Writers 2017: Dystopia on Fire

Dystopia on Fire is playing as part of Writers 2017, a collection of short readings presented by NIDA’s Master of Fine Arts (Writing for Performance) students. Dystopia on Fire by Katherine Sullivan explores the struggle of a teenage girl in rebuilding her young and chaotic life after a recent suicide attempt.

 

WHAT: Performance Reading
WHEN: 6:10-6:45pm
WHERE: NIDA, Kensington
HOW MUCH: Free, more info

The Big Anxiety: Mental Health Pods

Can we design a pod to support good mental health, and calm, focused attention, for use in public schools?

Can we design a pod to support good mental health, and calm, focused attention, for use in public schools?

WHAT: Mental Health Pods
WHEN: 10am-5pm, till Nov 11
WHERE: Hub One Paddington
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

The Big Anxiety: Snoösphere

A responsive sensory environment to roam, touch and explore.

WHAT: Snoösphere
WHEN: 10am- 5pm, till Nov 11
WHERE: Ground Floor, UNSW Galleries, Art & Design, Paddington Campus
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

The Big Anxiety: Harmonic Oscillator

The outcome of a three year project which placed a contemporary artist inside a functioning children’s hospital to explore the role that contemporary arts practice can play in trauma reduction.

WHAT: Harmonic Oscillator
WHEN: Wednesday and Thursdays: 2pm-5pm, Saturday: 10am-2pm
WHERE: EPICentre, UNSW Art and Design, Paddington Campus
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

The Big Anxiety: Labyrinth Psychotica

An interactive augmented reality cinema walk that functions as a do-it-yourself-psychosis-kit.

WHAT:  Labyrinth Psychotica
WHERE: UNSW Galleries Paddington Campus
WHEN: Tuesday- Saturday: 10am-5pm
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

Give Me Your Love

A show about MDMA assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress, Give Me Your Love is a funny, fragile and profound fable based on groundbreaking medical research and real-life war testimonies. Ex-soldier and budding rock star Zach has withdrawn into a cardboard box in a kitchen in West Wales. His friend Ieuan arrives offering recovery – in the form of a capsule containing 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine with which he claims to have successfully treated his own post-traumatic stress.

WHAT: Performance Series Show
WHEN: 7:30pm
WHERE: Seymore Centre, Chippendale
HOW MUCH: $30-38, more info

众 | Everyone

众 | EVERYONE is a cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary exhibition of work from Australian and Chinese students in the Master of Art program. The Mandarin character 众 (zhòng) means “everyone” and is reflective of the varied conceptual foundations found in this exhibition. Through discussion among this diverse group, it became apparent that the human condition is a common element that ties together each of our personal practices. Whether it be the harmful misrepresentation of reality in the mass media; how memory connects us with our youth; gender and sexuality across cultures; sensory perception and interaction with the world; or the cycle of life and death, everyone will be able to empathise with the themes explored in this exhibition.

WHAT: Exhibition Opening
WHEN: 5-7pm
WHERE: AD Space UNSW, Kensington
HOW MUCH: Free, more info

November at Kudos Gallery: Realising Mother

Visit Kudos Gallery on October 31 for the launch of their new November exhibition ‘Realising Mother’, curated by Zorica Purlija. Realising Mother’ looks at how this affects us all, and explores the issues surrounding the maternal experience. These artists question how we realise and frame images of motherhood and the way the medium of photography has the power to describe real experiences. This exhibition aims to free us from preconceived ideas and myths around motherhood, replacing them with narratives more relevant to our contemporary experience.

WHAT: Exhibition Opening
WHEN: 5-7pm
WHERE: Kudos Gallery, Paddington
HOW MUCH: Free, more info

Endless Summer

This project display is a far cry from the former, and the latter of James Simpson’s comfort zone. It presents a fresh contrast for James and a chance for him to experiment with unfamiliar subject matter. “Shot with a fixed 35mm Fuji over two consecutive years of Summer across the coastlines of France and Italy – ENDLESS SUMMER is an exercise in observation – It takes a leisurely, sometimes voyeuristic approach to what forms the timeless essence of summer in Europe. Depicting tropes of carefree European culture through beach umbrellas, bums, pastel coloured buildings and crystal waters, with the goal of highlighting how memories of travel are recollected, reflected and remembered in people’s minds – through a golden film-like filter of nostalgia.”

WHAT: Exhibition Opening
WHEN: 6-8pm
WHERE: Goodspace Gallery, Chippendale
HOW MUCH: Free, more info

Merciless Gods

From migrant camps to pill-popping hipster dinner parties, from prison cells to gay saunas and porn shoots, Merciless Gods is a vicious and tender portrait of contemporary Australian society, capturing the haunting aspects of the human psyche. Based on the book by Christos Tsiolkas, be taken into deep worlds both strange and familiar, and introduced to characters who will never let you go. Told from diverse cultural perspectives, Merciless Gods by award-winning playwright Dan Giovannoni is urgent, dirty, glorious theatre.

