Remi on 'For Good'. We physically can't stop playing Sampa's The Great Mixtape, help. This is one our our top ten picks of Vivid gigs you should buy tickets to right now. Check out the whole list.
Sydney-based art collective Alaska Projects have revealed their 2016 program, and hot damn is it impressive. The artist-run initiative, which recently celebrated its fourth birthday, will once again shine a spotlight on new and exciting works from dozens of Australian artists, across mediums including painting, sculpture, video, photography, performance and more. Among the group of artists listed in today's initial announcement, standout names include celebrated multidisciplinary artist Shaun Gladwell, provocative art collective Soda_Jerk, sibling duo nova Milne, and filmmaker and visual artist Angela Tiatia. The program was curated by gallery director Bradley Vincent and Alaska Projects founder Sebastian Goldspin. "There is a breadth of scope to the program but also a commonality," says Vincent. "Each of these artists represents the kind of questioning and open process that will deliver a year of exhibitions that look outward, delivering exciting and unpredictable works that embrace the full poetic potential of the Alaska Projects space." "Every new year of Alaska Projects brings growth but also an ongoing excitement to be working with artists at the coalface of emerging practice," added Goldspin. Check out the full list of ALASKA Projects artists, below. Alice Babidge Angela Tiatia Ash Keating Bridie Connell Catherine Clayton-Smith Daniel Mudie Cunningham Eugene Choi Harrison Witsey James Tylor Jason Wing Julia Bavyka Joe Pol Julian Hocking Kate Scardifield Lauren Berkowitz Lottie Consalvo Luke Sales Nicole Breedon nova Milne Samuel Hodge Shaun Gladwell Soda_Jerk Tarik Ahlip + more to be announced For more information about ALASKA Projects, visit their website and Facebook page.
The world of creativity thrives on the fringes of the known, always teasing the boundaries of familiarity, and facilitating the realm of new experiences. The NOW Now Festival, hosted by Redfern's 107 Projects, will bring this world of experimental musicians, artists and performers into our sensory sphere for a whole weekend. The riotous revelries kick off on Thursday, January 19 and run until January 22. It'll be four days of local and international performers turning convention on its head, from solo percussive acts like Norway's Ingar Zach, to the Sydney-based political punk outfit DISPOSSESSED. The festival also extends this exploration of newness to contemporary art, with 107 Projects' gallery remaining open throughout the festival, showcasing the musings of artists from our own backyard and from all over the globe.
When your last festival screened 48 films to 168,000 people around Australia, what comes next? It's a problem many events wish they had, however, in their 28th year, the Alliance Française French Film Festival is on the case. With the massive celebration of Gallic cinema continuing to draw huge crowds, the beloved annual festival is offering up more of the same — and we're giving away tickets. Kicking off on March 7 in Sydney before touring to Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Parramatta and Casula until April 9, the 2017 program begins and ends with a bang — or, with two very different journeys. In pole position at the start of the fest sits The Odyssey, an adventure-filled biopic focused on famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and co-starring Audrey Tautou as Cousteau's wife Simone. Then, after running through the bulk of its 45-film selection, the fest comes to a close with maternal comedy A Bun in the Oven, featuring The Bélier Family's Karin Viard as an unexpectedly expectant 49-year old. In between, the AFFFF delivers on two fronts: stars and a vibrant array of big screen stories. There's plenty of both. The former includes 2017 Oscar-nominees Isabelle Huppert and Natalie Portman, with Huppert showing up twice — playing a woman with a secret past in the rom-com Souvenir, and a philosophy professor in Things to Come — and Portman joining forces with Lily-Rose Depp (yes, Johnny's daughter) in Planetarium. Depp also stars with French singer-actress Soko in The Dancer, while Marion Cotillard does double duty too in romance From the Land of the Moon and the Xavier Dolan-directed family drama It's Only the End of the World. Inglourious Basterds actress Mélanie Laurent co-directs environmental doco Tomorrow, the great Gérard Depardieu takes a road trip in Saint Amour, and one of the last roles played by Amour's Emmanuelle Riva, as an elderly aunt in Lost in Paris, also features. Elsewhere, the 2017 fest tells the tale of the first popular Afro-Cuban artist of the French stage in Monsieur Chocolate starring The Intouchables' Omar Sy opposite James Thierrée (aka Charlie Chaplin's grandson), examines the real-life circumstances surrounding a pregnant nun in The Innocents, dives into coming-of-age affections with Being 17 and gets ghostly with the haunting Daguerrotype. Or, viewers can catch Juliette Binoche at her most slapstick in farcical detective effort Slack Bay, and enjoy the kind of moral dilemmas the Dardenne brothers explore so well in The Unknown Girl. Looking back as well as forwards, a two-movie retrospective steps into the court of Versailles courtesy of the Marie Antoinette-centric Farewell, My Queen and music drama Mozart's Sister. Plus, if all of the above isn't enough for the most eager film buffs, dedicated cinephiles can take A Journey Through French Cinema for 191 minutes of movie history. [competition]611799[/competition]
Incredible works of literature, illustration, photography and design are currently on display at the State Library of NSW, as part of a free exhibition in partnership with London's Victoria and Albert Museum. Running until September 27, Inspiration by Design: Word and Image from the Victoria and Albert Museum London showcases some of the most unique and valuable objects from the V&A's National Art Library, from rare medieval manuscripts to fashion sketches by Dior – and everything imaginable in between. Complementing the exhibition is Australian Inspiration, featuring iconic Australian treasures from the State Library's collection own, including rare sketches of local flora and fauna and the early design plans for the Sydney opera house. With 100+ items on display, you certainly won't run out of things to discover. Nevertheless, we've put together a list of a few highlights that are definitely worth keeping an eye out for. ILLUMINATED BOOK OF HOURS Amongst the V&A collection you'll find some of the most significant surviving artworks and manuscripts of the Renaissance period. This Illuminated Book of Hours — an intricately illustrated book of Christian psalms and prayers — is one of the older pieces to make the trip from London to Australia, dating all the way back to the 1490s. MORTE D'ARTHUR We all know the story of King Arthur and Excalibur, mostly from having watched Disney's The Sword in the Stone. But Mickey Mouse isn't the only one to take a stab at this particular tale. Sir Thomas Malory's compilation of Arthurian legends Morte d'Arthur was first published in 1485, and is brought vividly to life in this late 19th century edition with intricate ink illustrations by artist Aubrey Beardsley. THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT This handdrawn sketch comes from Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, first published in 1901. In fact, Peter first appeared almost a decade earlier, in letters sent by Potter to the sickly young son of her former governess. After expanding these correspondences into a manuscript, Potter was turned down by six different publishers — all of whom presumably regretted their decision after the book went on to become one of the most iconic children's stories of all time. TOMMY BEAR AND THE ZOOKIES Speaking of iconic children's stories, there are few more beloved by Australians than Dorothy Wall's Blinky Bill. Above, we can see the mischievous koala's predecessor, Tommy Bear, from Tommy Bear and the Zookies. The story was first published in 1920, 13 years before Blinky's first appearance. Incidentally, Blinky himself is set to make something of a return this year, in his first ever computer animated film. AUSTRALIA'S ROUND THE WORLD AIRLINES The world's love affair with the koala isn't limited to picture books. This cuddly little marsupial has played a key part in