Deputy Premier John Barilaro, the Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Don Harwin, the NSW Minister for the Arts, have announced a foundational grant of $8.592 million towards realising Bundanon Trust’s Masterplan to house and display its collection and expand its children’s education programs. A light-filled contemporary art gallery embedded in the landscape sits at the heart of the expansion plans for Bundanon Trust on the NSW south coast, gifted to the nation by renowned Australia artist Arthur Boyd and his wife Yvonne in 1993.

$8.592 million, the largest allocation from the NSW Government’s Regional Cultural Fund, will enable the building of the gallery and storage component of the project, designed to display and house the Bundanon Trust’s $43 million art collection. This tranche of government funds will contribute to the $28.5 million required to complete the project.

At a time when inner-city artists’ studios are scarce and artists are being pushed further and further away from the city, TWT Creative Precinct in St Leonards has offered valuable studio space to some of Australia’s leading contemporary visual artists including Abdul Abdullah and Caroline Rothwell.

Abdullah and Rothwell are currently working out of their expansive 50-metre square studio spaces within the TWT Creative Precinct, each offering vast windows and natural light essential for the artists to further their practice.

The studio space is part of a dynamic artistic community that is thriving at the TWT Creative Precinct in St Leonards, supporting local artistic talent. The studios are one of only a few options artists have left in close proximity to the city centre.

Maestro Erin Helyard describes the composer as “a poet of the human heart” and the richly dramatic opera as “a hotbed of intrigue and devious characters”.

Australia’s only Baroque opera company, the acclaimed Pinchgut Opera, presents their striking new production of Handel’s Athalia at City Recital Hall Sydney, with four performances from 21 until 26 June 2018. Directed by Lindy Hume, with design by Melanie Liertz, lighting by Matthew Marshall, and with Pinchgut Artistic Director Erin Helyard conducting from the harpsichord, this production reunites much of the phenomenal creative team from Pinchgut’s 2016 lauded production of Handel’s Theodora. Debuting for Pinchgut in Athalia are Australian-born soprano Emma Pearson in the title role, South African-born countertenor Clint van der Linde taking the role of Joad and thirteen-year-old Freddy Shaw as Joas. Other artists include Pinchgut favourites Miriam Allan, Brenton Spiteri and David Greco.

The powerful plot tells of the high priest Joad attempting to overthrow the despotic regime of the murderous and ambitious Athalia.  Athalia deals with powerful psychological themes and personal dilemmas: an unstable queen visited by nightmares of her mother, Jezabel, a religious couple concealing a royal child, and a general with divided political loyalties. A central part of the drama is the relationship between the two women – Queen Athalia and Josabeth, wife of Joad, who is raising the boy king Joas.

Image – Robert Catto

The Biennale of Sydney has announced Australian artist Brook Andrew as the Artistic Director of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney to be held in 2020.

Kate Mills, Chairman of the Biennale of Sydney, said: “The artist is at the centre of our work at the Biennale of Sydney. We are therefore delighted to announce the appointment of one of Australia’s most distinguished artists, Brook Andrew, as Artistic Director of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney. He has consistently modelled national and global collaboration and the sharing of knowledge in both his artistic and exhibition-making practice.”

In addition, the Biennale announced that in 2018, the exhibition attracted record visitations of more than 850,000, representing the highest level in the Biennale’s 45-year history.

The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Australia’s pre-eminent national award for small sculpture presented by Woollahra Council, has announced two new guest judges for 2018 along with a prize pool of $24,000. A free exhibition of finalist works for the 18th annual Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize will be presented from 19 October until 11 November 2018 at the historic Woollahra Council Chambers in Double Bay, Sydney.

The 2018 Prize judges will be respected Australian arts administrator Michael Lynch AO CBE, whose previous roles have included Director of Sydney Opera House, CEO of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Hong Kong and Chief Executive of London’s Southbank Centre. Mr Lynch will be joined by Amanda Love, Director of independent Art Advisory Loveart, Artspace board member and former board member of the Biennale of Sydney. The Love private collection of international and Australian contemporary art was exhibited at Casula Powerhouse Museum in 2011.

Award-winning architects Chenchow Little’s fourth project with lifestyle property group BresicWhitney has been shortlisted by the Australian Institute of Architects for a 2018 NSW Architecture Award. The project is one of 12 up for an award in the Interior Architecture category. The awards will be announced on Friday 6 July.

The new Rosebery office is located in a small warehouse tenancy that forms part of ‘The Cannery’ precinct, which is revitalising one of Sydney’s first model industrial suburbs and is home to the likes of Koskela, Black Star Pastry, Three Blue Ducks and Archie Rose Distilling Company. The office is a study in the art of opposites where raw, industrial forms are softened by circular shapes and fluid, theatrical drapery. Working within a heritage overlay, the office interior is designed as a theatre set, without solid walls, to respect the existing building fabric including the original exposed beams, trusses, roofline and brickwork.