WHAT: Theatre Production
WHEN: 7pm
WHERE: SBW Stables Theatre, Darlinghurst
HOW MUCH: $19-30, more info

November at Firstdraft

Visit Firstdraft for the opening of their November 2017 exhibitions! Featuring ‘Fully Sick’ by John A Douglas, Natalie Aylward, Djon Mundine, Jesse Rye, Grant Gronewold, Steph Tsimbourlas, Sissi Reagan, Warren Gracie, Okapi Neon and Willurai Kirkbright; ‘Heavy Time/s’ by Kalanjay Dhir and ‘Technological Disasters now Outweigh Natural Disasters’ by Brenton Alexander Smith.

WHAT: Art Exhibition Openings
WHEN: 6-8pm
WHERE: Firstdraft Gallery, Woolloomooloo
HOW MUCH: Free, more info

Colonialists and their Counterparts Exhibition Opening

‘Colonialists and their Counterparts’ is an ongoing series of work by artist Harry Klein that studies 65 drawings, spanning over 5 years. With an influx of viewing popular cultural characters with their own ‘colonial’ past, this show examines the paradox of high and lowbrow culture within contemporary Australia.

WHAT: Colonialists and their Counterparts Exhibition Opening
WHEN: 5pm- 7:30pm // Exhibition Open : Nov 1 – Nov 10
WHERE: Shortspace Gallery, Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle.
HOW MUCH: Free, more info here

Common Anomalies

Common Anomalies is a triple bill of solo dances by young artists, vastly different in style, exploring their cultural identities. Solos interconnect breakdance, contemporary techniques, vogue, modern dance and folklore in dynamic and challenging vignettes. These works are cross-cultural, personal endeavours that capture a unique snapshot of a world of diverse and interconnected people, multiethnic and globalised.

WHAT: Dance Production
WHEN: 8pm
WHERE: Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
HOW MUCH: $28-35, more info

Sydney Sculpture Conference

Presented to coincide with Sculpture by the Sea, the 2017 Sydney Sculpture Conference will feature international and Australian speakers who will examine the importance, impact, challenges and opportunities of sculpture in public space. International presenting conference partners ‘sculpture network’, German-based leading platform for the promotion, development and facilitation of contemporary sculpture, bring a European edge to this year’s program, attracting artists, curators, academics, arts professionals & art enthusiasts from across Australia and the world.

WHAT: Art Conference
WHEN: 9:30am-5:30pm
WHERE: Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point
HOW MUCH: $178.50, more info

The Boomalli Ten

Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative celebrating 30 years of existence in 2017 presents The Boomalli Ten.  Exhibition of works by Boomalli’s 10 Founding Member Artists: Jeffrey Samuels, Michael Riley, Euphemia Bostock, Tracey Moffatt, Arone Meeks, Bronwyn Bancroft, Fiona Foley, Brenda L. Croft, Fernanda Martins and Avril Quaill. Curated by Djon Mundine OAM. This exhibition continues until 28th January 2018

WHAT: Art Exhibition
WHEN: 6-8pm
WHERE: Boomalli Aboriginal Art Gallery, Leichardt
HOW MUCH: Free, more info

Seeing & Being Seen

SEEING AND BEING SEEN is the creation of a student curatorial group based at UNSW Art & Design. The project aims to activate public space via artistic interventions that include installation, performance and live painting. Part one of the event will activate spaces in and around UNSW Art & Design’s Paddington campus. For Part Two of the event the collective partners with Woollahra Council and Perry Lane Art Project to program artworks in the laneway, which will be specially pedestrianised for the day.

WHAT: Art Collective Event
WHEN: 5-7pm
WHERE: UNSW Art & Design, Paddington
HOW MUCH: Free, more info

Observatory Latitude 33° 42’ South Longitude 150° 29” East

Observatory Latitude 33° 42’ South Longitude 150° 29” East launches The Altitude Project with an evening of contemporary art installations at the Linden Observatory. The Observatory is the legacy of one man, Ken Beames, an amateur astronomer and telescope maker, who manufactured much of the architecture and technology on the site. The observatory displays Beames’ innovative technical skills as the only amateur telescope maker in Australia during the 1940’s. Four artists will present site responsive works intersecting art, science and cultural history at Linden Observatory.

WHAT: Art Exhibition
WHEN: 5:30-10pm
WHERE: Linden Observatory, Linden
HOW MUCH: Free RSVP, more info

Keynote Lecture By Pipilotti Rist

Hear directly from video pioneer Pipilotti Rist, as part of her Sydney International Art Series exhibition ‘Sip my Ocean’ in this much-anticipated artist talk. Rist will reflect on the past 30 years of making art and will be joined for a Q&A with TedxSydney’s Head of Curation Fenella Kernebone as they discuss her most comprehensive exhibition to date in Australia. Rist has titled her talk ‘Our eyes are blood driven cameras’ and will discuss her interest in nature, mildness, technology and the body. She’ll be introduced by MCA Senior Curator Natasha Bullock.

WHAT: Keynote Lecture + Q&A
WHEN: 1-2:30pm
WHERE: Museum of Contemporary Art, The Rocks
HOW MUCH: $36-48, more info