Looking at acclaimed Australia born artists such as Grace Cossington Smith and Sidney Nolans’ iconic depictions of Sydney (and possibly the World’s) most famous bridge, can you think of anything better than hosting a whole month of celebrations in the name of culture, beauty and art in one of the Countries most exuberant landscapes?
Bringing together more than 100 of the city’s top venues and celebrations, ‘Art Month Sydney 2019’ is a city-wide festival dubbed as “A Festival for Everyone” that brings together. Australia’s wonder and awe with extravagant exhibitions, lots of beautiful contemporary art, flamboyant artists, and exclusive gallery viewings through a diverse package of panels, experiences, workshops, exhibitions studio visits and best of all, fabulous parties. Coming to a close on March 30th, we do hope you were able to explore at least one of the exciting events on offer; let’s run through a quick recap on what a great month it has been with a few highlights of the 2019 run.
There is a wonderful collaboration this year – ‘Alliance Francaise French Film Festival’ – who introduced a new segment into ‘The Art of Film’ section. The luxury feel of the French Riveria is channeled into Sydney via a screening and post-screen discussion of these three heavily art-influenced films; The Image Book, Virgil Verbier’s Sophia Antipolis and Bertrand Mandico’s The Wild Boys.
“We chose three films that are really driven by an artistic sensibility,” notes Britton. “They all experiment in different ways with their medium, are very ambitious and painterly in their use of colour and image.” If you haven’t experienced ‘The Art of Film’ yet then you are still just in luck; you can catch the last of the 3 films, The Wild Boys, being screened at Palace Central tonight at 6pm.
Perhaps the most well-known feature of the annual event is the ‘Art at Night’ program, which throws fabulous city-wide parties. It’s the perfect way to introduce yourself to some of the city’s most distinguished establishments but also explore some more quirky, unknown spaces by touring the city and partying in unison. Firstdraft, Australia’s longest running artist Led Organisation, was the hit of the night with DJs and Performances stunning crowds of thousands.
Another fantastic pit stop on the journey of Sydney’s art month is that of the Collectors’ Space hosted by CBD’s 541 Art Space where we were given an exclusive glimpse into some of Sydney’s most creative duos and their private collections. “There is a voyeuristic element to the Collectors’ Space that people really get into. It’s very intimate, and it’s not an experience you get in many exhibitions, that blurring between public and private space,” says Britton.
“People can come along and find out a bit more about how people build a collection, find out you can start small, find out that passion and desire are all you really need, and hear about how people fall in love with a particular work or a particular artist.”
We hope you enjoyed the wonder of such a fabulous celebration of art over the past Month; here’s to seeing what 2020 entails.
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time” – Thomas Merton.
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Art Month Sydney, Across Sydney, Until March 30th, 2019
Tickets available for The Wild Boys at https://www.palacecinemas.com.au/