Redfern is now home to its very own craft beer bar. Occupying the former Angry Pirate digs, The Noble Hops is the suburb's new go-to for all things craft. Owner Joe Wee self-proclaims the amount of craft beer on offer as epic. "Redfern is an awesome suburb, all it really needs a neighbourhood bar that focuses on beer," says Wee. Previous owner Peter Groom will remain as manager for the time being and the two will welcome both existing and new patrons to their craft beer den. Positioned as the next neighbourhood haunt, the bar's ten taps will be reserved for local brewers above all else. "My philosophy is Noble Hops should be a neighbourhood, inner west bar and there are plenty of good beers around the neighbourhood to create this" says Wee. Wayward and Shenanigan's will both sit on tap this month, along with SA's La Sirene. Local and Australian brews aren't the only kind you'll find here though. Wee is also sourcing kegs and bottles of craft from around the world, including Victory Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada, which will both be on tap for the opening weeks. For the local guys, Wee is planning tap takeovers, brewers' nights and potentially a Noble Hops collaboration brew. "I'd love to create a beer just for Redfern. The neighbourhood deserves its own beer," says Wee. A home brewer, Wee won last year's People's Choice Award at Uncle Hop's SCBW home brewer's competition. While the bar doesn't have a kitchen, patrons are encouraged to bring in takeaway from the new La Coppola Sicilian pizzeria that just opened across the street. "There's no better combination than wood fire pizza and beer," says Wee. The rustic interior has a big focus on timber, making it quite the warm and cosy place to grab a pint. It will surely be a welcome addition as winter's chill starts to descend upon Sydney. The Noble Hops is open at 125 Redfern Street, Redfern. Opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 4pm-12am, Saturday 3pm-12am and Sunday 3pm-10pm.
The four-time number one on the World's Best Restaurants list is headed to Sydney Harbour. Rene Redzepi, owner and head chef at Copenhagen's two Michelin starred eatery Noma, will fly his entire team (including 35 chefs and 30 waitstaff) more than 16,000km around the world for an Australian pop-up from January 26 to April 2 — and now we know how to grab one of the highly prized seats in the room. Bookings for all tables will open simultaneously, on Friday, October 30, at 10am AEDT online at the Noma website. You can book for tables of two, four, six or eight, for either lunch or dinner five days a week (Tuesday – Saturday). Start saving your pennies now — the cost per person is $485, plus 1.65% CC fee, with drinks to be paid for separately on the day. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage pairings will be offered, as well as a short wine list. The menu itself is yet to be finalised, although earlier in the year Redzepi said he'll be leaving his regular ingredients back in Copenhagen, and told Good Food to expect locally inspired dishes made with shellfish, sea succulents and native herbs and spices. The team have already made several research trips to Australia to stoke their creative fires. "They’ve visited as many regions as possible, getting a good perspective on the great and diverse produce that is available in Australia," reads a statement from Noma. "Later on, in December, the entire creative team will move to Sydney to focus their energy on creating a menu that will showcase the best of what we’ve found on these trips." The Noma Australia project was inspired by their five week pop-up in Tokyo earlier this year, which Redzepi called "the greatest learning experience of my life." "Australia has always drawn me in; its great cities, its generous people, and of course its ever-present sun," wrote Redzepi in his online statement. "But what really boggles my mind is the differences you find in its landscapes and ingredients, because honestly I have never seen anything like it." Supported by Tourism Australia and property firm Lendlease, Noma Australia will be located on the ground floor of the Anadara building on Wulugul Walk in Barangaroo. The restaurant will serve just 50 people per sitting. Don't expect the cost to deter people. Bookings at the similarly expensive Tokyo pop-up sold out in just hours, with the restaurant eventually racking up a waiting list of over 60,000 people. Demand might shoot up even more vertiginously given that Redzepi has announced Noma in its current incarnation will close altogether at the end of 2016. By Tom Clift with Rima Sabina Aouf.
As you're no doubt already aware, this week the world lost one of its finest actors, after Alan Rickman succumbed to cancer at the age of 69. Although his resume boasted dozens of incredible credits, Rickman is best known for his two most iconic roles, playing Professor Snape in the Harry Potter serries and terrorist mastermind Hans Gruber in Die Hard. Yet despite his predilection for playing sinister characters, tributes in the wake of his death have universally described the actor as a kind, funny and generous human being. Emma Thompson, who appeared alongside Rickman in films including Love Actually and Sense and Sensibility, described him as "the ultimate ally," while his Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe remembered Rickman as one of the first actors to treat him "like a peer rather than a child." Perhaps the most heartbreaking tribute came in the form of this simple image from The New Yorker cartoonist Ben Schwartz. Remembering the actor Alan Rickman, in this cartoon by @BentSchwartz: https://t.co/a35CPgUxLO pic.twitter.com/moUFpyl4SM — The New Yorker (@NewYorker) January 14, 2016 In tribute to Rickman's life and career, the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace in Sydney have announced they will be hosting a special screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on Sunday February 7. Tickets will cost $15, with $3 of every sale going to the Cancer Council NSW. The cinema is also hosting charity screenings of Labyrinth on January 29 and The Man Who Fell to Earth on January 31 in tribute to David Bowie.
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.
The dulcet, knowledgeable voice embodying the soundtrack to a generation of nature docos is returning to our fair shores, with Sir David Attenborough set to roll through town in February. He'll be taking the stage for Sir David Attenborough – A Quest For Life, a series of live talks hosted by our own Ray Martin. The esteemed writer, filmmaker, producer, and host will give audiences a unique glimpse into his jam-packed, six-decade career. Sir David will give some insight into the changes he's witnessed along the way, as well as delving into some of the world's current environmental challenges — all delivered in that charming, distinguished voice we know and love so well. The tour kicks off in Auckland on February 2, followed by shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH – A QUEST FOR LIFE DATES AUCKLAND 8pm Thursday, February 2 — The Civic BRISBANE 7.30pm Saturday, February 4, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre SYDNEY 7.30pm Wednesday, February 8 and Thursday, February 9, State Theatre MELBOURNE 7.30pm Saturday, February 11, and (new date) Monday, February 13, Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre ADELAIDE 7.30pm Tuesday February 14, Festival Theatre PERTH 7.30pm Thursday, February 16, Riverside Theatre, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre
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.
Looking for a handcrafted, local designer-created Christmas pressie? Pick up something truly unique at this Christmas market run by the Australian Design Centre. Grab a cheeky Champagne and meet some of Australia's best young designers, browse their wares and feel good about your yuletide shopping spree. Featured designers include Wild Fibres, Bic Tieu Studio, Brenda Livermore, Bridget Kennedy Contemporary Jewellery and Object Artist, Doodad & Fandango, Eggpicnic, Erin Keys Jeweller, The Fortynine Studio, Helen Earl Ceramics, Jennifer Fahey, Jenny Newman, Linda Blair, 2 by lyn & tony, Melanie Ihnen Contemporary Jewellery, Melinda Young Contemporary Jewellery, modernmurri, VAN EWYK Studio, Ode Ceramics, PUBLICHOLIDAY, Nicole Robins Basketry, Shaun Hayes, Annie Hamilton, Sassy Park, Emil & Nomel, Studio Elke and more. It's a free event, but you'll need to RSVP. Image: Doodad & Fandango.
