Art & About Sydney
City streets prepare to host temporary art this month – and all year
Ways of our lives
Open-air gallery Australian Life returns to Hyde Park with 22 thought-provoking photographs submitted as part of the $10,000 Australian Life Prize. See how Australian photographers young and old have striven to capture our lives in a large-format outdoor gallery setting. Hyde Park, Sep 18- Oct 11, 2015.
Listen to the music
For nine days Sydney Town Hall's Marconi Terrace becomes the backdrop for a garden bar with some of the best live music Sydney has to offer – all free. Hear a special acoustic set by Dave Le'aupepe and Joji Malani from Gang of Youths, indie pop darlings Microwave Jenny, and the Latin jazz stylings of The Voice star Emma Pask. That's along with intimate sets by Jones Jnr, Pat Capocci and Richard in Your Mind, plus Paul Capsis alongside 20-person gospel choir Café at the Gate of Salvation. The Terrace will be open daily from 5pm. The Terrace, Sydney Town Hall, Sep 18-27, 2015.
Hit the right note
Up to 100 massed volunteers playing weird and wonderful ‘instruments' will stage surprise public performances around the city as part of Games + Actions (for a Quiet City). Masterminded by art collective Super Critical Mass, these sonic flash mobs will appear at locations such as the Mitchell Library, Hyde Park and Martin Place. Oct 17- Nov 1, 2015.
Future shock
Inspired by Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner, the Golden Age Cinema and Bar will transform a car park into a futuristic playground where you may begin to question what it means to be human amid changing technology. For More Human Than Human: Blade Runner, you’ll walk through surreal spaces, surrounded by music, food and artwork, culminating in a night market and rooftop screening of the remastered Blade Runner. Goulburn Street Car Park, Sat Nov 21, 2015.
Test the water
Sydney’s latest must-visit bar will be serving the only priceless drink on the planet – water. Sydney artist Janet Laurence’s laboratory-style installation H20: Water Bar, lets you taste waters from around Australia. So polish up your water connoisseur’s talk, such as “a fruity little number laced with hints of lawn grass”. Paddington Reservoir Gardens, Feb 2-21, 2016.
After 13 years of a festival-style program that jam-packed one month with temporary public art, Art & About is committing to a yearlong calendar of creativity. You can expect more art in every corner of Sydney – here are the first six projects coming your way over the next six months...
Great white night
For Welcome to the Deep End: Jaws, Golden Age Cinema and Bar is taking over the Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool for a harbourside screening of 1975 blockbuster Jaws. Stretch back on floating or poolside seating, enjoy a seafood barbecue and ocean-inspired drinks, and listen to special guests describe their experience of the big blue and raise awareness about what really lurks below. Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool, Jan 29-30, 2016.