Raising the bar is a worldwide initiative aimed at making education a part of a city’s popular culture.  One of a kind knowledge-driven events in unusual locations.

WHAT: Talks: Raising the bar
WHEN: 6-7:30pm
WHERE: 20 bars around Sydney – choose talks and locations here
HOW MUCH: Free.  Tickets online here 

If you’re a fan of TED talks, the Discovery Channel, Wikipedia binges and drinking, check out this series of three talks on a variety of topics.

WHAT: Talks – Nerd Nite: Exposing Sperm, Polymorphism, and Virtual Reality
WHEN: 7-9pm
WHERE: The Friend in Hand Hotel – 58 Cowper St, Glebe
HOW MUCH: $12 – tickets + info here

Sydney’s underground cinema movement is back! Pop icons Jay Katz and Miss Death dig deep into their vaults to unearth some of the most obscure, lost and downright bizarre creative endeavours ever committed to screen.

WHAT: Film – Cult Sinema Obscura
WHEN: 7-10pm
WHERE: Public House Petersham – 292 Stanmore Rd, Petersham
HOW MUCH: Free – info here.

From tragedy on Mount Everest to Pauline Hanson’s political career, the 2016 Walkley Documentary Award longlist — part of the 2016 Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism — show the very best in Australian longform journalism.

WHAT: Documentary Award screenings
WHEN: 4-8pm
WHERE: State Library of NSW, Macquarie St, CBD
HOW MUCH: Free – info here.

A contemporary farce by Uruguayan playwright Gabriel Calderón, My Little Doll (The Farce) centres around a dysfunctional middle upper class family where a young woman becomes a pawn in an elaborate revenge plot by her uncle against her father.

WHAT: Australian Premiere, My Little Doll (The Farce) – Theatre
WHEN: 7-8pm
WHERE: UNSW, Gate 2, High St, Randwick
HOW MUCH: Free – info here.

Sydney Dance Company’s Untamed is a match made in heaven, on earth, and somewhere in between. A Sydney exclusive double bill of vivid colour and wild physicality featuring the world premiere of Anima by Rafael Bonachela and Australian choreographic prodigy Gabrielle Nankivell’s smash hit Wildebeest.

WHAT: Untamed Opening Night – Live Dance
WHEN: 6.30-8pm
WHERE: Roslyn Packer Theatre, 22 Hickson Rd, Dawes Point
HOW MUCH: $30+  info here.

Eight women create an internet utopia where they discuss the most intimate details of their lives, the most righteous, and the most hilarious. But then one disappears…

WHAT: Theatre – Killallmen
WHEN: 8-10pm until October 25
WHERE: NIDA – 215 Anzac Pde, Kensington
HOW MUCH: $28 full, $18 concession – tickets and info here.

This is ordinary suburban Australia: three houses, three backyards, three lawns, three families living side by side in frugal comfort and conspicuous normality. Look a little closer however, and the disappointments and yearnings of each and every character are revealed.

WHAT: Theatre – The Season at Sasaparilla
WHEN: 7:45pm Opening night, 19th – 25th of October
WHERE: NIDA – 215 Anzac Pde, Kensington
HOW MUCH? $28 full, $18 concession – tickets and info here.

Chelsea Lehmann exhibits new work which foregrounds scientific imaging techniques as artistic process.

WHAT: Opening @ Mop Gallery – Archive
WHEN: 6pm opening night, 19th October till 13th November
WHERE: Mop Gallery – 2/39 Abbercrombie Street, Sydney
HOW MUCH? Free – more info here.

Exhibition opening that explores what is passed down from generation to generation. Be it mannerisms, traits, or patterns in behaviour, our inheritance is stored in genetics and memory.

WHAT: Opening @ Wellington St Projects – Clare Thackway: All Of That Implicit Memory
WHEN: 6-8pm Opening Night
WHERE: Wellington St Projects -Studio 8, 19-23 Wellington Street, Chippendale
HOW MUCH? Free – more info here.

Exhibition at Sydney College of the Arts, featuring the work of Ida Lawrence, who whimsically distorts the line between the mundane object, and artistic masterpiece.

WHAT: Exhibition Opening @ SCA
WHEN: 6-8pm Opening night
WHERE: Building 23, Sydney College of the Arts
HOW MUCH? Free – more info here.

Belem Lett’s latest series of paintings in which organic forms unfurl in richly coloured plumages.

WHAT: Exhibition – Belem Lett: Aviary
WHEN: 6-8pm
WHERE: Gallery 9 – 9 Darley St, Darlinghurst
HOW MUCH: Free – info here.

A festival of new works showcasing the perspectives, images and stories of 500 young people from the St. George area.

WHAT: Exhibition/performance: Inside // Outside – Shopfront at the MCA
WHEN: 10am – 5pm
WHERE: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia – 140 George St, Sydney
HOW MUCH: Free – info here.

A party vibe of performative music acts and performance art from Angela Goh, Caroline Garcia, Claudia Nicholson, Bhenji and more!

WHAT: CLUB ATE
WHEN: 8-2pm
WHERE: The Red Rattler Theatre
HOW MUCH: $10-$15, more info here

Electrofringe features a one-day showcase of experimental work and performance, with a second day of workshops and demonstrations.

WHAT: Performance/workshops – Electrofringe 2016
WHEN: 1pm – 6pm
WHERE: 107 Projects – 107 Redfern St, Redfern
HOW MUCH: By donation (workshops have a fee) – info here.

The In Motion Festival is coming to a close! Come along to hear artist and researcher Laura Woodward talk about her current exhibition, Resonate, and artist Ben Denham on his drawing machine and laser drawings.

WHAT: Artist talks
WHEN: 3.30-5pm
WHERE: AirSpace Projects, 10 Junction Street, Marrickville
HOW MUCH: Free- more info here

Explore the long-standing links between the artistic communities of Australia and Jogjakarta, Indonesia in the opening night of Jogja Calling.

WHAT: Exhibition
WHEN: 4-6pm
WHERE: 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. 181-187 Hay Street, Haymarket
HOW MUCH: RSVP here.

Marrickville Festival brings together all of our diverse and vibrant people, cultures, and creative communities with a feast of international cuisine, live music and entertainment.

WHAT: Festival – Marrickville Festival
WHEN: 10am – 5pm
WHERE: Marrickville Rd, Marrickville
HOW MUCH: Free – info here.

A part of the MCA’s October Film Series– The Films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Apichatpong Weerasethakul is undoubtedly Thai cinema’s most celebrated export and considered one of the most idiosyncratic and exciting filmmakers today.

WHAT: Film Screening: Syndromes and a Century
WHEN: 2-5pm
WHERE: MCA, 140 George Street, The Rocks
HOW MUCH: Free more info here

Proudly Pokies Free is proud to announce their campaign launch event, which is all about reducing the harm caused by the pokies in Australia. With 20% of the worlds total number of machines, Australia has a serious pokies problem.

WHAT: Proudly Pokies Free Launch Event
WHEN: 5pm – 11:30pm
WHERE: Oxford Art Factory
HOW MUCH: $15 – info here.