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.
Looking for an opulent, world heritage-listed B&B stay in Paris that'll make you feel like a pre-Revolution French monarch? The Palace of Versailles is opening a hotel and restaurant, where you can have your cake and eat it too. According to The Age, the world-famous 17th century palace has hit a spot of financial trouble, and is opening a hotel on the premises to raise much-needed funds. With more than seven million people wandering through the iconic grounds every year, it sounds like they're doing okay. But the state-owned palace has seen funding cuts from €47.4 million (around $70.7 million) in 2013 to €40.5 million (around $60.2 million) in 2015 — a hefty decrease when you're trying to renovate palatial Rococo apartments. Enter LOV Hotel Collection. The French-based hospitality group have just won the tender to transform the three 17th century buildings in the palace grounds right next to Louis XIV's beloved Orangerie into commercial accommodation. The Grand Controle, Petit Controle and Pavillon buildings — former treasurer and officers' mess buildings just 100 yards from the main palace — will be converted into 20 luxest of the luxe boutique hotel rooms. What's more, the 'hotel' — if you can call it that — will also house a world-class restaurant. Renowned Michelin-starred French chef Alain Ducasse is locked in to open a fine dining venue on the premises. Exactly what the restaurant will be like remains to be seen, but we're thinking levels of opulent cakery like this: "There will be no other hotel in the world like this one," according to a Versailles palace spokesman. "This is an emblem of French history and a cultural landmark. It will be an authentically royal experience." Guests will apparently be able to eat cake, drink French champagne and generally live like a House of Bourbon monarch during their stay. One thing you can probably expect? One heck of a price tag, and a tidal wave of cashed-up honeymooners. Renovations are expected to cost upwards of €14 million (that's $20 million plus), and should be finished sometime in 2018. Stay tuned. Updated: April 11, 2016. Via The Age and CTV News. Top images: Dollar Photo Club.
Controversial muso, New York Times bestseller and human energy ball Amanda Palmer is coming to Sydney for an intimate solo performance at the Sydney Opera House on January 21. Palmer's announced the intention of her down under trip is to strip things back to basics. She'll be on stage with "a suitcase, a piano, a ukulele and a baby" which sounds like a very Palmer-esque combo of bold, relatable and off-beat. It's been five years since Palmer graced the Opera House stage with Meow Meow and her partner, Neil Gaiman, so expect the unexpected. The Opera House is just one of her Aussie tour stops. She'll be setting up at the Gasometer for a residency between January 12 and March 9. She'll also be dropping by MONA in Tasmania, Woodford Folk Festival over New Year's Eve, Melt Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse, Her Majesty's Theatre and Playhouse Theatre in Melbourne and the NGV — a prestigious venue lineup indeed. Image: Shervin Lainez.
You could trawl every art gallery and every private collection on the planet and you'd only find 800 paintings signed by Vincent Van Gogh. That's the sum total of what remains of the Dutch genius's output. So, it's insanely, insanely exciting that 60 of his masterpieces will be travelling to the National Gallery of Victoria in 2017. Set to open on April 28, the blockbuster exhibition will be titled Van Gogh and the Seasons and is expected by NGV to draw one of the gallery's biggest audiences yet. You can expect around 40 painting and 25 drawings, collected from some of the world's top-shelf galleries, including Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum and Otterlo's Kröller-Müller Museum. The curating is being taken care of by Sjraar Van Heugten, author of a genuine bucketload of books about Van Gogh and ex-head of the Van Gogh Museum's collections section. What's more, you'll also get to see a bunch of Van Gogh's letters, as well as some of the artworks he collected during his 37 years on Earth. These will be arranged to give some insight into how various artists have responded to the seasons. "It's a huge coup for the NGV and another reason why Victoria is the creative state," said Martin Foley, Victoria's Minister for Creative Industries, when announcing the exhibition on Friday 16 September. "Van Gogh is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable and famous names in art history. His incredible work laid the foundation for modern art and influences artists to this day." Van Gogh and The Seasons is the 22nd exhibition in the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, which the former Labor Government set up in 2004, to treat Melburnians to the best art in the world at least once a year. Also in the 2017 series will be the NGV's inaugural Festival of Photography, featuring works from William Eggelston (US) and Melbourne's own Zoë Croggon. Van Gogh and the Seasons opens on April 28 at NGV International. It's part of the gallery's Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition for 2017. Image: Vincent van Gogh, Dutch 1853–90, Orchard in Blossom, Bordered by Cypresses (1888), oil on canvas, 64.9 x 81.2 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, © Kröller-Müller Museum.
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.
Get off the mainland and pay a trip to Tasmania, whose brand new music festival is just around the corner. Held on the remnants of a pink crystal beach two hours west of Hobart, the inaugural Rose Quartz Music & Arts Festival is being sold as a "sensory escape to the wilderness", and is due to go down during the first weekend in April. You'd best get in quick though, since there are just 500 tickets available – and if their newly released lineup is anything to go by, they might not last very long. Music acts tapped for the festival include Andras, Roland Tings, Wax'o Paradiso, Bronze Savage, Michael Ozone and Jennifer Loveless. There'll be food available from a selection of Tasmanian food vendors. Ditto booze from local brewers, served in recyclable cups in order to cut down on waste. Rose Quartz will be held at the picturesque Lake Pedders, whose crystalline shores were submerged in the 1970s by the damming of the Serpentine and Huon Rivers. 200 festival-goers will be housed at Lake Pedder Wilderness lodge, while the remaining 300 will have to make do with camping. The latter option is currently available at $200 a head. There are limited car spots on site, but the festival will be running a shuttle bus service between Hobart and Lake Pedders. Rose Quartz Music & Arts Festival runs from April 1-2. For more information and to secure tickets visit www.rosequartzfestival.com.au. Via AWOL.
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.
