Art Month Sydney
After a turbulent 2020, Art Month Sydney is back with an incredible line up from 4 to 28 March 2021.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
A festival with a twist, Art Month Sydney aims to connect Sydneysiders with the galleries around them through interactive programming that shows the other side of art. Using a program of mostly free events like exhibitions, studio visits, art parties, openings, walks, workshops and more, the team hope that they can connect with not just the art enthusiasts.
“Art Month Sydney comes at the perfect time to tempt Sydney-siders back into galleries, encouraging the wider community to reconnect with the city’s creative industries,” says Art Month Sydney Festival Director, Emma O’Neill.
With a range of themes such as ‘Meet the Artist’, ‘Art + Sustainability’, ‘Art at Night’, and ‘Art + Food’, the underlining current offers a lifeline back to an industry that was most vulnerable during covid. For Emma, a collaborative approach ensured that the festival stayed connected to the Sydney art community.
Emma reached out to several curators to add their spin to the signature Art at Night events. “Each curator, including Talia Smith, Collective: Frenzy (Nerida Ross, Sophie Penkethmen-Young and Anna-May Kirk), Sidney McMahon and Collector Space Curator Gina Mobayed enrich our program with their own distinct creative fingerprint,” she adds.
Now in its 11th iteration, the year’s Collector Space is brought to us by Mobayed, the director of Goulburn Regional Gallery; who was the youngest director of a regional gallery in Australia when appointed. The exhibition reveals the intricacies in the art industry, from the collections of Evan Hughes, Chris Kirby and Ray Monde, Megan Monte, Michelle Newton, Jasper Knight and Isabelle Toland.
Photo: Document Photography
Photo: Document Photography
“Art Month Sydney is all about inclusivity and reminding people, that anyone can start an art collection - no matter what their budget might be,” says Rhianna Walcott, Art Month Board Member. Photo: Document Photography
“I wanted to invite Art Month Sydney attendees to get out of the house, into the galleries and using their hands or engaging directly with some of Sydney’s most exciting artists. ”
“We want it to be approachable and appeal to the uninitiated, so I went for a playful mood, full of movement and colour. Something a little bit extra like Sydney,” says Meg Perkins, Art Month Sydney’s Graphic Designer. Photo: Document Photography
“I am looking forward to presenting snippets of the collections of five practitioners I really respect,” Gina reflects. “These collectors are people that work in the arts as artists, leaders, architects and dealers… they give their life’s work to keeping Australia relevant in the global arts scene.”
Titled ‘You never forget your first’, the Collector Space 2021 connects viewers with one of the first works ever acquired from each collector. “[It’s a] way to show people where a collection and start, and where it can go,” Gina reveals.
For Art Month Board Member and Artereal Gallery Associate Director, Rhianna Walcott, this year’s Collector’s Space is not to be missed. Also joined by Parramatta Artist Studio’s takeover of Paramount House Hotel and Artspace’s artist studios walkthrough with Artspace Director Alexie Glass-Kantor.
“We are very lucky that Art Month Sydney has always been about creating intimate and personal experiences in gallery spaces and artist studios across Sydney,” Rhianna adds. “To re-engage with Sydney’s art scene at a time when we all need it the most!”
As a championer of women and non-binary artists, Art Month Sydney breaks down the barriers between the exclusivity of commercial art — one that has historically forgone this demographic for male artists. In one example, Sydney-based artist, Genevieve Felix Reynolds presents her exhibition with an artist talk alongside a seven-course degustation menu by botanical expert Diego Bonetto.
“During the dinner, I’ll speak about my exhibition, in conversation with gallery director Samantha Ferris,” the artist shares. “There’s a nice parallel between my own ‘magpie-like’ approach to source material and Diego’s ‘forager’ approach to ingredients. I can’t wait to try his plates!”
Art Month Sydney continually engages its city and the creative practitioners and art lovers within. With a vast range of programming, there is something for everyone and not to be missed!
Photo: Document Photography
“Art Month Sydney comes at the perfect time to tempt Sydney-siders back into galleries, encouraging the wider community to reconnect with the city’s creative industries,” says Art Month director Emma O’Neill. Photo: Emma Louise Daniels
“Expect to see art in unexpected places, with some of Sydney's most interesting emerging talent from Parramatta Artists' Studios taking over Paramount Coffee Projects and the screens at Central Park mall showcasing experimental video art from the UTS Art Collection,” says Art Month director Emma O’Neill. Photo: Document Photography
“Art Month Sydney is all about inclusivity and reminding people, that anyone can start an art collection - no matter what their budget might be.”
Gina Mobayed, director of Goulburn Regional Gallery + Collector Space curator. Photo: courtesy of the Gina Mobayed
Artist Genevieve Felix Reynolds who will speak to her exhibition at Galerie pompom. Photo: Katherine Griffiths/City of Sydney