Tax time can be tricky! These forums will help you understand the what’s-what of tax, grant acquittal processes, accounting standards and obligations if you are an artist, run an arts organisation or simply work in the arts sector.

WHAT: Workshops
WHEN: Monday 30th July, 2-5pm
WHERE: 107 Projects
HOW MUCH: $75, more details here

They’ve held #BlackGirlMagic and now it’s time for #BlackLove, a night of storytelling by an all-male line up featuring Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s Jive Poetic. Come through for a night of celebration, recall and remembering love in all of its manifestations, hosted by Sista Zai Zanda.

WHAT: Poetry
WHEN: Monday 30th July, 7pm
WHERE: The Red Rattler Theatre
HOW MUCH: $11, more details here

Laka immerses audiences in Hindu and Yolngu ways of seeing the world. This 360° exhibition of video, sound and virtual reality was developed by CuriousWorks to accompany the feature film of the same name. Laka explores an agonising choice between the love of homeland and family through the story of Lily, a Yolngu woman and her husband Siddhartha, a Sri Lankan Australian, as they prepare for the arrival of their first child.

WHAT: Exhibition
WHEN: 28 Jul 2018 – 16 Sep 2018
WHERE: 1 Powerhouse Road, Casula NSW 2170
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

Immerse yourself in art with jaw-dropping installations from the collection at the AGNSW. Eight contemporary installation artists, is on show as part of the gallery’s new exhibition Spacemakers and Roomshakers, which brings together works that create an immersive experience.

WHAT: Spacemakers and Roomshakers Exhibition: Installations From the Collection
WHEN: 14 Jul – 21 Oct 2018
WHERE: The Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Rd
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

52 ARTISTS 52 ACTIONS is an ambitious, year-long project running from January 2018 to January 2019 highlighting artistic practice across Asia. The project will engage 52 artists and collectives to stage actions in unique, physical locations throughout the region and share them with global audiences on Instagram and online.

WHAT: 52 ARTISTS 52 ACTIONS
WHEN: Exhibition
WHERE: Follow the project on Instagram @52ARTISTS52ACTIONS
HOW MUCH: Free

As a major storm strikes Texas in 1900, a mysterious televisual device is built and tested. Blake Williams’ 3D sci-fi film, Prototype, immerses us in the aftermath of the Galveston disaster to fashion a haunting treatise on technology, cinema, and the medium’s future.

WHAT: Film
WHEN: Tuesday 31st July, 7-9pm
WHERE: Palace Platinum Central Cinemas
HOW MUCH: Tickets from $11.22, more details here

Bankstown Poetry Slam is back for another month of slamming, finger clicking, watermelon flowing poetry fun! This month they are featuring local Indigenous powerhouse Lorna Munro, and two time Canadian national slam champ Brandon Wint.

WHAT: Poetry Slam
WHEN: Tuesday 31st July
WHERE: Bankstown Arts Centre
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

What is performance art? The new book, Australian Perspectives, brings together texts from theorists and performance artists to create a critical archive and dialogue unpacking Australian performance art’s first fifty years.

WHAT: Book launch
WHEN: Wednesday 1st August, 6-8pm
WHERE: The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

Four new exhibitions are opening at Firstdraft for August! Featuring exhibitions by Yonel Watene, Paris Norton, Duha Ali & Justine Youssef, and Phebe Schmidt there will be everything from painting to installation, performance and photography.

WHAT: Exhibition Openings
WHEN: Wednesday 1st August, 6-8pm
WHERE: Firstdraft
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

This panel discussion considers the importance of the body in art. Panellists will explore how the body appears in art, ideas of femininity and masculinity, the invisibility/visibility of queer bodies, and bodies as a site of voyeurism.

WHAT: Panel Talk
WHEN: Thursday 2nd August, 6-9pm,
WHERE: Verge Gallery
HOW MUCH: FREE more details here

Get ready for the ultimate magical battle, as 3 of Sydney’s up-and-coming magicians battle it out for your applause at Magic for the Money. Featuring magic shows by Liam Power, Andrew Boyd and Julian Yu, the best stage show as voted by you, the audience, will take home a door prize and get crowned king of hocus pocus.

WHAT: Magic show
WHEN: Thursday 2nd August, 7-10pm
WHERE: Tolley’d, 14 Hutchinson St, Sydney
HOW MUCH: $10 on the door, more details here

Glitter, Glamour, passionate Activism, and LOVE! It’s the perfect combination of dance party and discussion to get you thinking about the future of LGBTQIA+ Rights, post marriage equality. Join Meaningful Movement on behalf of Amnesty International and see FBi favourites Marcus Whale and All Girls Electronic.

WHAT: Community event / Fundraiser
WHEN: Thursday 2nd August, 6PM onwards
WHERE: Albion Hotel, 135 George Street Parramatta.
HOW MUCH: $10 – Book tickets here

OPENING is a curatorial collaboration between Mucusbubble and Fork, playing on the ‘commercial gallery/ white cube model’ of open night celebrations, to challenge the conventions of display. There will be art, performance, music and topical debate to sink your teeth into!

WHAT: Exhibition opening
WHEN: Friday 3rd August, 6pm
WHERE: Flow Studios
HOW MUCH: $20, more details here

In August, Queerstories is teaming up with Archer Magazine to celebrate LGBTQIA writers in print. Issue #10 will be launched at Giant Dwarf, with performers from Archer Magazine’s pool of contributors. Centred on the theme of history, Issue #10 includes work exploring Sex Work and Society, Trans Exclusion, Indigenous Queer Elders, Dominatrix Across Time, Butch Lineage, Perspectives on HIV, Muslim Futurism & much more.

WHAT: Magazine Launch
WHEN: Friday 3rd August, 7:30-10pm
WHERE: Giant Dwarf
HOW MUCH: $25-$30, more details here

The Wild Things is a space where strange creatures and things converge in a world of light, performance, visuals and sounds. Curators James Nguyen and Digby Webester are bringing together some of their friends and colleagues who have very different approaches to making and living with art.

WHAT: Performance night
WHEN: Saturday 4th August, 6-10pm
WHERE: PACT
HOW MUCH: $15-$20, more details here

This tapestry forum will explore design, materials, techniques and cultural meaning, uncovering the practice of tapestry weaving and its place in contemporary textile arts as well as exploring the history of this rich artform. Bringing together the expertise of the Australian Tapestry Workshop with artists, makers and curators, this event will examine the practice of weaving with thread.

WHAT: Forum
WHEN: Saturday 4th August, 11am-1pm
WHERE: Australian Design Centre
HOW MUCH: $29, more details here

The Refugee Art Project Fundraising Auction offers the chance to acquire important artworks while supporting the Refugee Art Project. The auction will be hosted by artist Abdul Abdullah and will feature over 20 artworks by some of Sydney’s leading artists, including Deborah Kelly, Ms Saffaa and Khaled Sabsabi.

WHAT: Art Auction
WHEN: Saturday 4th August, 5-7pm
WHERE: Cement Fondu
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here

Rebecca Beardmore’s new show Surface Deep explores the act of looking. Her intrigue is with the interplay of words, pictures, matter, creating photographs that look like illusions.

WHAT: Exhibition
WHEN: Exhibition runs 1st August – 1st September
WHERE: Artereal Gallery
HOW MUCH: FREE, more details here