There's always something to see at a documentary festival. Whether true crime gets your pulse racing or you're excited about the idea of diving into the weird and wonderful side of this world we live in, part of the fun of a festival focused on factual efforts is the sense of real-life discovery — you'll most likely learn something new. Since it started in 2011, that's what the Antenna Documentary Film Festival has offered movie buffs keen on a dose of reality with their viewing, with the fest's annual program nothing if not varied and vibrant. Taking their true tales to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane audiences, the latter for the first time this year, Antenna beams everything from docos about eating crawling critters to cine-essays about the impact of horror cinema into hearts and minds. From this year's 39-feature lineup, here's our top five picks. BUGS Maybe you're the kind of person who's willing to eat almost anything once. Or, perhaps you're much more cautious about your culinary choices. Either way, this doco is something everyone should watch — when it comes to what we eat, the future of the planet is at stake. Researchers from gastronomic entrepreneur Rene Redzepi's (Noma) Nordic Food Lab investigate the practise of eating insects as a solution to issues of food security and scarcity, and documentarian Andreas Johnsen follows their efforts. Yep, Bugs is probably going to make your stomach squirm — but, if you really are adventurous, you can try an ant-covered ice cream at the films's screening. FEAR ITSELF In Beyond Clueless, critic and filmmaker Charlie Lyne explored the films audiences not only literally grew up with, but also chronicled that process on screen. Now, like we all do, he's moved on from teen flicks to horror — and he's giving the fright-inducing genre the same treatment. Assembling tension-filled clips from over 100 spooky efforts, he examines just how everything from the usual suspects to hidden gems manage to give audiences goosebumps and leave them on the edge of their seats. Clearly, this is a film for horror buffs — maybe don't head along if you're easily scared. CAMERAPERSON You mightn't know Kirsten Johnson's name, but if you watch documentaries, then you know her visuals. As a cinematographer and camera operator, she has shot or contributed to the shooting of everything from Fahrenheit 9/11 to Citizenfour, however, that's not all she has filmed. After more than two decades in the business, Johnson has assembled quite the array of unused footage from every effort that she has worked on, which all forms part of Cameraperson. Using these otherwise-discarded scenes, she crafts a portrait of the relationship between the people on either sides of the camera, as well as an absolutely riveting cine-memoir. BOBBY SANDS: 66 DAYS It was the film that launched the careers of both Michael Fassbender and his Shame and 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen: Hunger, a recreation of Irish Republican prisoner Bobby Sands' refusal to eat food for 66 days. As Bobby Sands: 66 Days' title suggest, Brendan Byrne's documentary also tells that story. Of course, it looks at the situation from a factual rather than dramatised perspective, with the end result both powerful and informative. There's a reason that the eponymous figure's actions back in 1981 continue to draw attention, which this compilation of interviews, archival materials and recreations attempts to get to the bottom of. CITY 40 The Russian city of Ozersk is the city time may as well have forgotten, closing itself off to the world around it, and even using armed guards to stop anyone entering. Indeed, the mountainous locale is referred to as City 40, and though it looks picturesque, it's really anything but. It's here that the Soviet nuclear weapons program was born after World War II — and where many are now stockpiled. This documentary examines not only the place, but the people who remain, even as their beloved home town literally poisons them through radiation. The Antenna Documentary Film Festival screens in Sydney from October 11 to 16, in Brisbane from October 26 to 30, and in Melbourne from November 2 to 6. For the full program, see the festival website.
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.
When you're home alone and looking to belt out a few tunes when nobody is watching (we've all been there), the tinny speakers on your laptop simply won't do. Prioritising high quality sound is often relegated to the realms of live music venues and exxy headphones, but fortunately, Sonos is upping the home stereo game. Thanks to their insanely high-quality wireless PLAY:1 smart speakers, audiophiles can crank up the crisp sound quality they deserve — and you can customise the sound in every room in your house. This is some gadget wizardry. Controlled using a free app for iOS, Android, Mac or PC, the compact smart speaker PLAY:1 boasts crystal clear sound and can stream your own music library to any room in your house — including your bathroom, if you so require. Seriously, close your eyes and you'll swear Aqua was performing in your living room. As it happens, we're such big Sonos fans that we threw a beach party with them in Byron Bay this past weekend (using those killer speakers) and we're teaming up with them on a giveaway that music lovers won't want to miss. Enter your details below and you can go in the running to win one of their coveted PLAY:1 speakers, valued at $299. [competition]582397[/competition]
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.
Well, it’s official: animal-themed cafes have reached critical levels of absurdity. After cats, owls and even teacup pigs, an impending eatery in East London will pay tribute to the humble blobfish, the gelatinous sea dweller that was recently voted the ugliest animal in the world. Set to open in summer 2016, the Blobfish Cafe will be home to three blobfish specimen named Barry, Lorcan and Lady Swift. No word on how the aquatic trio are handling their newfound celebrity, although Lorcan already has his own twitter account, where he mostly tweets about Tom Cruise. Of course, running a blobfish cafe isn’t as simple a proposition as just rounding up a few stray cats. The fish reside on the ocean floor off the east coast of Australia (booyah!) at depths of around 1000 metres, where the pressure is several dozen times that of the surface. As a result, the owners of the cafe have had to construct a special tank capable of replicating the deep sea environment, a mammoth undertaking described on their website as 'not cheap'. Still, the trade-off for the blobfish community may well be worth the cost. The 2013 public ballot by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society threw the species into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, with the fleshy pink fish beat out the axolotl, the proboscis monkey and the kakapo, aka the New Zealand owl parrot, to claim the title of God’s most hideous mistake. To make matters worse, a rise in deep sea trawling is threatening blobfish populations. Do you really want to live in a world without this guy? The cafe is yet to reveal their food and drinks menu, although they’ve promised a mix of light lunches and more substantial evening meals, along with weekly gourmet nights consisting of an eight course deep sea themed tasting menu. Presumably that doesn’t include eating blobfish. A number of online retailers also sell plush blobfish toys. That piece of information doesn’t really have anything to do with the cafe, but we still thought it was worth mentioning. We’re also not entirely convinced this whole story isn’t an elaborate hoax, although if it is it’s a pretty amazing one. Via London Evening Standard.
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.
Have you ever tried to do yoga with a pet around? They're a bloody nuisance, getting up in your face during Downward Dog, tickling your ankles in Warrior Two, nuzzling in while you're taking some much-needed Child's Pose time. But perhaps you're all for a little fluffball in your grill in Baby Cobra pose. Rest assured, you're not the only one. Joining cat yoga classes around the globe, New York City's only cat cafe (yep, they've surprisingly only got one permanent spot after this pop-up) has introduced kitty yoga classes. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane cat cafes, take note. Lower East Side cat cafe Meow Parlour has launched yoga classes instore, letting humans and Kitty Kind rescue felines find their centre. They're taking cues from an Illinois cat shelter, who started cat-flanked yoga classes as a creative strategy to boost adoption rates. All this extra harmonious time spent with the kitties will hopefully encourage you to adopt one of your zen little friends. Let's be clear here, the cats aren't doing yoga in these classes. That would be genuinely incredible, but no, you're doing the yoga, and the kitties will scurry around your Three-Legged Dog pose. Meow Parlour's hour and a half sessions are structured as 45 minutes of yoga, 15 minutes of cool-down and 30 minutes of kitty snuggles (way more feline time than a usual cat cafe visit). "One of the funny things about cats is that the more you ignore them, the more curious they are about you," Meow Parlour co-owner Christina Ha told Yoga Dork. "Our instructor, Amy, loves getting the students to do animal poses as it feels very appropriate to start off with a cat pose in an environment surrounded by cats. We like to think that visiting Meow Parlour is great for reducing your stress level and reinvigorating your soul, and yoga just seems like an extension of that." If this ever comes to Australian cat cafes, a little tip from the Meow Parlour crew: cats do leave claw marks on the mat. If you're in NYC or planning a trip soon, you can find Meow Parlour at 46 Hester Street, Manhattan. MP's yoga classes are held on Tuesdays at 3pm. Check the website for details or too book a class. Via Yoga Dork. Images: Lisa Cee (Flickr CC), Ethan Covey, Meow Parlour.