attracting tourists to our shores for decades – try and think of the last time a famous celebrity visited Australia and wasn't photographed holding a koala. Qantas, in particular, has often turned to the koala to help sell its brand overseas, whether in posters like the one above or its famous TV spots from the 1970s. JAMES SOWERBY'S WARATAH Early European settlers in Australia were understandably fascinated by the country's unique flora and fauna, the likes of which they would have never seen before. The Australian Inspiration exhibition includes some of the earliest known sketches of native plant and animal life, including this illustration of a waratah by James Sowerby that appeared in James Edward Smith's A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland. More than two centuries later, the flower remains a national cultural icon, and has even been immortalised as the NSW state flower. SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE DESIGNS Still, when it comes to national symbols, they don't get much bigger or more significant than the Sydney Opera House. Danish architect Jorn Oberg Utzon won an international competition with his bold and visionary design, which was purportedly inspired by the peeling of an orange. These early sketches may not look like much, but the building's iconic status is a testament to the strength of his ideas. Inspiration by Design and Australian Inspiration will be on display at the State Library of NSW until September 27. For more information visit the State Library website. Top image: Koala & Young, John Lewin (1803)
It was the hit of Cannes, a highlight at both Sydney and Melbourne's film festivals, and has been selected as Germany's entry in the best foreign-language category at next year's Academy Awards. It's none other than Toni Erdmann, the almost three-hour German comedy about a father trying to spend time with his adult daughter. The memorable movie can't really be described accurately — it has to be experienced, trust us — and now, thanks to the just-announced German Film Fest Australia program, it's making its way around the country. The critical smash is just one of the highlights of the annual showcase German cinema, which notches up its 15th year in 2016. It sits amidst a packed lineup that boasts 31 features, five documentaries and more than 25 Australian premieres, and will tour Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra from November 15 to 30. Other standouts include opening night's road trip drama Goodbye Berlin, box office smash The Most Beautiful Day, a factual look at a young Burmese music fan in My Buddha is Punk, and tragicomedy Me and Kaminski, with Captain America: Civil War's Daniel Brühl as journalist doing whatever it takes to get ahead. Everything Will Be Fine, the latest effort from veteran director Wim Wenders, also pops up — in 3D and featuring James Franco, Rachel McAdams and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Yep, variety is the spice of German cinema as well as life (and James Franco has to pop up just about everywhere). Of course, great film fests look at ace flicks from years gone by, as well as new hits, adding another reason to get excited about GFFA's picks. Nodding to the nation's movie-making past, the festival closes with a restoration of silent trapeze artist drama Varieté from 1925, which stars the first-ever Oscar winner Emil Jannings. Elsewhere, doco Fassbinder explores the work and impact of New German Cinema pioneer Rainer Werner Fassbinder, while the director's legendary love story Ali: Fear Eats The Soul will also screen. The German Film Fest Australia tours the country from November 15, screening at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema and Palace Norton Street from November 15 to 29, Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Kino Cinemas and Palace Westgarth from November 17 to 30, and Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace Centro from November 25 to 30. For more information, visit the festival website.
After spending so much time indoors in 2020, we're all keen to be outdoors as much as possible (while the good weather lasts). And one spot you can soak up the good vibes is Federation Square, which is transforming into a garden oasis this season. On January 15, the CBD space will unveil new grass zones, deck chairs, colourful beanbags and a jam-packed program of free happenings to keep you entertained (and comfy) for those lazy summer afternoons and evenings ahead. The roster of events includes live music, wellbeing classes — think yoga, cooking demos and life drawing — plus screenings of major sports events and an outdoor cinema screening classics like Muriel's Wedding, The Great Gatsby and Red Dog. In collaboration with ACMI, Fed Square will screen a silent film on the digital facade with a live score accompaniment on selected evenings, too. And, when you get hungry, you can get food delivered from any of the surrounding Fed Square restaurants and bars, including Riverland, Mama's Canteen and Atiyah Lebanese Kitchen. Image: Liam Neal
Virtual reality may finally be about to hit the mainstream, with Sony announcing that PlayStation VR will be on the market by the end of the year. Compatible with the PS4, the long-awaited virtual reality headset will go on sale in October, and is now available for preorder from the PlayStation website for the surprisingly accessible price of AUD $549.95. Expensive gimmick or the future of gaming? Suppose we'll have to wait and see. The company made the announcement at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this morning. According to Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House, more than 230 developers are working on VR games, including a VR version of Star Wars: Battlefront. House expects there will be more than 50 games available by the end of the year, many of which will incorporate both the VR headset and a TV screen, allowing for multiplayer experiences that don't require multiple headsets. While there are still some doubts about the mass marketability of VR technology, Sony's announcement undoubtedly marks a significant step forward — not least because of its relative affordability. When accounting for shipping, both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift — which both require a high-powered desktop computer to operate — are expected to cost more than double that of the PlayStation headset. Although, as the guys at Lifehacker have predicted, to use PlayStation VR to its full capabilities you'll probably need to purchase a PlayStation Camera and a Move controller or two, which will bring the price closer to $700. Those after a bargain basement alternative can always go with Google Cardboard, but we suspect that won't be compatible with your PS4. Via Wired.
Forget space travel, the internet and the mapping of the human genome. Our greatest technological achievements pale in comparison to the one unveiled by Dominos (yes, that Dominos) in Brisbane last night. Developed by the pizza chain in partnership with technology startup Marathon Robotics, the Dominos Robotic Unit, or DRU, is a fully functioning autonomous vehicle built for the sole purpose of delivering pizza. The future is here. Designed to travel along footpaths, DRU weighs 190kg, can reach speeds of up to 20km per hour, and navigates unassisted using GPS. It is also capable of navigating around obstacles, ensuring your food arrives unscathed. Once DRU rolls up outside your house, you simple enter a unique mobile code and the heated storage compartment opens right up to reveal the sweet, sweet pizza within. Sadly, Dominos expects it'll be at least another two years until DRUs are ready to begin regular service, as there are still various technological and regulatory hurdles to overcome. Turns out the government is a little tetchy when it comes to unsupervised robots roaming the streets... which is probably fair enough. Dominos also acknowledges that there could be problems with vandalism and theft. DRU is worth around $30,000, making it a prime target for unscrupulous robot-nappers. Of course, that pales in comparison to the real danger that no one seems to want to talk about. We've seen enough dystopian science fiction films to know the beginnings of a robot uprising when we see one. Pretty sure Skynet started out as a pizza delivery system, too. Just sayin... [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqzLoXjFT34[/embed] Via Lifehacker. Image: Marathon Robotics.
