Hundreds or maybe more, unidentified flying objects are expected to hit Sydney’s Eastern suburbs on Sunday 12^th September 2010, and air traffic controllers may be scratching their heads already in fears of a mid-air collision.

From flying cartoon characters to floating dragons or even dancing butterflies… what will this year’s Festival of the Winds bring along?

Come and see a multitude of kites in all shapes and sizes parading over beautiful Bondi Beach at Australia’s largest, longest-running and most exciting kite flying festival.

Waverley Mayor, Sally Betts is urging that no one misses this event, “if you don’t have your own kite, you can buy a variety of styles from one of the many kite stall or better still, make your own at one of our kite making workshops, available throughout the day”.

The festival includes an all day-long dynamic multicultural entertainment program held in the Bondi Pavilion Courtyard Amphitheatre, along with free music, dance workshops and children’s entertainment such as rides, face painting, wandering minstrels, stilt walkers, clowns and kite making workshops.

An aerial art exhibition will also be held in the Bondi Pavilion Gallery, and stalls with foods and drinks from around the world will be available in the Southern courtyard.

Prepare to be blown away, down at Bondi Beach for a fun-filled, family-friendly and most importantly FREE event.

Let’s hope Mr Wind joins the party!

What: Festival of the Winds
When: Sunday 12 September 2010 – 11.00am to 4.00pm
Where: Bondi Beach
Cost: Free

Website: www.waverley.nsw.gov.au

Article by Arno Billard

Art by Yolanda Elkhouri

For the past four years, curators at Hardware Gallery have been selecting artists to particpate in our annual google exhibition. The brief is quite simple: On the same day, at the same time, all the artists have to google the same phrase. From a single page of results, all artists must select a single website as their sole source of inspiration for their artwork….and this year’s phrase? Black Sheep of course – the theme of the Sydney Fringe Festival 2010.

Hardware’s annual google exhibition always delivers the unique, the inspired and the unexpected. The 2010 exhibition is no exception, with the widest array of different mediums so far…and artwork from artists both familiar and new.

For 2010, we are presenting the annual google exhibition as part of The Sydney Fringe Festival and featuring the work of 13 artists. Opening night is Tuesday 7th September from 6-9pm and is promising to be a great night.

• The exhibition is to be officially opened by Kath Melbourne, Director, Artstart, the Australia Council for The Arts.
• Providing the sounds for the evening will be Dean Dixon and Dave Fernandes from HAHA Industries.
• Lubrication will come courtesy of the Beer and Cider Co. and The Black Sheep Brewery, Yorkshire, UK
• …and if thats not enough on top of the amazing work by 13 talented artists, you will get to experience some of the artwork unfold right before your eyes with a live installation drawing on the night.

Black Sheep: 4th Annual Google Exhibition
Opening Tuesday 7 September 6-9 pm
Exhibition continues to 25 September 2010

To be opened by Kath Melbourne,
Director, Artstart, Australia Council for The Arts.

Artists featured in this years exhibition:

Lila Afiouni, Yolanda Elkhouri, Andrew Ensor, Andrew McNeill, Mark O’Ryan, Timothy Preston, Deborah Redwood, JD Reforma, Ken Simpson, Kurt Sorensen, Deborah Wilkinson, Susannah Williams, Mark Wotherspoon

What are we trying to escape from in the everyday? Do we endure the physical constraints of everyday or is it the psychological confinements that we place upon ourselves?

These questions form the foundation of upcoming exhibition ʻEndure Everyday,ʼ a collaboration between Melbourne artists Kate Robertson and Alysia Rees.

The two artists who met in 2006 while studying at the Victorian College for the Arts have teamed up to explore the notion of escapism, and the psychological and physical tensions of contemporary society. Both artists come from different disciplines yet were drawn to the idea of distraction, escape and fleeing the restrictions of our daily routine.

The exhibition will be a multidisciplinary site using photography, sculpture and video at First Site Gallery. And it seems that being within a stoneʼs thrown from Melbourne Central, the gallery is the perfect location to explore how individuals while away the hours through shopping, films, entertainment and video games.

The public is invited to negotiate both the physical and emotional landscape as they meander by sand bag sculptures, large-scale photographs that envelop the room and also view a video installation; but also explore varying degrees of escapism. First Site Gallery will be transformed into a space for individuals to explore their own, as well as shared, internal and external tensions.

Exhibition Dates: Tuesday August 31 to Saturday September 11
Location: First Site Gallery
Address: Storey Hall Basement, 344 Swanston Street Melbourne

This year the exceptional craft skills and extraordinary body of work of Robert Baines, one of Australia’s most prominent and influential jewellers and goldsmiths, is being honoured at Object Gallery through the 2010 Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft series.

Object Gallery
417 Bourke Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tuesday – Friday 11am – 5pm :  Saturday & Sunday 10am – 5pm : (Closed Monday)

After a recent sell-out show in Melbourne, hot and collectable Australian contemporary artist, Michael Peck is set to wow Sydney audiences with his first solo exhibition at Dickerson Gallery – ‘It’s Not That It Burns’ – opening on 20 October.