American music legend Prince has just dropped word that he'll be touring around Australia and New Zealand in February. That's right, February. As in the month we're currently in. The shock announcement was made earlier today, with the recording artist sharing the news with fans via his Twitter account. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/WiOKCZtdw8 — Prince3EG (@Prince3EG) February 5, 2016 The 57-year-old recently serenaded audiences in Minnesota with a series of intimate shows dubbed 'Piano and a Microphone', a name that has been adopted for his tour of the southern hemisphere. He was originally meant to perform in Europe in December, but cancelled those plans in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. We're yet to see any details regarding exact dates or locations – the last time Prince visited Australia was in 2012, when he played shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. This will be his first visit to New Zealand. Whatever the plan is, presumably we'll find out soon. UPDATE – The dates and locations for the tour have been revealed. Prince will play four shows at Melbourne State Theatre on February 16 and 17, two shows at the Sydney Opera House on February 20, two shows at Sydney State Theatre on February 21, and one show at Auckland's ASB Theatre on February 24. Tickets for his Australian shows go on sale at midday (AEDT) on February 9, and for his New Zealand show at midday (NZDT) on February 11. For more info, go here.
If there's an Aussie film that's had everyone talking over the last few months, it's Down Under. You don't make a comedy about the 2005 Cronulla riots — and about racism in Australia in general — without causing some chatter. The fact that the flick has reached cinemas at a time when the subject of prejudice and discrimination has been splashed all over the local media has certainly helped. Actually, unless you're actor-turned-writer/director Abe Forsythe, you don't make a movie about either the horrific events of more than a decade ago or the pointless hatred behind them at all. Determined to create "a communal experience where we can all just share in just kind of how stupid and how scary everything has kind of gotten," Forsythe didn't hold back when it came to shining a light on the more problematic side of our multicultural country — and he spoke with us about his motivation, spreading a message through laughter and the timeliness of the film's release. ON DECIDING TO MAKE A FILM ABOUT THE CRONULLA RIOTS "I think the main thing for me personally was that I found that I was going to be a father, and there were two things in play. One was that I realised I didn't have much time to get the script happening because soon there was going to be someone that I was just completely responsible for, and I was kind of running out of time. And then the other was that I felt like I was bringing someone into the world and I guess I was concerned about that. This was six years ago that I wrote it. I was looking around, and going, 'This child that I'm bringing into the world has absolutely no say about it — and what kind of world is he going to be exposed to?' So that was all stuff that led me to the Cronulla riots. Because, I mean, I've got a son, and so much of the Cronulla riots, I feel, has to do with masculinity and displaced masculinity and the way males in our country — but also everywhere around the world — the way they can deal with certain things. So it was at a particular time in my life where everything just kind of bubbled up and just fell into place. And then it wrote itself very, very easily and quickly. I mean, I spent five years working on the script, but the initial draft just kind of poured out of me." ON TURNING A HEATED HISTORICAL SITUATION INTO A COMEDY "Before writing this script, [comedy's] what I had been working in. I had been working in comedy a long time ago when I made my first film [2003's Ned] — but the years preceding writing Down Under I'd been experimenting with telling these sorts of stories but in a comedic way in a couple of films I'd made for Tropfest and a couple of other things I'd been working on. "For me, it's really interesting to use comedy to take an audience into a subject matter which I guess can shine light on that subject matter in a different way. And also, it's my experience that if you can make people laugh, you're actually opening them up in a way to accepting other things. If you're laughing, you're opening yourself up emotionally, and if you're opening yourself up emotionally, then you're more receptive to, you know, a movie that's actually saying something about something." ON BALANCING HUMOUR AND TRAGEDY "To use an example, the opening two minutes where we have all that real riot footage, one consistent thing throughout every screening of this movie that we've had has been how shocking everyone finds the opening two minutes. And I think that's partly to do with the fact that it has been ten years — and when I wrote this six years ago, one of the reasons I wrote it was that I felt like we we hadn't dealt with what happened during the riots. So, it kind of feels like we've just brushed it away, and obviously recently everything's been changing locally and internationally as well. But people were shocked by — people have always been shocked by — that first two minutes. "We actually tested the movie without opening the movie with that footage, and when we didn't have that footage at the beginning of the movie, people actually had trouble with all the stuff that happens later in the movie because it kind of took them a little bit by surprise. But by opening the movie with all that footage, where you go, 'This happened, these people did this, and it's as bad as it looks,' we were actually kind of making people go, 'Okay, this subject matter, even though we're going to ease into comedy, there's going to be all of this other stuff which appears every now and then and eventually it's going to end this way too.' "So it was a tricky tonal balancing act to go from scenes where you're laughing at all sorts of different things and behaviour, but then it was always important that we were jolting back into the darker aspects and easing back into the comedy... It was tricky and it took a lot of time to get it right. But I felt like you couldn't tell this particular story and deal with this subject matter without having the darker aspects in there." ON THE TIMELINESS OF THE FILM'S RELEASE "I think it's going to make people question what we've done more, definitely. But it is one of those things — you can have a preconceived notion of what this movie is before you see it, but after you see it, I think it's pretty clear that we're trying to be respectful with how complicated this movie is and the issues are. "Even if we're going to get specific about it, the last couple of weeks with everything that happened with Sonia Kruger's comments on television and Pauline Hanson and everything — it is a little bit crazy that for me, writing something six years ago dealing with this issue, that it is getting released at a time that I could not have guessed with everything that's happening in Australian and also internationally." Down Under is currently screening in Australian cinemas. Read our review.
Looking for a way to keep warm and dramatically relaxed this winter? We think we've stumbled upon just the novelty thing you're looking for. A savvy American inventor has taken the concept of relaxation to unprecedented heights, with the creation of a hammock that is also a hot tub. Commence applauding. Conceived and designed by Oregonian Benjamin Frederick, The Hydro Hammock is made from a durable synthetic material, and is capable of holding the weight of more than 185 litres of water plus two adult bathers. The water, from sea, lake or garden hose, is then heated via propane gas heater and circulated via pump (battery and solar-powered hammocks are also currently in the works). The hammock can be suspended between two points like a regular hammock, but also functions as a portable hot tub liner in the sand or snow. Yep, you can build a hot tub right into the snow. Frederick is currently looking to secure additional funding via Kickstarter, and has so far raised US$35,000 of his US$50,000 goal. A pledge of US$260 will get you the basic, single-layer hammock including installation straps and carabiners, while US$390 gets you the double layer hammock with extra insulation. However, we should point out that neither of those options actually includes the heater and pump — for that you'll have to fork out US$1180 for the single layer version, or US$1310 for the double. But while that may sound like a lot of money for a hammock, it's still likely a hell of a lot cheaper than getting a regular hot tub installed. And the good news is that Frederick ships his invention worldwide. Just make sure you tie both ends to something secure and unbending, otherwise you're likely to end up bruised, wet and cold. For more information about the Hydro Hammock, visit their Kickstarter page.
