Super-Organism is a multi-media, multi-sensory project by Penelope Cain, Barbara Doran and Kath Fries, exploring pattern finding and self-organising systems. This project will play out as generative and responsive evolving conversations, beginning with an interest in honeybees as a typical super-organism and an indicator species of ecological change.

WHAT: Exhibition
WHEN: 16 October – 2 November
WHERE: Kudos Gallery
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

Antenna Documentary Film Festival is celebrated as Australia’s best annual event to stay up-to-date with what is happening in documentary cinema today. Showcasing the most talked-about films on the circuit, Antenna is dedicated to programming independent and cutting-edge films that tread new ground in the documentary landscape.

WHAT: Film Festival
WHEN: 17-27 October
WHERE: Various venues
HOW MUCH: Various ticket prices, more details here

CONCERNING is a new non-fiction reading night to be held at Knox Street Bar in Chippendale. In this unique new series, a writer will debut a new nonfiction essay with three exciting writers providing responses, in the style of letters to the editor.

WHAT: Literary event
WHEN: Tuesday 22 October, 6pm
WHERE: Knox Street Bar
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

Throughout the past two months Matte Rochford has had his mail redirected to the Bearded Tit. He has corresponded with friends and strangers during this time and will be sharing some of his favourite pieces of mail with you.

WHAT: Performance event
WHEN: Tuesday 22 October, 6:30-8:30pm
WHERE: The Bearded Tit
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

The Jewish International Film Festival returns to Sydney from 23 October – 21 November for another incredible year of excellent Jewish cinema from around the globe, building on almost 30 years of Jewish film festivals in Australia. In 2019, the Festival will also move into the Ritz Cinema in Randwick – the new home of the Festival in Sydney.

WHAT: Film Festival
WHEN: 23 October – 21 November
WHERE: Ritz Cinema Randwick
HOW MUCH: Ticket prices vary, more details here

When you’re an artist from the world’s oldest living culture, expectations crowd your work. With gleeful humour and sharp observation, plenty serious TALK TALK puts front-and-centre the parts of Indigenous art-making that usually remain behind the scenes.

WHAT: Performance
WHEN: 23 – 26 October, 7pm
WHERE: Carriageworks
HOW MUCH: $30-$40, more details here

Women’s Work is an annual exhibition curated by Sydney artists Allegra Holmes and Kristi Pupo. Women’s Work challenges the validity of the enduring attitude that there is a ‘type’ of work that women artists make, while shining a light on the inherent negativity attached to the term ‘women’s work’.

WHAT: Exhibition opening
WHEN: Thursday 24 October, 6-8pm
WHERE: Gaffa Gallery
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

The Palestinian Film Festival Australia returns to celebrate its tenth year with a stacked program of award-winning features, ground-breaking documentaries, thought-provoking shorts and the launch of its exciting new program stream, Arab Cinema Days.

WHAT: Film Festival
WHEN: 24 October – 10 November
WHERE: Various venues
HOW MUCH: Various ticket prices, more details here

Speculative Care considers the conditions of the Anthropocene and our increasing hopes for fungi to grow the food, materials and products of the future. However, in navigating design practices that call upon non-human organisms to perform particular functions – such as growing materials – continued human control over non-human others needs to be reconsidered.

WHAT: Exhibition opening
WHEN: Friday 25 October, 6-7:30pm
WHERE: UNSW Art & Design
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

A mixtape, a block party, an online platform to sustain artists of colour, and a series of films and podcasts – Join Diversity Arts Australia and Blacktown Arts for The Pacesetters, and get ready to dance-it-off at our block party and feast on some delicious Australian Indigenous bush tucker courtesy of Kallico Catering.

WHAT: Party
WHEN: Friday 25 October, 5:30-8:30pm
WHERE: Blacktown Arts Centre
HOW MUCH: $20-$30, more details here

The festival for Indigenous and culturally diverse writers is back! After the success of the inaugural 2017 festival, Boundless 2019 presents a powerful line-up of local and interstate names including Alice Pung, Benjamin Law, Jack Latimore, Nardi Simpson, Sarah Ayoub, Stephen Pham and Winnie Dunn.

WHAT: Festival
WHEN: Saturday 26 October, 10am-6pm
WHERE: Bankstown Arts Centre
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

To mark the anniversary of Casula Powerhouse’s 25 years, they are present four performance works developed by young artists. Each artist engages with different areas of the centre and its story, capturing unique and intriguing elements of our history.

WHAT: Performance event
WHEN: Saturday 26 October, 2-5pm
WHERE: Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

Soundlands is a series of four concerts highlighting culturally diverse musicians and music forms from Bankstown and beyond. Concert #3 presents Satsuki Odamura Koto Ensemble, pioneers of the teaching and performing of the ancient Japanese instrument of the koto in Australia.

WHAT: Concert
WHEN: Sunday 27 October, 5pm
WHERE: Bankstown Arts Centre
HOW MUCH: $10-$15, more details here

Performance Space has long been a hub for queer artists from diverse artistic practices and cultural backgrounds. Join Performance Space Artistic Director Jeff Khan for this conversation with artists from Day for Night (and beyond) to discuss new horizons in queer performance, the intersection between queer club and art communities, and the diversity and vitality of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ artistic culture.

WHAT: Talk
WHEN: Sunday 27 October, 3:30-4:30pm
WHERE: Carriageworks
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here