As if alcohol alone doesn't do enough to unleash your inner, six-year-old self, you can now embrace it shamelessly — that's if you happen to be in San Francisco and anywhere near that city's latest thing: a pop-up ball pit in your local bar. Yep, you read that right. A brilliantly regressive-thinking organisation by the name of Forward Motion has turned every kidult's dream into a reality. The team is heading into willing bars and nightclubs, setting up enormous pits, and filling them to the brim with balls of all colours. And you're welcome to jump straight in — even if, or especially if, you're armed with a cocktail. Forward Motion held its first pop-up on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20 at San Francisco's Romper Room. "It took a little over a year to actually make it happen, as the biggest obstacle was trying to raise enough money to purchase 40,000 ball pit balls," Forward Motion founder Ryan Lum told Mashable. "After several failed crowdfunding attempts, I decided to just start selling tickets to [the] event that didn't even exist. It took a long time trying to raise the money but it was all worth it in the end." Not only did stacks of people attend, they made the most of it. Some dressed as brides and one as a kangaroo. There were ball fights, conga lines, limbo matches and Macarena displays. The bar staff got on the bandwagon, too, throwing a plastic green turtle into the pit and offering a free shot to the first person to find it. Forward Motion, you are hereby officially invited to Australia. In the meantime, readers can cry with envy at ball pits happening on the other side of the Pacific by following announcements on Facebook. Via First We Feast and Mashable. Images: Dollar Photo Club and Miracles Ramirez/Forward Motion.
Danny Boyle’s iconic 1996 film Trainspotting is finally getting the sequel you kind of don’t want to see but can’t look away from. Boyle officially confirmed the news an interview with Deadline — the sequel has a script and is definitely going ahead. The only problem is coordinating the schedules of the now-famous OG actors. The sequel will be based on Irvine Welsh’s 2002 novel Porno, which was released six years after the film of Trainspotting. The film version of Porno will pick up eight years after Trainspotting left off, with the same crew. But the biggest difference is in the title — obviously, this one is about porn. While Trainspotting was perhaps the most effective campaign against shooting up heroin (and the need to learn the dialect and slang of Edinburgh youth), Porno may well do the same for the amateur porn industry. Don’t worry, there'll probably still be gratuitous drug use. Boyle told Complex that Porno will bring back the “four main actors” which the Internet has interpreted to mean Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle and Kevin McKidd. Even John Hodge, the screenwriter of Trainspotting, is working on the sequel. There has been no confirmation whether Ewan Bremner or Kelly Macdonald will be included, however the plot of Porno has a sizeable role for Bremner’s character 'Spud', so we’re cautiously optimistic. For those of you wanting to read the book before seeing the film, be warned: the plot might be changed when it goes to the silver screen. The project has been in the works for the while now and author Irvine Welsh told The Big Issue two years ago that, "The sequel I wrote — Porno — is already ten years old, so I don't think you can just use the book as the source for the script. You need other stuff that makes it more fresh and contemporary. The porno stuff might feel a bit passé now after Fifty Shades of Grey." It would seem that Welsh and Boyle have some (probably not very) sexy surprises in store for us. Via Deadline and Complex.
Most filmmakers are considered prolific if they make a movie every two years. Since leaping onto the scene in 2005, Joe Swanberg has made 18. One of the leading figures of the mumblecore movement (an American indie film subgenre characterised by microscopic budgets and heavily improvised dialogue), Swanberg most recently earned plaudits for his charming romantic dramedy Drinking Buddies, starring Olivia Wilde and Anna Kendrick. We now know Drinking Buddies was scarcely in theatres before Swanberg began work on his next project, one that sees him re-team with Kendrick, along with New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey and Girls creator Lena Dunham. Shot in Swanberg's cosy Chicago home, Happy Christmas chronicles the rocky yuletide holidays of new parents Jeff and Kelly (Swanberg and Lynskey) after Jeff's irresponsible sister Jenny (Kendrick) comes to stay. As with most of Swanberg's movies, the film had almost no scripted dialogue, and relied instead on the improvisational talents of the cast. Read our interview with Joe Swanberg.
Sydney Festival has revealed its massive 2017 program, with a renewed focus on dance and theatre along with bold new works from Australian artists. Running from January 7-29, the lineup is comprised of 150 events, almost half of which are free. From sensory installations to shows in Parramatta Lebanese restaurants and performances by iconic musicians, your dose of summertime culture is basically sorted. Most visually, the city will also play host to a number of major installations, including The Beach by Snarkitecture at Barangaroo — a ball pit made up of 1.1 million recyclable polyethylene balls that you can jump into — and House of Mirrors in Hyde Park, which comes from Hobart's Dark MOFO (and most recently Brisbane), and and is more or less what it sounds like. Treading the boards at this year's festival are some of the country's most celebrated stage companies, including Brisbane's La Boite Theatre Company — who'll present the four-time Helpmann nominated play Prize Fighter — and Australia's longest running Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander theatre company, who've teamed with writer-performer Katie Beckett on her play Which Way Home. They'll be joined by an impressive international contingent, including the London-based Complicite company, whose play The Encounter arrives direct from Broadway; Pushkin Theatre Moscow, whose co-production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure with the UK's Cheek by Jowl also stands out as another surefire festival highlight. Immersing you further in this year's festivities are a number of works that play upon the senses. Cat Jones' Scent of Sydney is a free immersive exhibition based on — you guessed it — smell, while Imagined Touch, by deafblind artists Heather Lawson and Michelle Stevens, lets audiences experience the world without vision or sound. Musical highlights include live performances from PJ Harvey and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, as well as an Opera House performance of 1967 Music in the Key of Yes, a concert of remembrance on the 50 year anniversary of the Indigenous rights referendum. You'll also be able to catch free tunes every night at the Meriton Festival Village in Hyde Park. Sydney Festival also revealed its complete program for Western Sydney, which includes an interactive 'Circus City' and the first posthumous exhibition of works by Myuran Sukumaran. Image: The Beach, Snarkitecture. Shot by Noah Kalina.
For all of those aspiring blacksmiths out there, the Australia Technology Park hears you. That's why, as of April, the site is going back to its 130-year-old roots and workshop and opening a blacksmithing and traditional craft school. Before it was Carriageworks and the Australian Technology Park, the heritage-listed site was once the Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops, a 19th century hub for building and maintaining the steam trains that serviced Sydney between 1887 until 1987. Now revamped and reinvigorated into Eveleigh Works, the school will run weekly short courses in metal sculpture, hand forging, knife-making and traditional tool-making. Their first course, starting this weekend, is a two-day introduction to blacksmithing. To celebrate, the young creatives behind the launch are throwing a party on Sunday, April 2 from 1–5pm. It's a free entry, all-ages event which will include glass blowing, foraging and tool-making demonstrations, as well as live music from local acts The Sweet Jelly Rolls and Indigo Rising. They're also keeping it local with booze and food by Newtowners Young Henrys and Rising Sun Workshop, respectively. While you may not have considered blacksmithing as a career choice, Eveleigh Works may change your mind — or at least allow you to add some metal skills to your repertoire. We'll definitely be getting in on that glass blowing demonstration. Eveleigh Works kicks off its classes this weekend, with the opening party to be held on Sunday, April 2 from 1pm. For more info, visit the Facebook event and eveleigh.works. Interested in learning new life skills? See our pick of Sydney's best short courses.
