This Spring, Sydneysiders are invited to do away with modesty and air their dirty laundry in public for ‘Art & About Sydney’, a collaborative arts festival where every street, laneway, building site, intersection and thoroughfare is a canvas for creation and storytelling.
This year’s festival, which has the theme “private lives… public places”, features gigantic neon snails, an illuminated maze of mirrors and a playful tribute to the humble pedestrian icon. An extraordinary line up of international and Australian artists have transformed Sydney’s streets, squares, parks and other unusual spaces with projects that encourage art lovers to go public with their secrets.
“This spring we’re celebrating ‘Art & About Sydney’s’ 12th year with an ambitious program that brings together local and international artists, showcasing cutting-edge installations and performances for the people of Sydney,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
Over the four weeks, Snailovation by the Cracking Art Group sees 24 gigantic neon snails make their way across some of Sydney’s most iconic public spaces – including Martin Place, Hyde Park and Customs House Square. Sydneysiders are invited to step into another world with I Think I Can, an innovative interactive installation by Performance Space and the Australian Model Railway Association. Train enthusiasts and passersby alike are encouraged to adopt a character that will be brought to life on a scale model railway by puppeteers, with the happenings of this imaginary town projected onto giant screens and recorded online.
Hyde Park South has become a mesmerising maze of mirrors with FIELD, a stunning outdoor artwork created by a team of New Zealand architects, Fresh Concept. Covering a 24 x 24 metre area and illuminated at night, 81 posts covered with more than 400 mirrors create an ever changing experience for the tens of thousands of people that travel through the park each day.
Sydney’s street banners will also be transformed into a playful collage of pedestrian traffic icons from around the world in Walking Men Worldwide. The banners, which feature along the city’s main roads including George and William streets, are curated by American artist Maya Barkai, whose latest project is featured at the site of One World Trade Centre in New York.
In addition to this, over 25 events are taking place for the duration of the festival, from photography challenges and interactive installations to jewellery exhibitions and sculpture walks.
Art & About Sydney
Until 20 October, 2013
City of Sydney
Out of the Dark, FIELD, 2013
Courtesy the artists and City of Sydney
