Art & About 2012: In Colour

Art, glorious art, everywhere you look in Sydney this spring

First published on 27 Aug 2012. Updated on 22 Oct 2012.

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Sydney – you’re standing in it. That’s right, the city’s most inescapable arts event is back taking over our streets, laneways, parks and other unusual public spaces. It’s the festival where it’s what’s on the outside that really matters.

Now in its 11th year, Art & About Sydney 2012 is taking ‘In Colour’ as its theme, promising to be as vibrant of spirit as it is rich of hue. Expect to encounter music, sculpture, photography and installation works without even necessarily intending to do so. Not to mention plenty of excuses to party. And speaking of parties, it all kicks off with a killer one – Friday Night Live – an opening bash in Martin Place with a soundtrack put together by Modular.

Friday Night Live
	The festival gets off to a flying start with a Modular DJ-soundtracked opening night bash at Martin Place. Enjoy the tunes, or embark on a free Art & About recon mission around the city (on a vintage bus) scoping out installations and late-night gallery and museum openings.
James Dive: I Wish You Hadn't Asked
	I Wish You Hadn’t Asked Putting a damper on the festival in the nicest possible way, artist James Dive and Glue Society are inviting visitors to step into his home… into an apocalyptic indoor rainstorm. The Australian premiere of an internationally acclaimed arts installation by a Sydney artist collective – now that gets us wet. More: Our James Dive interview.
Last Drinks
	Hotel Australia was a legendary Sydney establishment before its demolition in the early '70s. Sydney’s most distinguished guests regularly dined in its lavish banquet hall and climbed its sweeping stairway. A large-scale video installation projected onto walls in Martin Place will bring the Hotel and its stories back to life.
Play Lunch
	What’s better than free music? Surprise free music! Throughout the festival, hot musical acts will be popping up in popular Sydney spots and making noise during your lunch break. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for details.
Sydney Life
	As if you needed another reason to take a stroll through a park in springtime, Australia’s premier outdoor photographic exhibition springs up along the central walkway of Hyde Park North for the duration of the festival. No Coat Hanger or Scrumming Nuns here – Sydney Life features 22 large-scale photographic images of our city that look beyond its over-exposed local landmarks.
City Spaces
	Melbourne’s not the only Aussie capital city that can do fancy-pants laneways. This is the sixth year Art & About’s laneway art programme will give international artists, architects and urban designers the run of some of the city’s most unremarkable in-between places, right up until Jan 31, 2013. There’ll be soundscapes, street urchins, streets paved in gold and more.
A Moveable Feast
	Produced by the City of Sydney and presented with Crave Sydney International Food Festival, Art & About will take over George Street, Town Hall, for a suitably spectacular Saturday finale. Expect to be shown a good time with an evening of music and food by Sydney’s finest DJs and a convoy of food trucks. We expect that even ol’ Queen Vic on her plinth will be amused.

For the full list of events visit the Art & About website.

Photos by Louise Whelan (main image 'By the Pool') |

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