When most people think of Father Christmas, a very particular image comes to mind. We're talking about a jolly, roly poly man with a red and white suit and a twinkle in his eye. He's got a whole fleet of reindeer, a workshop full of elves, and brings joy and yuletide spirit to children around the world. He's been described as a lot of things, but chic has never been one of them. That is, until now. Presenting Fashion Santa: Dayummmm. We suddenly know what we want for Christmas. Setting up shop in Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Fashion Santa is part of the mall's annual holiday campaign. Decked out in only the finest of menswear, this stylish Saint Nick, played by model Paul Mason, has been hanging at the centre snapping selfies with shoppers, offering beard primping tips and generally looking fabulous. The best thing about Fashion Santa, aside from his steely blue eyes, perfectly manicured whiskers and strong, strong arms... ...sorry, lost our train of thought there for a moment. Let's try that again. The best thing about Fashion Santa is that he's out raising money for sick kids. For every selfie with Fashion Santa posted online using the hashtag #YorkdaleFashionSanta, the shopping centre will donate $1 to Canada's Sick Kids Foundation. It's a pretty awesome initiative, one that more countries should get on board with. And we're not just saying that because we want to sit on Santa's lap. Via QZ.
Since relaunching in 2016, Stockade Brew Co has made some waves in the craft brewing industry, having won over 50 Australian beer awards in the last two years and turning out some of the Great Australiasian Beer Spectapular's wackier drops. Now, it's finally opening its own joint in Sydney's booming craft beer suburb on Thursday, June 14. Located in an old factory space in Marrickville, the production brewery and bar boasts a communal dining space for 250 punters, plus a 14-person tasting room for private parties. Designed by RAD Studios, the fit-out includes terracotta tiles and blackbutt timber furniture that gives the industrial space an art deco feel, plus a custom-built bar made with up-cycled barrels and lightbox menu boards. Stockade's sessionable core five beers will be poured alongside the brewery's out-there seasonal releases. The maple syrup-infused imperial stout will be available exclusively at the venue and the award-winning imperial stout Old Money will be on tap for the launch. The Stockade brews will sit next to guest taps pouring the likes of Marrickville locals Bucket Boys and Melbourne's Hop Nation. Patrons can also expect wines from Urban Winery Sydney blended on-site in Stockade barrels and hop-infused cocktails using spirits from Australian craft distilleries. Hop Dreams, for example, will feature a combination of gin and house-made citrus liqueur. For beer nibbles, the team has gone down the food truck route, and will be teaming up with Eat Drink Collective for an offering that changes each month. American burger truck Baby Rey's will kick things off when the brewpub opens, before pan-Asian Tsuru takes over in August, Grease 'n' Grind in September and La Raza Mexican Cantina in October. Tasting sessions, brewery tours, butchery and cocktail masterclasses and beer and cheese pairings will round out this massive offering later in the year, too. Stockade Brew Co brewery and bar will open on Thursday, June 14 25 Cadagon Street, Marrickville.
If you've been looking for a reason to go away for the weekend, block off a couple of days in March and head to Canberra for Enlighten 2017. Touted as the original Vivid, Enlighten celebrates art, culture, music, performance and innovation. Held in Canberra's iconic Parliamentary Triangle, the event site is transformed into a buzzing hub of activity, with spectacular architectural projections on iconic national attractions and a programme of free and ticketed interactive performance and installation works. Over each weekend from March 3-12, the city will light up with live music, performances, events and exclusive exhibitions. Large-scale projections will bring to life Canberra icons including the National Portrait Gallery, Australian Parliament House, National Library of Australia, National Gallery of Australia and Questacon. Highlight events from the programme include Pedaleando Hacia El Cielo by Theatre Tol (a large-scale aerial act featuring performers, singers, video imagery and pyrotechnics), the amazing, interactive digital architectural projections splashed across the National Portrait Gallery, the pop-up wine bars, roving entertainment and Enlighten Night Noodle Markets (which based on Canberra's population should be significantly less hectic than the Sydney version, meaning you'll be able to jump in and eat as many dumplings as you can). There's also Sunset on the Roof — drinks, music and snacks at the Australian Parliament House's rooftop bar for two nights only (March 3 and 11). The festival's live music line-up features indie band Tigertown, Australian singer/songwriter Cleopold and electronic duo Mondecreen, as well as Cookin' On 3 Burners and Bustamento, who will bring the funk vibes to the stage. A glowing, black-light, industrial 'dance zone' is popping up in a high-security factory production corridor on March 3. DJ Robot Citizen will lead the charge in showcasing Canberra's underground dark-electronic music scene on the night (who knew), and high-vis vests and glow-sticks will be supplied. Visit Enlighten 2017 and delve into the whole programme.
There are so many cafes, restaurants and bars in Melbourne that it's easy to be overwhelmed with choice. You put yourself under so much pressure to impress your friends, and yourself, by always choosing the best coffee, the best place for drinks, or the most decadent and delicious fancy dinner in the area. We've decided that we're going to make it extremely easy for you to feel like a local, with the first of our neighbourhood guides we're producing with Adina Apartments. Have a read of our picks for St Kilda, and the next time you're staying in the area consult this list for a reliable, local option for a coffee. We promise that none of these options will disappoint. BEST PLACE FOR A COFFEE Hannah Hannah serves Proud Mary Coffee, which is juicy and full of flavour — just as it should be. The cafe prides itself on a well-considered approach to coffee, food and interior design. Vinyl records provide the soundtrack, while ferns pepper the interior. The all day brunch features porridge with date jam and hazelnuts ($11) and coconut pancakes with pink peppered berries and vanilla mascarpone ($16.50), while lunch is a mouth-watering selection including the likes of smoked trout, cavolo nero, witlof, radicchio, poached egg and samphire salsa ($19) and octopus salad with silverbeet, watercress, purple congos, capers and marjoram salmoriglio ($18.50). BEST PLACE TO GRAB BREAKFAST Matcha Mylkbar St Kilda is home to Melbourne's most popular and Instagrammable vegan eatery, which is fuelled by matcha. The plant-based café comes from the same people that brought you (and basically every cafe in Australia) Matcha Maiden. Dubbed Matcha Mylkbar, the cafe serves the regulars like smashed avocado with heirloom tomatoes and corn fritters, but then there's the coconut bacon and the matcha pancakes with dark chocolate sorbet. There are also the famous mushroom lattes, and beetroot lattes. BEST SPOT FOR FISH & CHIPS Paper Fish A kickass fish and chippery is located right off the St Kilda Beach boardwalk. Paper Fish offers sustainable, healthy(ish) eat-in and takeaway options all throughout summer. Open noon until late seven days a week, now until the end of daylight savings, Paper Fish will serve up sustainable seafood and fresh quality