The Northern Beaches Council has announced it will present Arts in August, a month-long showcase of the creativity of the Northern Beaches region from 6 – 22 August 2021. Comprised of the inaugural Environmental Art and Design Prize presented across three arts venues, and two Creative Open weekends, Arts in August will feature open studios, a diverse range of cultural events, artist-led tours and live performances.

As part of the Festival, the two Creative Open weekends presented on 14 – 15 August and 21 – 22 August will see local designers, makers, musicians and creative businesses open their doors to visitors to experience the abundance of creativity of the Northern Beaches communities. The weekends will act as an arts trail to see the artists and businesses in situ, learn about their industry and witness firsthand their skills and the creation of their work.

Image: Colin Fraser in studio. Photograph by Karen Watson.

Carriageworks, one of Australia’s largest multi-arts precincts, has announced a culturally diverse, contemporary music program and a collaboration with margarita maestros Cantina OK!, that will enliven the precinct as part of Vivid Sydney 2021, from 19 until 28 August.

This is the seventh year of Carriageworks’ highly successful involvement with Vivid Sydney, the annual creative festival that transforms Sydney’s CBD into a playground of creativity, innovation and technology. 2021 offers music audiences a wholistic, layered program with a return to dedicated performance venues, Bay 17 and 20, and a focus on design and lighting led by House of Vnholy and Sam Whiteside.

Spanning two distinct themes of Australian hip hop artists and rock / punk bands across multiple performance spaces, the line-up for Vivid Sydney at Carriageworks includes: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Amyl & The Sniffers, Tropical Fuck Storm, Jesswar, Barkaa, Akosia and Open Frame.

Image: Akosia. Courtesy the artist.

The Powerhouse has announced the details of Robert Rosen: Glitterati, the largest survey of the work of one of Australia’s foremost fashion and social pages photographers, opening on 6 August 2021.

Glitterati will present over 300 photographs and will include images from Rosen’s early career in London and Paris capturing the fashion shows of iconic designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Claude Montana and Zandra Rhodes. In Australia, Rosen brought a new perspective to the fashion pages with his backstage photos at Australian Fashion Week and documented celebrities, politicians and entertainers at parties, openings, launches and events from the exclusive Cointreau Ball to the ARIA Awards. Glitterati will also include over 50 never-before-seen polaroids from Rosen’s personal archive, dating from 1980-2000, with images of icons including Yoko Ono, David Bowie and Bette Midler.

Image: Paul and Linda McCartney, Abbey Road Studios, 1982. Robert Rosen

Sydney Fringe Festival, New South Wales’ largest independent arts festival, has announced the hubs and new initiatives that will be activated from 1 – 30 September 2021, including the inaugural Young Henry’s Made In Sydney Hub and City Tatts Musical Theatre and Cabaret Hub. After a successful digital season in 2020, the Festival returns this year with a physical footprint that will once again enliven Sydney’s CBD and highlight the city’s vibrant culture, with a diverse program of performance, exhibitions and events spanning music, theatre, comedy, visual art, film, dance, circus, literature and poetry.

The 2021 Festival will present two new initiatives continuing Sydney Fringe’s work supporting local communities including Art In Isolation, showcasing new works developed as part of the Sydney Fringe’s 2020-2021 residency program, and a new series of AUSLan interpreted and relaxed performances at Eternity Playhouse every Monday of September.

The full program for the 2021 Sydney Fringe Festival will be announced in July. Please visit The Sydney Fringe website for further details and updates. https://www.sydneyfringe.com/

Image: Apocalypse Now, 2019. Image Rob Studdent

Sydney Contemporary has announced a strong line-up of more than 85 Australian and New Zealand galleries that will participate in the sixth edition of Australasia’s largest and most diverse art fair. Presented at multi-arts precinct Carriageworks from Thursday 9th until Sunday 12th September 2021, Sydney Contemporary will be the first major art fair presented in Australia since 2019 and will feature works by more than 400 artists hailing from countries including Australia, China, England, France, Ghana, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa and Thailand.

The past five editions of Sydney Contemporary have attracted more than 112,000 visitors and recorded more than AU$80million in art sales, with 2021 set to continue to build on those figures.

See the full list HERE.

Image: Dale Frank, From Gilgandra, it was his family tradition, for as long as he can remember, for the last 32 years, tall 205cm Colin would spend all the Easter and Christmas holidays being a naturist, sharing a double bed with his mum and dad on a house boat hired from the Tweed Heads Holiday Park, 2020

Contemporary cultural precinct HOTA, Home of the Arts opens the major new $60.5 million HOTA Gallery on Australia’s Gold Coast on Saturday 8 May 2021. Spanning six levels and including over 2,000m2 of AAA rated, international standard exhibition space and a dedicated Children’s Gallery, HOTA Gallery is the largest public gallery outside a capital city in Australia.

Celebrating artists from across Australia and the world, HOTA Gallery presents world premiere international exhibitions, Australian exclusives and new commissions, and is home to the $32 million City Collection, consisting of more than 4,400 artworks.

Image caption: Back wall: Nicola Moss Local Air 2021; Kirsty Bruce Wonderwall 2021; Aaron Chapman The Towers Project 2021; Back right: Michael Candy, Steal the Sunshine 2021; Front: Ali Bezer I Can Hear Water 2021; SOLID GOLD: Artists from Paradise, HOTA Gallery. Photo by Paul Harris Photography.