Until is American artist Nick Cave’s largest, most thought-provoking and spectacular installation yet, speaking to the urgent issues of gun violence and race in America. Head down to Carriageworks for after-hours sessions that bring the exhibition to life featuring live music, artist talks, and DJ sets.

WHAT: Performance event
WHEN: Monday 21 Jan, 7-9pm
WHERE: Carriageworks
HOW MUCH: $39, more details here

Lara, a Sydney mum working interstate as a dancer, receives a distress call from her youngest son. Dad hasn’t been seen for days and they are out of food. Lara has the weekend to track him down. And if she succeeds, what will she find? Dancer-turned-playwright Henrietta Baird’s debut one-woman play blends laughter, hope, love and loss into a young family’s search for a new beginning.

WHAT: Theatre
WHEN: Monday 21 Jan, 7pm
WHERE: Carriageworks
HOW MUCH: $36-$41, more details here

Bayala means ‘speak’ in local language. Local language is being reawakened, in a sharing and celebration of the Indigenous heritage of Sydney. Classes, talks and a mass choral performance have been developed, with Eora and Darug community leaders and language experts, to celebrate local Sydney language. Learn how to speak the first language of your home town, in three 50 minute classes spread across three days.

WHAT: Workshops
WHEN: Tuesday 22 Jan, 10am
WHERE: UTS
HOW MUCH: $45, more details here

Take a deep dive into the extraordinary, turbulent artistic partnership of Brett and Wendy Whiteley. Together since they were teenagers, Brett and Wendy made an indelible impression on a burgeoning Australian contemporary art scene. Kim Carpenter directs and designs, and Lucas Jervies choreographs a visually ravishing production that conjures the joys, passions and struggles of Brett and Wendy’s relationship.

WHAT: Theatre
WHEN: Tuesday 22 Jan, 7:30pm
WHERE: Riverside Theatre
HOW MUCH: $45 – $50, more details here

Ngalu Warrawi Marri means ‘We stand strong’ in the Sydney Language. This event, through tours, hands-on workshops, live music and performances, highlights First Nations protest and resilience & interrogates the way Australia celebrates national identity.

WHAT: Workshops, talks and performance
WHEN: Wednesday 23 Jan, 6-9pm
WHERE: Australian Museum
HOW MUCH: $20, more details here

In this exhibition, Phoebe Barrett, Rachel Tse and Katherine Zhang explore the Self – using textural forms to relive experiences of childhood and youth, innocence and sexuality, and self-reflection. With an assortment of mediums and muses, the artists have curated a collection showcasing the power of interpretation when discovering or creating the ‘self’.

WHAT: Exhibition opening
WHEN: Wednesday 23 Jan, 6-9pm
WHERE: Goodspace
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

A festival of experimental music, The NOW now is back in 2019 with its most ambitious program yet. From artists manipulating radio waves to an orchestra entirely composed on double bass’ this festival will be a treat for the ears and soul.

WHAT: Festival
WHEN: Thursday 24 Jan – Sunday 27 Jan
WHERE: 107 Projects
HOW MUCH: $20 – $30, more details here

The Eviction 2018 questions the future of Sydney’s public housing through the story of the Millers Point community and the sale of their homes. Director Blue Lucine will introduce the screening and take part in a Q&A afterwards with Millers Point residents and activists who feature in the documentary.
WHAT: Film
WHEN: Thursday 24 Jan, 6-8pm
WHERE: 31 Nicholson St, Woolloomooloo
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

First Australians are the oldest continuous culture in the world, having been on this continent for over 60,000 years. 2020 will mark the 250th anniversary of when Cook first landed, irrevocably changing the lives of Indigenous Australians. Inspired by ALWAYS at Barangaroo and ahead of the vigil on 25 January, Professor Larissa Behrendt (UTS) hosts a powerful conversation with Indigenous leaders and artists including Sydney Festival Artistic Director, Wesley Enoch to set the agenda for this anniversary.

WHAT: Talk
WHEN: Friday 25 Jan, 6-8pm
WHERE: UTS
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

Gather at dusk at Barangaroo Reserve on 25 January for the lighting of the fire. A vigil will be held overnight to reflect on the impact of colonisation in Australia, the significance of the day before the First Fleet arrived, and what happened after. Hear musical performances and stories of Country from current and future community Elders.

WHAT: Vigil
WHEN: Friday 25 Jan 7pm – Saturday 26 Jan 12pm
WHERE: Barangaroo
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

Yabun Festival is the largest one day gathering and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in Australia, held annually on 26th of January upon the traditional lands of the Gadigal people in Sydney. Established in 2001, Yabun (meaning ‘music to a beat’ in Gadigal language) is a free event that features live music, a bustling stalls market, panel discussions and community forums on Aboriginal issues, children’s activities, and traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural performances.

WHAT: Festival
WHEN: Saturday 26 Jan, 9am-5pm
WHERE: Victoria Park
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

A showcase for new and distinct voices in Australian theatre, Yellamundie Festival is a biennial celebration of national and international First Peoples’ playwriting. Presented since 2013 by Moogahlin Performing Arts and Carriageworks – and taking its name from the Darug word for storyteller – Yellamundie National First Peoples Playwriting Festival provides a platform for emerging and established playwrights from all over Australia.

WHAT: Festival
WHEN: Saturday 26 Jan, 2-9:30pm
WHERE: Carriageworks
HOW MUCH: $15-$79.50, more details here

What She Said is a weekly all women comedy night packed with stand up, storytelling, sketch and musical performances from Sydney’s best comics.

WHAT: Comedy
WHEN: Sunday 27 Jan, 6:30-8:30pm
WHERE: The Chippo Hotel
HOW MUCH: $10, more details here

Cookaroo Flow, an inventive new artwork just installed at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney celebrates the poetry in language created by First Nations students from Sydney and the Northern Territory. This underwater audio installation incorporates poetry written and spoken by First Nations children in traditional Aboriginal languages of Gadigal (NSW) and Western Arrernte (NT). Head to the creek near The Fernery and the Cunningham pond next to the Botanic Gardens restaurant for instructions on how to listen to the beautiful children’s poetry.

WHAT: Public art
WHEN: Until 28 Feb
WHERE: The Royal Botanic Gardens
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here