produce in environmentally friendly packaging. Menu items include flathead, blue grenadier, salmon or gummy served grilled or tempura fried, as well as fritto misto (small fried bits of seafood), sweet potato cakes and crinkle-cut chips in a cone. BEST PLACE TO GRAB A BEER Freddie Wimpoles Freddie Wimpoles features 13 taps pouring a rotating lineup of local and international craft brews, as well as additional beers by the bottle and can. They also have a number of wines, plus more than 180 premium spirits and a selection of classic cocktails. The food is inspired by corner delis in NYC – think hot dogs, beef jerky, pickled vegetables and slow-cooked meat subs. BEST PLACE FOR A CHEESEBOARD Milk the Cow You don't just go to Milk the Cow for fresh mozzarella and just-made ricotta — you go for the selection of over 150 cheeses. There is cheese that's been imported from France, Ireland and Norway as well as the Yarra Valley; cheese that's been washed in chai, paprika and cognac; aged in caves and sat ripening out the back until just the right time to eat. There's all sorts of soft, hard and in-between cheese — all curated on a rotating basis by head cheesemonger Laura Lown. This, and Milk the Cow's Carlton location, is the best place for cheese in all of Melbourne, not just St Kilda. BEST ROOFTOP BAR Captain Baxter St Kilda Sea Baths may not be Melbourne's Mecca of fine dining, but in a city convinced they are starved of sun, you can rarely beat a seat at a beachfront venue once the weather warms up. The same could be said about Captain Baxter. Nestled in with Republica at the baths, its large upstairs dining room and looming facade is the perfect place for a beer, a cocktail and a bowl of hand-cut fries. BEST WEEKEND FOOD MARKET Hank Marvin Market Over 40 street food vendors set up shop at Hank Marvin Market, a street food market on every Saturday at Alma Park in St Kilda East, transforming it into a hub of fresh produce, food trucks and street food stalls. Old favourites Overdosa, Hammer & Tong, Happy Camper Pizza and the Little Mushroom Co. are generally there, along with artisan doughnuts from Cobb Lane Bakery and traditional wood-fired bagels from Shtetl Bagels. BEST SPOT FOR A FANCY DINNER Cafe Di Stasio The upper echelons of elegance, service and rich Italian food. If we're talking about institutions, Cafe di Stasio is right at the top of the list. After 26 years on Fitzroy Street, the restaurant and bar still exudes elegance, sophisticated service and decadent Italian food. Here the lunches are long, the wine is expensive and the atmosphere is right on point. There's a place for old-school, classy dining and this is it. BEST SPOT TO PACK A PICNIC Catani Gardens For the discerning picnicker with a preference for a cool sea breeze, St Kilda's Catani Gardens is an idyllic fusion between urban and ocean. One of the only places in Melbourne where it is acceptable to find a palm tree lined avenue, six hectares of brilliantly landscaped gardens hugging both the city and the sea is located right on the St Kilda foreshore. While not as secluded as other options, the boardwalk setting provides the perfect vantage point of ample amounts of people watching, as well as immediate access to a host of fancy fish and chips shops. Extra points will be given for those who rollerblade with basket in hand to picnic point of choice. Book yourself in at an Adina Apartment Hotel and have a St Kilda staycation — it's the easiest way to tick all these off.
We get it. Everyone loves an espresso 'tini. We've got a bar that even does them on tap — and Sydney recently got a whole venue dedicated to that God-sent concoction of chilled coffee and vodka. And now — not to be outdone by Sydney — Melbourne is getting the country's very first espresso martini festival. Sleep, who needs it? The festival, to be held on Saturday, November 5, is being gifted to our espresso-loving, cocktail-filled city by the fine boozehounds at Mr Black, a NSW-based cold-pressed (and damn fine) coffee liqueur. In short, they know how to capitalise on our weaknesses and we're not even mad about it. The affair will involve some of Australia's best coffee suppliers, cafes and bars, and will come together to create a beautiful array of alcoholic caffienated beverages. As with any festival of this kind, there will be an array of food trucks as well as a game or two of coffee pong (whatever that is). The festival is to be held at North Melbourne's Meat Market and tickets will set you back $25 a pop, which includes an espresso martini and a try of Mr Black's coffee liqueur (yum!), free tastings (yay!) and license to drink espresso martinis to your heart's content (yeah!). The Mr Black Espresso Martini Festival will take place on Saturday, November 5 at Meat Market in North Melbourne. For more info and to buy tickets, visit espressomartinifest.com. Image: Alana Dimou.
In recent years, we've encountered the likes of the cronut, the cruffin and even the macanut. Now, joining this ever-growing foodie family of hybrid frankenpastries is the baklava muffin, an outrageously logical invention by chef Peter Conistis for Sydney's acclaimed Alpha restaurant. Featuring a honey-spiced batter with roasted walnuts, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, cinnamon and dark chocolate, the muffin is topped with Alpha's signature chocolate hazelnut baklava, baked in filo pastry and drizzled with spiced honey syrup. What do we call you? A 'bakluffin'? A 'mufflava'? A 'bluffin'? Conistis' creation is a contemporary interpretation of traditional Greek food. "I wanted to create muffins for our Alpha Foodstore that are synonymous with Greek cuisine," he says. "They're an indulgent reflection of the dishes we serve at Alpha." Featuring on Alpha's breakfast menu alongside the already crowd-pleasing spanakopita muffin, the baklava muffin is bound to become a favourite amongst Sydney food lovers, so expect to see it all over your Instagram feed very soon. Find Alpha at 238 Castlereagh Street, Sydney. Open Monday to Sunday, 7.30–10.30am for baklava muffins, then 12–3pm, 6–9pm.
For the next six weeks, you’ll be able to feast on Eric Koh’s perfect dumplings without leaving the CBD. Merivale is bringing the Mr. Wong maestro and former Tim Ho Wan dim sum master to King Street for a pop-up dubbed Work in Progress @erickoh. It’ll open Monday to Friday from midday till late, with the kitchen cooking between midday and 3pm for lunch, then for dinner between 5.30pm and 10pm. The pop-up's menu is promising an array of Koh’s signature creations, including scallop and prawn shumai, prawn har gau and steamed mushroom dumplings, duck spring rolls and prawn wonton with wasabi mayo. Plus there’ll be a neat beverages list to match, covering cocktails, wines and beers. Stay late on Thursdays and Fridays to kick back to local DJs. Work in Progress @erickoh is a sequel to @patrickfriesen, the Papi Chulo chef's fried chicken and noodles pop-up that drew crowds during the 2015 March into Merivale food and wine festival. Planned for just five weeks, it was so bombarded with hungry hordes that it remained open for six months. Koh has been living in Sydney since 2012, when he moved here to set up Mr. Wong, winner of ‘Best New Restaurant of the Year’ at the 2014 Good Food Guide Awards, the and the 2014 Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Awards. Once he’s done popping up in the CBD, he’ll be heading to Enmore to head the much-anticipated Queen Victoria Hotel’s new kitchen (recently bought by Justin Hemmes), alongside Papi Chulo’s Christopher Hogarth and Patrick Friesen. Eric Koh's Work in Progress dim sum pop-up will open Tuesday, September 8 at 50 King Street, Sydney. Open Monday to Friday 12-3pm, 5.30-10pm (kitchen), 12pm-late (bar).