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]
If you haven't sorted yourself any out-of-town plans for this weekend, here's an idea. On Easter Sunday, UNDR ctrl will host the fourth incarnation of Strictly Vinyl at The Cliff Dive in Darlinghurst. It's been a while since the last event, so to refresh your memory: it's nothing but vinyl, all night long. Throwing down the party in the basement bar are three local artists with three of the biggest record collections in town, each spinning for two hours non-stop. First up, there's Donny Benet, who returns to Australia after playing SXSW with Jack Ladder and Kirin J Callinan. The trio collaborated (along with a bunch of other local talents) on Benet's 2014 release Weekend at Donny's. Then there's Steele Bonus, who makes up one half of Heartbeat DJs, and the Soul of Sydney DJs, who've lately been responsible for mad block parties and warehouse jams all over the city. Whether you want soul, jazz, funk, afro-beat, boogie, Latin and disco, you got it. Strictly Vinyl starts at 9pm and doesn't slow down until 3am. Get there before 11pm for free entry or turn up with a tenner.
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.
Movie lovers, prepare to lose your shit. Roadshow Films have confirmed that acclaimed writer-director Quentin Tarantino will visit Australia in January to promote his latest film, the star-studded, blood-soaked western The Hateful Eight. Details on the visit are still pretty scarce, with more information expected to drop in the coming months. What we do know is that Tarantino will attend a premiere in Sydney along with a "fan event" in Melbourne ahead of the movie's staggered theatrical release. The film is currently slated to debut in select cinemas in 70mm on January 14, followed by a wide release on January 21. Set on the western frontier shortly after the end of the American Civil War, The Hateful Eight revolves around eight strangers, played by Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Demián Bachir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern, who become snowed in at a stagecoach stopover during a fearsome blizzard. This being a film from the guy behind Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, we're guessing things don't exactly go smoothly from there. Aside from the cast, one of the most noteworthy things about The Hateful Eight is Tarantino's decision to shoot and release the movie on 70mm film. The rarely utilised format allows filmmakers to capture images in greater detail, but is much more expensive than shooting a movie digitally or using standard 35mm film. "If we do our jobs right by making this film a 70mm event, we will remind people why this is something you can't see on television and how this is an experience you can't have when you watch movies in your apartment, your man cave or your iPhone or iPad," said Tarantino at the American Film Market earlier this year. "You'll see 24 frames per second play out, all these wonderfully painted pictures create the illusion of movement. I'm hoping it's going to stop the momentum of the digital stuff, and that people will hopefully go, 'man, that is going to the movies, and that is worth saving, and we need to see more of that.'" The issue is somewhat complicated by the fact that very few cinemas still have the equipment to project 70mm film prints — hence The Hateful Eight's two part release strategy. The Astor in Melbourne is one of the only theatres in the country that still regularly screens movies in the 70mm format, and shapes up as one likely venue for Tarantino's Australian visit.
Paddington's Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation is going green with the final installation in their Fugitive Structures temporary pavilion series. Running since 2013, the series was the first of its kind in Australia to use temporary pavilions as a tool for exploring new architectural concepts. For the finale of this awesome series, SCAF has teamed up with award-winning architect Vo Trong Nghia to create Green Ladder, to be installed next month. The pavilion structure is made entirely from bamboo, "the steel of the 21st century" according to Nghia. The temporary pavilion will be on public display at SCAF from July 7 to December 10 and aims to raise awareness of bamboo's strength as a 'green steel' building material. Green Ladder aims to resemble a dense bamboo forest and visitors will be able to move through the graceful grid at their leisure — entry is completely free. In general, Nghia's a really switched on guy. His firm, Vo Trong Nghia Architects, has won numerous awards throughout the Asia-Pacific region. His offices are based in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and his work philosophy includes a mandatory two hours of daily meditation for all employees, as well as frequent silent meditation retreats. Nghia's goal is to green up the urban world and bring the environment back into city life. But he has his work cut out for him, with green space at a minuscule 0.25 percent in these major Vietnamese cities of 10 million people. In partnership with this philosophy, SCAF has organised a series of talks and events in association with Green Ladder throughout its six-month run, including meditation and yoga programs. If you want to hear from this legend directly, Nghia will give an architect's talk on Thursday, July 7 at 5pm. Entry to the pavilion is free and open to the public from July 7 to December 10 on Wednesdays to Saturday, 11am to 5pm. Details available at the SCAF website. Image: Vo Trong Nghia Architects, Green Ladder, 2016 commissioned by Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation Fugitive Structures.
