Art & About Sydney 2015

Cave Urban Near Kin KInAn outdoor live music lounge, a giant bamboo sculpture, immersive cinema experiences and a community art project feature as part of one of Sydney’s most popular cultural events, Art & About Sydney – which has been refocused from an annual three week festival to an ongoing series of projects year round.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the new Art & About format would enable the City to deliver projects across Sydney more often. “For the last 13 years, Art & About has been the City’s annual celebration of art in unconventional spaces,” said Clover Moore. “Art & About Sydney brings Sydneysiders together with local and international artists in a fantastic celebration of the city’s creative spirit.”

Highlights of Art & About Sydney include:

The Terrace
Art & About Sydney will launch with The Terrace, transforming the Marconi Terrace on the northern side of Sydney Town Hall House into a temporary live music venue and terrace bar presenting free intimate live music performances over nine nights from 18 – 27 September.

Taking inspiration from the garden rooftop renewals of New York, The Terrace will feature performances by some of Sydney’s finest music artists, including Dave and Joji from Gang of Youths, Emma Pask, Microwave Jenny, Mojo Juju and Paul Capsis performing with the gospel choir Café at the Gate of Salvation.

Near Kin Kin
A soaring 21-metre bamboo sculpture will stand on the forecourt of Customs House Square, Circular Quay from 18 September – 11 October. Created by Cave Urban, Near Kin Kin will transport visitors to a wilder place and time as they step onto a leafy forest floor, enveloped by a grove of giant bamboo.

Australian Life / Little Sydney Lives
Two Art & About favourites return to Hyde Park with Australian Life and Little Sydney Lives from 18 September – 11 October. Across two outdoor galleries, 42 large-scale images by Australian photographers young and old will capture the diverse experience of Australian life.

Games + Actions (for a Quiet City) – 17 Oct–1 Nov
Up to 100 Sydney volunteers playing identical ‘instruments’ will surprise the public with a series of pop-up performances from 17 October to 1 November. Each performance occurs in a new public location, creating a seemingly spontaneous moment not unlike a sonic flash mob. Created by Super Critical Mass, the performances will take place over three weekends at Martin Place (17 – 18 October), Mitchell Library (24 – 25 October) and Hyde Park (31 October – 1 November).

More Human Than Human: Blade Runner
Golden Age Cinema and Bar will present an immersive cinema experience at Goulburn Street car park on 21 November. The rooftop of the car park will be transformed into an apocalyptic playground for a unique film, food and art event. Guests will move through a series of surreal spaces, engaging with film, music, food and artwork that culminates in a future night market and screening of the recently remastered Blade Runner movie.

“Each year we have found new ways of taking art out of the gallery and into new and different spaces during our festival – now we’ll be doing this all year round,” said Clover Moore. “As major infrastructure works commence in the city, the time is right to move from a festival format to a model that continually enables creativity in the public domain.”

For more details on the new Art & About Sydney program, visit: www.artandabout.com.au for details.

Image: Cave Urban Near Kin Kin 2015 – photo by Juan Pablo Pinto