There's something enchanting about discovering evidence of previous inhabitants in your house. Whether it be an earring wedged under a skirting board or a confusing message scrawled on the underside of a drawer, it feels like eavesdropping on another time. It may not make sense, but you're definitely getting away with something. Geoff Sobelle, an absurdist playwright who's been eavesdropping on the nonsensical for quite some time, has seized on this sensation for his theatre show Home. In a single house in a single night, we will see all of the people who will ever live there play out their stories within a hair's breadth of each other. Plus, audience members will be invited to onto the set to inhabit the 'home' as the show progresses. Head along just to see how they divvy up the cleaning roster. Home is part of Sydney Festival's dramatic and diverse 2019 program. Check out the full lineup here.
A small country pub on the NSW South Coast is ditching pokies in favour of live music. For years the Tathra Hotel has been home to a dozen poker machines, with 50 percent of the venue's total value tied up in the licences required to have them on site. Despite this, when veteran publican Cliff Wallis took over the hotel last year, he decided the machines had to go. "Poker machines have destroyed hotels in many respects," Wallis told the ABC. "Some hotels have become primarily poker machine venues, and they do best in the lowest socio-economic areas." Tathra has a population of just 2000 people, yet had 70 poker machines before Wallis took his stand. The plan is to use the money made from the sale of the gambling licences to revamp the hotel's accommodation. The venue had already begun to host regular live music gigs before renovations began last month. The old pokies room, meanwhile, will make way for a microbrewery. Although the decision to remove the poker machines has alienated some former regulars, it has also attracted other types of clientele. "We have a lot of people coming in who didn't come here before — retired people, professionals, and more women coming in on their own to have a drink and listen to the music," Wallis said. Wallis has spent decades working in the industry, and has owned the Sundeck Hotel in the Perisher Valley for 25 years. Ultimately, he says he wants the Tathra Hotel to be "a place that the community is proud of." Via Music Australia. Image: Wiki.
If you've always dreamed of owning a brewery, you're about to get your big shot. Initially Sydney-based, Hopsters Co-op Brewery is the first Australian brewhouse made by the people, for the people. Craft beer entrepreneur Marco Vargas is the man behind the plan and he's collaborating with mates Ross Hynard and Louie Jahjah to get this big dream off the ground — a cooperative brewery that's funded by membership. "This is our passion project," says Vargas. "We've met a lot of home brewers who are really passionate but don't have the capacity to do it themselves, so we realised that the best way is together." Co-op breweries have seen considerable success in US, with five currently in operation, but Hopsters is the first of its kind in Australia. "I believe it will be a strong business because everyone in the community has a stake in it," says Vargas. The Hopsters motto "drink like you own the place" sums up the concept well. Member benefits will include access to brewing equipment, community collaboration brews, exclusive events and discounts at the brewery's taproom. Anyone from the community can join — from craft beer industry leaders to home brewers and beer geeks. "We plan to hold a monthly social where members can meet and talk beer," says Vargas. The team's goal is to open five breweries with 5000 members Australia-wide, the first of which is set to open in Leichhardt by the end of 2016. They dream big — as in expecting 2000 members by the end of the year big. The building they're currently locked onto is owned by the same landlord as the Wayward Brewing Co., a good sign for the brewing liberties to come. A lifetime membership costs $250 per person, which, all things considered, is quite the bargain. While they aren't taking payments until the brewery is set to go, you can register your interest to get in at ground level. Check out Hopsters' website for more details on how to become a member.
Huge news for Australia's bar and restaurant scene, Keystone Hospitality Group has been place in receivership. The sprawling empire behind Australia's Jamie's Italian restaurants, Sydney's The Winery, Gazebo, Manly Wine, Cargo Bar, Bungalow 8, alongside multi-city venues Kingsley's and Chophouse, will sell their collection of venues after being unable to settle on their financial structure with lenders, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. Keystone's venues, including 17 bars, pubs and restaurants across the country and six Jamie's Italian joints, could be sold as a whole package or individually. Cargo Bar, Keystone's very first venue opened in 2000, has been up for sale since March, but now the likes of Kingsley's, Manly Wine, Sugarmill Hotel and Sweethearts Rooftop and The Rook and the rest of the portfolio will go on the market — and SMH puts the value at more than $100 million. Keystone also has over 1000 employees nationally, according to news.com.au, who'll be sitting tight until more details come through. So, what about that elephant in the room? Lockouts. Have NSW's controversial lockout laws had anything to do with this? We don't have solid data on Keystone's venues and their takings pre- and post-lockouts, but many of their venues like Cargo Bar, The Winery, The Sugarmill, Sweethearts Rooftop, Gazebo and Bungalow 8 all sit within the lockout zone in Sydney. And in a statement published on news.com.au, Keystone executive Richard Facioni and managing director John Duncan included the lockout laws in a host of pressures on their businesses. "Two years ago the Keystone Hospitality Group undertook a major expansion program, including acquisitions, to become a significantly larger, national group," they said. "However, the debt raised to undertake its expansion, combined with changes to the local market, including lockout laws, have placed significant financial strain on the business." It'll be business as usual for the Keystone venues until the receivers assess each business's assets, takings and brand for the sale. Receiver Morgan Kelly told SMH they expected selling the portfolio to be easy peasy. "Given the current buoyant hospitality market, we anticipate a lot of interest in the sale of the venues," he said. Via SMH and news.com.au. Image: Cargo Bar/Keystone.
If you've swung by Hello Sailor's old digs lately, you might have noticed some paint stripping and hammering going on. Well, we can now tell you who's been making all the noise. On April 12, the keys to 96 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, were handed to a mighty hospitality duo — Lewis Jaffrey, who's been managing operations at The Baxter Inn, Frankie's and Shady Pines, and Jared Merlino of Lobo Plantation. And, at the end of June, they'll be opening a 134-seat Italian eatery-bar named Big Poppa's and starring three of life's most important things: cheese, wine and hip hop. "We've spent a lot of time together eating cheese, drinking wine and listening to hip hop, so we thought it'd be fun to turn our interests into a venue," says Jaffrey. Merlino adds, "All our venues have come about the same way — by building around elements we enjoy." Big Poppa's will have three sections: an Italian restaurant and a small bar upstairs, and a cocktail lounge downstairs. The plan is to keep the beautiful, heritage-listed spaces classic-looking and relaxed. And, because food will be served right through to the wee hours, lockout laws won't apply. Hurrah! On the food menu, you'll find simple Italian offerings made with high quality produce. And lots of cheese. "There'll be 10 to 12 dishes, with between one and three on rotation," says Jaffrey. "And between 15 and 25 cheeses." A similar philosophy will inform the drinks list. You can expect classic aperitifs, digestifs and cocktails — like Negronis and Americanos, as well as some creative signature concoctions, designed by the beverages team. As for wines, there'll be more than 200 to choose from, with more than half coming from Italy and an emphasis on rosé, which doesn't always get the attention it deserves on Sydney wine menus. Big Poppa's is scheduled to open at 96 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst the end of June. Image: Lobo Plantation.