Hitting New Zealand for the weekend isn't as much of a faraway adventure as it seems — the flight's just over three hours from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. That's almost similar to visiting Canberra or Byron, and there's better wine at the end. New Zealand's capital is brimming with more contemporary, creative restaurants, microroasteries, buzzing cafes and of course, craft breweries than you can poke a wizard's staff at. Every (outrageously friendly) taxi driver will tell you that that city has more cafes, bars and restaurants per capita than New York City — and they're on the money. Hop an easy flight from Melbourne/Sydney to the Harbour Capital and spend an easy weekend on the waterfront, wandering through street art-filled laneways, tasting the world's most gloriously creative craft beer, learning up on ever-fascinating Māori history, and feasting on some serious food. EAT You'd have to try pretty hard to find a bad coffee in Wellington. The city runs rife with microroasteries and no-nonsense baristas churning out killer coffees by the minute. Wander down the street art-plastered areas of Eva Street and Hannah's Factory Laneway in search of a freshly brewed cup o' joe. Stop by Leeds Street Bakery, a teeny tiny glass-and-brick-walled joint for a piccolo from their mates Red Rabbit Coffee Co., and do not leave here without snapping up one of their famously insane salted caramel cookies. They're not pretty but they'll make you involuntarily make noises at strangers. Look at this: Locals will constantly send you to a formerly dreary multi-car garage that's now a bustling corner cafe, dubbed The Hangar. Run by local coffee roasters Flight Coffee, The Hangar serves up kickass coffee made from Costa Rican beans from the family-run Herbazu estate. Huddle over your own cup of joe and take in the ahmbiahnce, or get pesky and ask the crew about the roasting process. Ghuznee Street's Milk Crate and Customs Brew Bar are also worth visiting, as are our six favourite coffee bars on Concrete Playground Wellington. Now you're well caffeinated, let's head for something a little more hearty. Wellington has one heck of a dining scene, a combination of perpetually high quality produce and young, dynamic restaurateurs. Try your luck and wait for a table at Charley Noble in Post Office Square. A seafood bar and steak specialist with a penchant for woodfired cooking ('Charley Noble' was the sailors' name for the ship's galley chimney), this busy, busy restaurant has been the talk of the town since opening in 2014 — and features New Zealand's first Zesti woodfired chargrill and rotisserie. Looking for something a little more modern and fusion-based? Head for Egmont Street Eatery. Tucked down a regular ol' laneway off Dixon Street, this former carpark space does modern New Zealand/Asian fusion with a fresh, seasonal approach and casually excellent service — and they won Wellington on a Plate's highly coveted Burger Wellington comp in 2015. They'll happily match your lunch with one of Wellington's top notch craft beers or a slam dunk of a New Zealand wine. Try the miso salmon salad with cos, nam jim (a traditional Thai sauce) and herbs ($25), and wash it down with 'The Don', a hefty, sediment-filled white that your waiter will probably recommend you try before you buy. The Don doesn't suit every palate. Also worth visiting? Mark Keddell and chef Sean Marshall's The Matterhorn on buzzy Cuba Street, seasonally-focused (and wine-happy) restaurant Floraditas, wholesome, hearty brunch spot Loretta, award-winning chef Mark Limacher's Ortega fish shack, the Boon brothers' beloved Manners Street cafe/bar Crumpet, New York-inspired deli/diner Five Boroughs, and Eastern Asian modern dining spot and cocktail bar Ancestral. Eating on a budget? Check out our feature on seven days of cheap eats in Wellington. DRINK Let's test out that theory, the big bragging right that the city has more bars per capita than New York City. If you head into the city's nightlife/entertainment district, Courtenay Place on a Friday night, you'll find the area packed with young'uns heading to the area's rowdy Irish pubs, rock and roll bars and licensed late-night eateries. But Wellington's not just serving up any ol' tipples in its plethora of watering holes. Let's start with something for the beer lovers — Wellington is New Zealand's craft beer capital after all. Find your way to an old petrol station in Aro Valley that's now brimming with award-winning beer. You've found one of Wellington's very best craft breweries, The Garage Project. Since 2011, this well-publicised crew have gained the rep as the rock stars of the NZ craft beer scene. They gained quite the hype early on when they released 24 beers in 24 weeks, and have been working just as boldly and experimentally since. They opened their own cellar door within the brewery in March 2013, where you can have a mad chat and taste the latest batches on tap — everything from the best-selling (and bloody delicious) Garagista, to the out-there Umami Monster, Cereal Milk Stout and Ziggy's Carrot Cake. They've even just opened their own bar, GP 91 Aro, just down the road. To keep on the craft beer trail, head for the Parrotdog and Black Dog Brew Co. breweries or head for craft beer bars like Fork & Brewer, Little Beer Quarter, Golding's Free Dive, The Rogue and Vagabond, Bebemos, Hop Garden, The Malthouse or Hashigo Zake. [caption id="attachment_572288" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Hawthorn Lounge.[/caption] Finished your beer? Let's get a little more botanical with your next beverage. Wellington's home to one heck of a mixologist population, with some of the best cocktail bars in the global game. Head to Hawthorn Lounge if you really want to get straight to the good stuff. Managed by all round legend Peter Lowry, this cosy little '30s-style speakeasy is hidden away from rowdy Courtenay Place. Snuggle into a Chesterfield lounge by the fireplace, or pull up a pew at the dimly lit bar and choose from one of the bar's staples — up high for a Chocolate Negroni — or roll the dice on a special edition experiment — bar wizard Jamie co-curates this with Peter. If you're a cocktail fiend, also worth checking out are cocktail bar/alchemist den CGR (Cocktails Gin Rum) on Courtenay Place, Te Aro's award-winning Cuban bar and tapas hideaway Havana Bar, Tory Street's Spanish-inspired Poquito, and beloved Leeds Street cocktail haven Hanging Ditch. Wine runs rampant in Wellington, thanks to the world-famous wine regions surrounding the city — you'll find most Wellington restaurants brimming with local drops on the menu. If you're looking for something entirely non-alcoholic though, pay Six Barrel Soda Co. a visit in Hannah's Laneway. Want more? Check out our round-up of Wellington's best secret bars or best craft beer bars. DO Wellington's a highly walkable city, so lace up your booties and let's go 'sploring. Wandering along Wellington's straight-up beautiful waterfront is a must for first-timers, a stroll you can pair with a visit to the city's mighty Te Papa Tongarewa museum. It's been named one of Lonely Planet's 'Top 500 Places on the Planet' and for good reason. Over six floors, you can get a real sense of New Zealand's past, present and future, through gloriously well-curated exhibitions and a seriously epic collection. Follow NZ's passion for art around the city — there's a smorgasbord of street art and laneway murals around town (you just have to be ready to follow a boring looking backstreet every so often). For film fans, obviously New Zealand has its fair share of pop culture-related tourist Meccas. Let's face it, Wellington airport is home to giant, giant hanging statues of Gollum and Gandalf, so for Lord of the Rings fans, New Zealand is still the damn king of must-visit locations. Before you visit the home of the One Ring in Nelson, no self-respecting movie buff would leave Wellington without a visit to the Weta Cave and Workshop. One of the must-do film studio tours in the world, Weta will put you right up close to the props, costumes and hallowed halls of creativity behind The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Mad Max: Fury Road, District 9, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, District 9 and more. You might hold an alien assault rifle from District 9, swing an orc mace from The Hobbit, or hold incredibly detailed chain mail worn by Frodo Baggins. Shell out for a Prancing Pony fridge magnet and head back to the city with a hobbity spring in your step. If we told you that you could spend an afternoon in Wellington cuddling up to, say, four red pandas, would you pop this on your to-do list? Worth every dime of a on-holiday splurge, Wellington Zoo offers some pretty kickass 'Animal Encounters'. Being red panda enthusiasts, we skipped the cheetahs and the meerkats to snuggle up to the zoo's four straight-up adorable pandas. You can pat them. And feed them grapes. Because they're gods amongst men. Also recommended is a stroll around the Botanic Garden, and if you're looking for one of the best views in town, set aside $7.50 for a return trip on the Wellington Cable Car. [caption id="attachment_572305" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Intercontinetal.[/caption] STAY Depending on your budget, Wellington's got a pretty wide range of accommodation options. If you've got a little dosh to burn on your well-earned weekend away, we stayed right in the city at the Intercontinental Wellington. Sitting right near the harbour waterfront and a very easy walk to Wellington's main galleries and Te Papa, Courtenay Place, Cuba Street and Hannah's Laneway, this slick inner city hotel will make a Kevin Macallister out of you in minutes. Don a fluffy white robe and make yourself at home in one of 232 contemporary guest rooms, equipped with extra large towels, giant, giant shower heads and — wait for it — a pillow menu. For something equally opulent, check out the award-winning ten-room boutique hotel Ohtel, sitting in the swanky seaside neighbourhood of Oriental Bay. Each room looks straight out of a design magazine shoot, decked out by owner/designer Alan Blundell with his own collected treasures, clocks, ceramics and individual chairs. It's pretty close to Wellington's main entertainment precinct too. Rooms come equipped with two-person baths, podcast facilities, natural toiletries, free wifi and oversized showers. There's plenty of budget accommodation and B&Bs in Wellington too, check out WellingtonNZ.com for a bunch of great options. LET'S DO THIS, HOW DO I GET THERE? Flights to Wellington from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are super short — around 3.5 hours on average. Jetstar have just launched a direct route from Melbourne to Wellington (from $159) and Queenslanders can fly direct from the Gold Coast (from $169). Air New Zealand fly direct from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Wellington (from $297). Next weekend, we hop on a 45 minute flight out of Wellington to the pretty city of Nelson for some of New Zealand's best contemporary art, insanely good (and globally renowned) wine region and some of the world's most beautiful outdoor adventuring.> Shannon Connellan travelled as a guest of WellingtonNZ.com. Top image: Egmont Street Eatery. All other images SC unless otherwise specified.
