Australia’s new festival of urban art reveals the first line up of artists, major installations and programming set to take over The Facility, Kensington in Melbourne for ten days this summer. From 20-29 February 2020, Can’t Do Tomorrow will transform Melbourne’s iconic underground warehouse into an outlandish Eden celebrating the best in urban art and contemporary culture. Over 100 street artists, galleries, musicians and collectives will revolutionize the multi-level venue, from top to bottom, presenting site-specific works across every surface ranging from paintings, murals, photography, sculptures and illustrations, to projections and epic installations. The largest showcase of street and urban art in Australia, visitors will also be able to purchase original artworks presented directly from artists and galleries, as well as limited edition prints available from a custom-built print store.

A selection of the biggest names in the underground urban arts scene will transform the space with awe-inspiring installations and site-specific murals.

See the line up here: cantdotomorrow.com

Image credit: Ruskidd

Australia’s first commercial art gallery dedicated to women artists launched in August 2019 attracting global attention. Founded by respected art consultant and advocate Lisa Fehily, Finkelstein Gallery aims to address under-representation and establish parity for female artists. In 2020 the gallery will present solo exhibitions from some of Australia’s most exciting emerging and established female artists: Kate Baker, Jacqui Stockdale, Deborah Kelly, Cigdem Aydemir, Lisa Roet and Monika Behrens. The gallery will also present a compelling program of talks and engagements to be presented free to the public, and will conclude the year with a curated group exhibition.

Fehily describes how in 2020 Finkelstein Gallery will focus on nurturing the careers and promoting the works of its nine Australian women artists and two international artists, “We are thrilled to present this series of exhibitions including  new work from Cigdem Aydemir and Monika Behrens, Kate Baker’sincredible glass installation presented in concert with her new video work,  the unveiling of Lisa Roet’s investigations into simian behaviour – a result of her project with Jane Goodall – and comprehensive surveys of Jacqui Stockdale and Deborah Kelly’s practices.

The gallery will also present a critical program of talks to encourage a wide audience to engage with the work and concepts presented by these multifaceted artists. I’m excited to announce that on 7 March, on the eve of International Women’s Day, we will present a panel discussion at M Pavilion, where we will also announce a curated program of talks and events for 2020.”

Image: Kate Baker, Pulse, 2019, installation still. Courtesy artist and Finkelstein Gallery

In a once in 50 years opportunity, Kaldor Public Art Projects is offering audiences the opportunity to own an original Christo print. In a rare return to a past project, Christo has created a stunning limited edition lithograph depicting Wrapped Coast in honour of the work’s 50th anniversary. Christo has generously donated the limited edition series to assist in funding future projects. This is a rare opportunity to own a work by one of the world’s most significant living artists and commemorate an iconic moment in Sydney’s history. In an original interpretation of the wrapped coastline, Christo’s notes and sketches are beautifully translated in a colour-lithograph measuring 54cm x 33cm. Each work is individually numbered and signed by the artist, with prints running to a strictly limited edition of 100.

Priced at $2,750 (GST inclusive), the work is a third of the cost of a typical print edition by Christo. To take advantage of this rare opportunity or to view the work on request please email: info@kaldorartprojects. org.au

Award-winning architects TRIBE Studio this month unveil their latest residential project, a brick bungalow in a conservation area in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The Queens Park House is a masterful alteration and addition to an existing Californian Bungalow that plays with perceptions of scale and respects neighbourhood character.

The original single-storey 1940s house was no masterpiece yet had a latent charm and a substantial rear garden typical of the area. The quality of the well-built original house and its period detailing inspired TRIBE to honour and refresh it, reinterpreting and repeating key elements such as the distinctive roof gables.

Image: TRIBE Studio’s Queens Park House Interior, 2019 Photographer: Katherine Lu