Would you go camping more if you didn't have to buy the whole tent, mattresses, camping chairs set-up? Would festivals be less likely to have to deal with people ditching their tents at the end of a festival, if they simply had to return the whole thing? Meet the new Sydney start-up killing two birds with one stone — getting you into the great outdoors, saving you money and minimising waste while they're at it. Sydney-founded company CampNow will hire and deliver the camping equipment you need for a weekend away in easy packages, and you can choose the level of camping gear to match your adventure — whether you're going hard at a camping music festival or escaping down the south coast. The idea behind CampNow came from two Sydney mates, co-founders Nick Longworth and Dan Courtnall, who genuinely wanted to see people get off their phones and back into the great outdoors — they just wanted to make that process a little more carefree. "Why should you spend all your time and money on camping equipment before you have even begun your adventure?" says Nick and Dan. "Too many of us are constantly hooked into our phones, stuck in the rat race and forget the beauty that is only a short trip away. Our goal is to help you break your routine, take some time and go on an adventure." "After a heavy month of work I was feeling burnt out and wanted to do something different on my weekend and go camping, but it was also a bit hard as I didn't own any gear," says Dan. He didn't want to borrow, buy or clean any gear, he just wanted to hire some gear for the weekend and have it delivered, but there was no offering out there. So Dan contacted his buddy Nick (a keen camper) and pitched a grand idea to him. CampNow is brilliantly simple: the guys deliver (and pick up) everything you need for camping for a truly reasonable fee — there's less waste at camping grounds and you don't have to fork out for camping gear you'll never use again. Likely to be the most popular of the packages is the 'Festival' set-up. For $100, you and a friend can rent everything you'd need for a camping festival: high quality tent, queen air mattress, two chairs, 36-litre esky, tarp, headlamps, first aid kit. Best bit? They'll deliver and pick up the goods to your work or home in Sydney. Splendour, Secret Garden, Meredith, sorted. If you're keen for a weekend away, the 'Just Go' and 'Want More' packages are for you. Then there's the big kahuna, the 'Take the Kids' for $399 for four people for two nights. Now, where to start? Dan and Nick let us in on their favourite camping spot near Sydney. Ready? Treachery Camp in Seal Rocks. It's just 3.5 hours out of Sydney, a "quiet national park surrounded by amazing landscapes and epic waves" according to the guys. Now you have zero excuses. Hook up a CampNow package and head for Sydney's best camping getaways. Images: Zak Suhar, Alex Holt, Jeremy Ricketts, Julian Bialowas (all Stocksnap) and Dollar Photo Club.
Raise the roof with a pack of tracksuit-wearing grannies when Indeedy Musical Bingo moonwalks into Sydney in a couple of weeks' time. Part dance party, part game show, this kitsch-tastic musical phenomenon will make its Australian debut at The Forresters in Surry Hills on Thursday October 15. Expect singing, dancing and ridiculous prizes ranging from vintage records to inflatable bananas. Created by Jess Indeedy and her husband Charles 'DJ Helix' Brockbank, Indeedy Musical Bingo is more or less what it sounds like: bingo, but with songs instead of numbers. Eagle eared players cross songs off their list as they hear them, in a high stakes contest to claim whatever ridiculous prizes happen to be on offer. Game themes may include dance anthems, hip hop, yacht rock, motown or just about anything else. Indeedy hosts, and will be joined on stage by a team of dancing old ladies known collectively as The Granny Pack. It may all sound ridiculous (and we suspect it probably is), but Indeedy Musical Bingo has been popular in London and New York for a while now, in venues such as Shoreditch House, Shop & Do, Soho House New York and The Bell House Brooklyn. Their Sydney shenanigans will kick off at 8pm on October 15 and should wrap up just before midnight – depending on how people are keen to keep dancing. You can book advanced tickets for just $13.90 by following this link.
With hard-hitting dramas, imaginative comedies and a retrospective tribute to one of the all-time greats, the latest edition of the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival doesn't disappoint. Lighting up the screen from March 1-24 in Sydney before heading out to Parramatta and Casula in April, the 2016 program features a diverse mix of titles showcasing the very best the French film industry has to offer. Below, we've put together a list of the five most intriguing films on the program. Lumière...Moteur...Action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iespSNiOMRQ DHEEPAN The surprise winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival, Dheepan is the latest film from director Jacques Audiard, whose previous efforts include Un Prophète and Rust and Bone. This new work concerns three strangers from war-torn northern Sri Lanka who masquerade as a family in order to receive asylum in France. A tale of intolerance and persecution, Dheepan feels particularly timely given the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe and our own troubled relationship with asylum seekers here at home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiOnxv30iHk IN THE SHADOW OF WOMEN Another major player at Cannes — where it was selected to open the Director's Fortnight category — this masterful romantic drama is directed by Philippe Garrel, a 50-year veteran of the French film industry. Shot in Paris in gorgeous black and white, In the Shadow of Women follows Pierre (Stanislas Merhar) and Manon (Clotilde Courau), a pair of married documentary filmmakers whose lives are thrown into turmoil when Pierre begins an affair with a young intern (Lena Paugam), only to discover that Manon has secrets of her own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XZe5rrFDrM TAJ MAHAL The 2008 Mumbai terror attacks form the backdrop for this unsettling thriller, selected by film critic and festival patron David Stratton as one of the best films on the program. Stacy Martin (Nymphomaniac) plays Louise, an 18-year-old French tourist trapped in her hotel room as it comes under attack by armed gunmen. Setting his film almost entirely in the one room, director Nicolas Saada has been praised for his restraint, crafting a tense, claustrophobic picture that at times may feel a little too real for comfort. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmu6r2RHVDw MICROBE & GASOLINE From The Science of Sleep to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to his extensive career at the helm of some of the most memorable music videos ever made, director Michel Gondry is rightfully considered one of the most unique and imaginative filmmakers working in the medium today. His latest film is Microbe & Gasoline, a coming-of-age comedy about a pair of teenage outcasts who decide to take a road trip in a homemade house on wheels. Bring on the whimsy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wjDWnKTROI CONTEMPT One of the undisputed masterpieces of the French New Wave, Jean Luc-Godard's 1963 film Contempt is essential viewing for anyone who considers themselves a film lover. A scathing satire of the movie business and the conflict between art and commerce, the film follows a screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) adapting Homer's Odyssey for the screen, while navigating complicated relationships with his producer (Jack Palance), director (Fritz Lang) and wife (Brigitte Bardot). Contempt will serve as the festival's closing night film – and frankly, we can't think of a better choice.
Rosebery's becoming quite the Sydney foodie hub. With Koskela opening their own kitchen and Sydney's first distillery in 160 years bringing the crowds to in the inner south suburb, Rosebery has just landed itself one sweet, sweet addition to the neighbourhood: the ever newsworthy, unfailingly novelty and perpetually popular Gelato Messina. Sitting on Mentmore Avenue, Messina's Rosebery venture is cranking out the gelato and cakes Sydney knows, loves and Instagrams well. Rosebery's gelato hub joins Sydney's flagship Darlinghurst and subsequent Surry Hills, Bondi, Parramatta, Miranda and The Star casino spinoffs, alongside Fitzroy's Melbourne venture, Coolangatta's beachside joint and Darlinghurst's extra mindblowing Messina Dessert Bar. They're also opening in the former Rozelle tram depot in Forest Lodge. This isn't the only delicious tenant for the Rosebery area, of course. Koskela Kitchen has just opened where Kitchen by Mike used to simmer, and Black Star Pastry are watching their baked goods walk out the door on Dunning Avenue. Looks like Sydney's inner south has an insatiable taste for local culinary delights — buy up on real estate now. Gelato Messina is now open at 58 Mentmore Avenue, Rosebery.