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]
Christmas shopping needn't be a chore. It's your chance to think about a person you care about, think about what element you and only you bring to their lives, mix it all up, and then pop a bow on that beautiful creation. Or, at the very least, make sure it's a good scented candle. Need some inspiration to start you off? Here's a leg up from the Concrete Playground team. It's only the products we've been eyeing off all year. These are the gifts we'd want under our tree, and to leave under others'. For the style savants A maximally minimal watch from The Horse No one does a wrist-dwarfing yet understated watch quite like The Horse. Japanese quartz movement meets gently grainy Italian leather at their Sydney studio, resulting in 12 highly Instagrammable timepieces. $129 from www.thehorse.com.au. Karen Walker's bold gold sunnies To mark ten unconventional years in the eyewear game, NZ designer Karen Walker has released the 'Celebrate' collection, entirely done in gold. This is for loved ones comfortable taking risks on their faces. NZ$399 at www.karenwalkereyewear.com. A reworked vintage Eames chair It's the kind of chair you get and then keep for life, and few do them better than Cast + Crew, who keep the classic shell and upholstery and add new custom legs in neon colours. From $395 at castandcrew.bigcartel.com/products (only some products ship to Australia). This completely perfect water bottle Ignore the gushy high-fashion crap all over the BKR website; these are just the best water bottles, period. They feel good to hold, they feel good to drink from, they're dishwashable and (since they're made of glass with a silicon sleeve) BPA free. US$30 at www.mybkr.com. The Lucy Folk 'Aphrodisiac' necklace It's a pearl. In its natural home. Much harmony, so wow. $750-$850 at lucyfolk.com/shop/. A custom wood keyboard by Oree For the design nerd who has it all: wooden tech. This portable wireless keyboard is made from single piece of wood (maple, walnut or wild cherry), and is customisable down to the key font. £150 from oreeartisans.com. For the food fiends The tiny woodfired pizza oven Yes, this is a legitimate option available to you. Tiny oven, full-size woodfired pizza. Just imagine the camping trip. The Uuni 2 oven is $399 from au.uuni.net. The Thug Kitchen cookbook If only all health food advocates were this sweary. We might be well detoxed by now. The Thug Kitchen cookbook is the perfect gift for friends, lovers, relatives, anyone in the MA15+ bracket. $23.95 at booktopia.com.au. Eau de Vie's small batch cocktails The only acceptable premix to put under someone's tree, from the cocktail masters at Sydney and Melbourne's Eau de Vie. $15 each from www.experimentalspiritsco.com.au. Cornersmith Hamper Hampers can be old hat, but not when they're full of goodies from Sydney's home of pickling, baking and cheese making. If you get the Workshop Wonder hamper, which comes with a class voucher, your giftee can learn to make the whole lot themselves. $40-195 at www.cornersmith.com.au. For the culture munchers The beautiful hardcover Wes Anderson Collection Film critic Matt Zoller Seitz dissects Anderson's aesthetic and idiosyncratic characters over 335 whimsical pages. If you think your giftee already has this one, there are 54 pages of lovingly made Wes Anderson tchotchkes on Etsy. $38.25 at www.booktopia.com.au. A dancing baby Groot Marvel is finally officially licensing these babies — the possible best thing from their possible best movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. The dancing baby Groot boogies in its pot while Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back' plays from the speaker. Stockists are as yet unknown, but Mashable says they'll be on shelves by Christmas. Tickets to one wild outdoor concert The new bookers at Taronga and Melbourne Zoos are magicians; they've got the likes of Bright Eyes' soul-searching dreamboat Conor Oberst, twee monarchs Belle and Sebastian and the one and only Rufus Wainwright playing their summer Twilight series. Tickets from $69 at twilightattaronga.org.au and www.zoo.org.au/melbourne/twilights. This portable speaker that looks like a big iPhone Portable speakers are almost as ubiquitous as soy candles this time of year, but the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A2 speaker stands out for its omnidirectional sound, 24-hour battery life and crazy-good looks. For the fidelity geek $479 at www.beoplay.com. Sydney Festival tickets If your giftee is in Sydney, give them the gift of a dazzlingly cultured January. We've rounded up some of our favourite and most giftable shows over here. From $29 at www.sydneyfestival.org.au. For the sun junkies This meta picnic blanket The seagulls are dive-bombing for your chips forever on this genius 'Mine Mine' picnic blanket. Trust Gorman. $99 at www.gormanshop.com.au A very clever beach bag Beach bags full of stray sand are just a summer reality, right? Wrong. The Shake Tote has a little flap that opens out to ditch those little grains, easy. US$29.99 from www.quirky.com. This semi-sensible rash vest Safety up top, party down the bottom with this cute rashie from new swimwear brand Neon Cactus. Octopus print and maroon are a sincerely underrated combo. $145 from www.neoncactus.com.au. These thongs with built-in bottle opener Look, this isn't the handsomest shoe, even among that dubious category know as 'mandals'. But that moment when your giftee takes off their thong and uses it to open a beer? That will make it all worth it. $69.99 at www.reef.com/au The Phantom 2 camera drone Twenty years ago, a camcorder was a cool thing to take on holiday. Now it's this: a rugged little quadcopter designed for videography whose flight path you can precisely program from your iPad. US$959 at store.dji.com For the stocking Underwater Puppies: The Book Is your giftee the Grinch? Because only the Grinch would fail to enjoy 128 pages of underwater puppy photos. Everyone else: loves them, loves you, loves everything forevermore. $23.95 from www.booktopia.com.au. The Sunscreen Flask Suddenly that extended family gathering is looking a lot more survivable, thanks to this innocuous-looking flask. US$16.99 at www.thisiswhyimbroke.com. The World's Largest Gummi Bear 24cm and 2kg of pure gummi, this is the perfect gift for that friend in your life (rightly) bemoaning the new reduced size of Killer Pythons. US$29.95 from giantgummybears.com. A mould to turn hard-boiled eggs into tiny skulls Who doesn't need this in their life? There's also one for giftees who prefer their eggs sunny side up. US$9.99 at www.amazon.com. Super Soakers Give someone in your life the gift of a very Leo DiCaprio summer by sticking a Nerf Super Soaker in their stocking. Hint to self: make sure you have one of your own to fire back at them. From $7.99 at www.toysrus.com.au.