If an artist told you the only way to truly appreciate their art was to get dunked in a shower of water, would you bring on the rain? One of Australia's most significant contemporary artists, Shaun Gladwell, is asking you to get wet for his next major project. Returning to his ol' stomping ground of Sydney in March for two exhibitions, Gladwell will present The Lacrima Chair at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation. The newly commissioned, site-specific installation blends sculpture, his signature video style and water, water everywhere. Quite the mystery project, The Lacrima Chair will apparently "engage the poetics of flight, travel and cultural transmission, specifically French cultural influences within Australia and vice versa," according to today's announcement. Gallerygoers will be required to wander through mist screens in the SCAF space, but the brave artseekers can costume-up (in yet-to-be-revealed threads) and sit under a shower of water in order to fully experience Gladwell’s new installation. The team have described this as 'Francis Bacon-style', which possibly means you'll be looking at something like this: So you'll be well-arted, and very, very wet. The Lacrima Chair marks the centrepiece of a double-sited project. While SCAF plays Wet 'N' Wild with Gladwell's installation, UNSW Galleries will see a 20-work-strong Collection+: Shaun Gladwell exhibition act as more of a mid-career retrospective of the artist. Filling all three spaces of the recently launched UNSW Galleries at the new Art and Design faculty (formerly known as COFA) in Paddington, the flight-focused show marks the first solo exhibition to be staged at the new UNSW instalment. The UNSW chapter of the project (curated by Geneva's Dr Barbara Polla and Paris's Prof. Paul Ardenne) is a bit of a homecoming for Gladwell — the artist rustled up a Master of Fine Arts at COFA back in the day. Represented by Sherman Galleries (now SCAF) for nine years, Gladwell is paying serious homage to his Aussie roots after recently repping at the 53rd Venice Biennale. Pro tip? Don't wear anything suede to the gallery. Shaun Gladwell: The Lacrima Chair (SCAF Project 24) and Collection+: Shaun Gladwell (SCAF Project 25) will be on show at SCAF and UNSW Galleries respectively from 6 March 2015 until 25 April 2015.
Melbourne artist Louise Hearman has won the Archibald Prize for her strike portrait of Australian comedian Barry Humphries. The award was bestowed today by the Art Gallery of New South Wales' board of trustees, with Hearman, a first time finalist, beating out 50 other finalists including Natasha Bieniek, Wendy Whiteley and Carla Fletcher to claim the $10,000 prize. "There was much deliberation and many worthwhile Archibald contenders, but Louise Hearman's portrait took centre-stage in the end," said board of trustees vice-president Mark Nelson. "It stood out as a portrait that truly captured the spirit of the sitter – she has caught Barry's sardonic smile brilliantly." Hearman's portrait, titled simply Barry, marks the sixth time that Humphries has sat for the Archibald – the first was back in 1969, when he was painted by artist John Brack as his iconic character Dame Edna Everage (below). "I'm the happiest girl in the world right now!" said Hearman. "Winning the Archibald is an extraordinary, extraordinary thing for an artist, but the best thing about the Archibald Prize really, is that it gets all artists in the public eye. Today is the one day each year artists eclipse sportsmen in the news!" Also announced were the finalists for the Wynne and Sulman Prizes. The former was awarded to family members Tjungkara Ken, Yaritji Young, Freda Brady, Maringka Tunkin and Sandra Ken for their mural Seven Sisters, while the latter went to Esther Stewart for her painting Flatland Dreaming. The results mark the first time that all three awards have been won by female artists, with AGNSW director Michael Brand remarking that "the success of Louise Hearman, the Ken Sisters and Esther Stewart will be celebrated not just at the Art Gallery of New South Wales today but right around the country." All the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman finalists will be on display at AGNSW from July 16 until October 9.
Sydney's cyclists will be out in force this Sunday, in order to protest the State Government's plans to rip up the College Street cycleway. The protest comes after months of uncertainty regarding the fate of the separated bike lane, which currently runs along the eastern edge of Hyde Park, connecting Macquarie Street and Oxford Street, and is used by more than 2000 riders each weekday. Plans to scrap the dedicated lane were first announced by Roads Minister Duncan Gay back in September 2013, as part of the Sydney City Centre Access Strategy. The strategy proposes additional bike lanes in the CBD, with the College Street cycleway originally meant to be replaced with a similar cycleway along Castlereagh Street — so cyclists wouldn't be without their own blocked-off CBD highway. However, Sydney cyclists appear to be a little short-changed. It's now apparent the Castlereagh route will only function as a dedicated bike lane during certain hours of the day. In October 2014, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Castlereagh route will service cyclists between 6am-10am and 3pm-8pm, but will be accessible as a loading zone outside of these times. This means avoiding parked trucks and merging into heavy traffic for cyclists. While precise details on the Government's plans are scarce, presumably this means that the Castlereagh lane will only be separated by painted lines, as opposed to a permanent traffic barrier as seen on the cycleway in College Street. The plan to scrap the College Street cycleway has already been questioned by cycling body Bicycle NSW, with a spokesperson from the group citing safety concerns. The 'Save College Street Cycleway' group is also concerned that the Castle Street cycleway will be decommissioned before the Castlereagh cycleway is ready. Organiser Rob Berry thinks with all the data the State Government has on the cycleway, the numbers aren't really adding up. "The State Government has a lot of data on the efficacy of the cycleway," he says. "They know that the cycleway takes up twenty percent of the space of the roadway, and they also know that it takes twenty percent of the commuter load during peak hour. So it's pulling its weight in terms of moving people around, and those numbers are only getting better and better each week ... They also know that at every road where they’ve put a cycleway, the injury rate has halved." In order to protest the Government's decision, Berry and hundreds of other concerned cyclists plan to ride the College Street cycleway at 4pm on Sunday, February 8. "We want to show that we can fill up this cycleway," says Berry. "We’re going to have hundreds of people, and we’re going to fill every single metre of this cycleway, and show that it’s a piece of infrastructure that people care about, and people use, and that we’re not just going to sit back and let it go." Transport for NSW is adamant cyclists won't be without a CBD cycleway. A Transport for NSW spokesperson told us, "The removal of the College Street cycleway will be completed when the Hay Street to Park Street section of the Castlereagh Street cycleway is completed." Minister Gay has previously described himself as "the biggest bike lane sceptic in the government" but has also conceded that "even the sceptics have to accept we need a proper network to be laid down." "It’s not just an issue about cycling," says Berry. "It’s about what kind of city we want. What do we want to prioritise? I believe that we want to prioritise people. If we’re talking about increased demand on limited space, a city that prioritises moving people around in these more sustainable and active ways is going to be a lot better than a city that prioritises moving private motor vehicles."