Maverick music family UNDR ctrl love a vast number of things. Two of those are quality beats and Christmas, and this year, they're curating a glorious mashup to spread the cheer. The Xmas All-Dayer kicks off on the roof at the Captain Cook Hotel, and continues at Freda's, with the shindig aiming to go all night. In that spirit, UNDR ctrl are pledging all the proceeds of the event to Keep Sydney Open, our resident saviours of nightlife. The sunny portion of the party features sets from Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Set Mo and a sneaky Shannon Noll tribute from yeah sure DJs, and acts including Kato, LUEN and World Champion DJs will keep the tunes flowing until the wee small hours. Tickets are $25 online for both events, or $15 a pop at the door. Celebrate Christmas, help out our nightlife and get down like nobody's business? See you there. Image: World Champion, who'll be manning the decks at Freda's.
During the working week, time away from your desk is a rare and precious commodity. We're all guilty of killing time mindlessly trawling the web, but as excellent as cat GIFs may be there's far more exciting things we could be doing on our coffee break. Make even the shortest of respites count and carve out time in your day for a bit of adventure, whether it's a morning mission or an after-work moment to blow off steam. Take the break you, as a hardworking human being, deserve. LEARN TO PAINT AND DRAW If your 9-to-5 lacks a creative outlet, it's worth checking out the Friday Express Art Class at The Harry Jensen Centre in Millers Point. The class runs from 10.30am to 1.30pm, but you can join in for as long as you want. If you're more of a paint by numbers kind of person, there's the option to be guided through a specific project over a couple of weeks. But, if you consider yourself a budding artistic talent, you can equally go rogue with your own idea. Whichever option you choose, artist Lisa Bergan will instruct on specific skills and techniques. It is a community centre, so you can expect the class to be quite social — and if you're lucky, there may even be a quintessential iced vovo on offer. [caption id="attachment_583603" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Josh Willink.[/caption] ORGANISE A MEETUP Regardless of how weird and wonderful your interests may be — apparently there's such a thing as extreme ironing — you're likely to find someone on Meetup who shares them. A break from the office is a precious commodity, so you don't want to waste it and do something you think you should (treadmilling) instead of something that genuinely interests you (shooting hoops). The way Meetups work is that you can start your own group or join one of the existing ones listed on the website. Everything is covered, from walking groups, to language Meetups and even a 1300 strong posse of 'baddicts' – badminton addicts. WORK ON YOUR DOWNWARD DOG AT AN URBAN FARM A fully functioning organic farm is a surprising find in any major city, let alone one that plays host to lunchtime yoga classes. But if it was going to happen anywhere, what's not surprising is that it happened in Sydney. Pocket City Farms is a not-for-profit that turns neglected land and rooftops into urban farms — with their first completed site being the former and abandoned Camperdown Bowling Club. It's a rare and welcomed opportunity to get some fresh air and a 45-minute nature hit without even leaving the city. TAKE A GUIDED GALLERY TOUR Rather than staring at a piece of art pretending you're deep in intelligent thought — we've all done it — join a guided tour and have someone do the thinking for you. Running throughout the day at the MCA and the Art Gallery of New South Wales (as well as many other awesome institutions across the city), volunteer guides will lead you through an exhibition, sharing stories of the artist and giving insight into what the big red canvas really means. At MCA, the tours run for around 45 minutes, so if you have a generous lunch break head up to the rooftop and take in the views. And if you really want to immerse yourself in an artist's work, the MCA cafe serves specials inspired by the exhibitions. As good to look at as it is to eat, they're currently serving Restaurant Kim's version of Korean fried chicken. TRY NEXT-LEVEL PILATES Want to try something new to report back to the water cooler about? KX takes pilates to another level, combining high-intensity training with traditional reformer pilates moves. While some pilates classes can seem like an extended stretching session, this definitely isn't one of those. The music is loud and they set a fast pace, so not only are you getting a good workout, you'll feel like you've been able to truly escape. For every move they give beginner to advanced options, but regardless, by the end of the 50-minute session you'll definitely be bypassing the stairs and catching the lift.
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]
Heading to Byron Bay this July to flail around to The Cure, be obliterated by sound of The Avalanches and burl the words to The Strokes? You can't do all that without a little pre-game with your mates, preferably at a stunning beach house right on the ocean, with some of Australia's best upcoming artists playing sets just for you. Luckily for you, Concrete Playground has teamed up with Sonos to throw one heck of a beach party — and you could be on the guest list. We're putting on an intimate pre-festival gathering at one of Byron Bay's most iconic locations. It's called Beach Break (because you need one, we need one, everyone needs one). You could be joining mates CP and Sonos for a big ol' warm-up on Saturday, July 23, to be held at a secret location which only the guest list will know. You'll be kicking back at our Byron beach house with a cocktail, catching sets from Australia's one-to-watch artists Kllo and Banoffee, and listening to Sonos-curated party playlists. Register your interest and we could be seeing you at our pretty little beach house. ENTER HERE. This event is independently presented by Concrete Playground and Sonos, and is not associated with Splendour in the Grass or Secret Sounds.
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
Celebrate Oktoberfest like any good German: with beer, pretzels and tiny little sausage dogs racing for glory and gold. That's right everyone: Hophaus Bier Bar are hosting their inaugural Oktoberfest Teckelrennen, also known as the most adorable dog race ever. Never mind the running of the bulls. This is the running of the wieners. Schnell! The high stakes (not really) dachshund race will be held in the Southbank Podium Courtyard on Saturday, September 19. Racer registration is already closed, with organisers reportedly overwhelmed by the number of entries. You can, however, still enter your pooch in the Best Costume Contest — how willingly they'll participate is another matter entirely. Spectator entry to the event is free, while all racer entry fees will be donated to Dachshund Rescue Australia. Those wanting to make a day of it can head back to Hophaus after the race for more Oktoberfest-themed activities, including live German music and a sausage eating competition. Although to be honest, the idea of eating sausages after watching a sausage dog race just doesn't sit right with us. We know they're not actually made of dachshund, but still. And now, as a reward for making it to the end of this story, enjoy these GIFs of dachshunds being awesome. As if they know any other way to be. For more information about the Hophaus Inaugural Dachshund Race, visit their website. Via Beat.
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.