This exhibition of new paintings sees him using his signature monochromatic painting style to question the accuracy of human memory.

While Peck doesn’t paint in black and white he reduces his palette to a point where colour almost ceases to exist, like 1950s film stills or faded photographs.  In recalling the past, he also removes the rose-coloured glasses of nostalgia to present something that is frequently bleak, but simultaneously beautiful. Peck has been recognised as having an uncanny ability to visually draw the audience into his work, creating a truly enveloping experience.

Peck took the titles of the exhibition from a quote in the novel Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michael, in which the author seeks out the difference between historical fact and what we remember – “The mystery of wood is not that it burns, but that it floats”. Whether hardened, softened, blurred, refined, weathered and even reinvented, Peck’s memories – some personal, some not – bring joy and also sadness, both of which are essential to appreciating our life.

‘It’s Not That It Burns’, Michael Peck

Dickerson Gallery
34 Queen Street, Woollahra, Tue – Sat 11am-5.30pm, Sun 1-5:30pm
20 October – 21 November 2010. 
02 9363 3358,
www.dickersongallery.com.au

Hardware Gallery continues 2010 with more solo shows opening over coming months and the next one is a special one.  Sydney Artist Jessica Geron will feature with an impressive body of work across both gallery spaces, the culmination of several years work. The exhibition will be on display for previews from Tuesday 3 August during our normal hours. Then Join us for the opening and drinks with the artist on Saturday afternoon from 3 – 5 pm.

Opening Saturday 7 August 3-5 pm
Preview from Tuesday 3 August and Exhibition continues to 21 August 2010

Address
263 Enmore Road
Enmore NSW 2042

Contact
+ 61 2 9550 4595
info {at} hardwaregallery.com(.)au
www.hardwaregallery.com.au

Open
Tue – Sat 11am – 5pm
Closed Sun - Mon

Melbourne creative duo Nicholas Mesiano and Alistair Knight are launching their newest venture; a showroom full of exceptional, international, original vintage furniture, decorative art and objects.

More like a gallery than a store, ‘Nicholas and Alistair’ is housed in a stunning hundred-year-old warehouse on Melbourne’s city fringe.

Specialising in an eclectic mix of European Modern and American High-Style, ‘Nicholas & Alistair’ showcases a meticulously edited collection of interior objects – all personally sourced by the duo.

The pair is best known as owners of Mondo Trasho – a design institution in Melbourne for the past thirteen years.

“Mondo was an amazing experience, but we are excited about elevating to another level within the antique and design arena,” said Alistair. 

“Our clients are increasingly searching for pieces that are particularly extraordinary, and our years of experience in sourcing unique items from Europe and The America’s allows us to present this new point-of-view to the Australian market.”

Nicholas & Alistair is a destination experience for purveyors of beauty, quality and sophistication. 

The store is located at 387 Johnston Street, Abbotsford, and is open Thursday to Sunday – 11:00am to 5:00pm, (or by appointment).

www.nicholasandalistair.com

Head chefs Jacinta and Monica Cannataci will now go into battle with ten other pizza and pasta experts from around Australia at the National Finals in September, hosted in Melbourne.

Get thee down to Hugo’s
Catch the sultry sounds of Jo Fabro singing the live jazz and soul on tonight night while enjoying the glass of wine and pizza deal for $10.  Plus, enjoy a free bottle of Prosecco when booking a table at Hugos Bar Pizza for 4 people or more during July to celebrate the popular spot’s 6th birthday.

 Check out more at www.hugos.com.au   

33 Bayswater Road Kings Cross
02 9357 4411  

www.hugos.com.au   
info {at} hugos.com(.)au

Studio 20/17 Presents ‘The world is a circle we live in – excerpts of experience’ work by Roseanne Bartley in conjunction with the Sydney Design 2010 Festival.

Studio 20/17 in Sydney’s Waterloo hosts this exciting exhibitions as part of the Sydney Design 2010 program. The exhibition showcases the work of contemporary Australian jewellery artist, Roseanne Bartley.

Roseanne Bartley

Melbourne based jewellery designer Roseanne Bartley will showcase her new exhibition of works titled ‘The world is a circle we live in – excerpts of experience’ at Studio 20/17 from the 27th July – 8th of August.

Design enthusiasts can expect to see contemporary jewellery pieces made from elements such as plastic spoons, tennis balls, tin lids, pull rings and bottle lids “My jewellery is produced from materials left behind, discarded and dismantled” says artist Roseanne Bartley. The materials Roseanne collects reveal aspects that are unique about a place or a person. Roseanne’s method of collecting is a process called ‘surface archaeology,’ a method that enables her to observe, survey and gather material from sites in her neighbourhood. “My front gate, local parks, streets and waterways namely the Merri Creek” states artist Roseanne Bartley. Running for two weeks, patrons in Sydney will have the opportunity to view Roseanne’s exclusive exhibition and purchase her one-off, handmade pieces.

Studio 20/17:
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm Sunday 11- 4pm
Unit 6b 2 Danks St Waterloo
Ph: (02) 9698 7999

ABOUT STUDIO 20/17

The studio opened in January 2008 and showcases work by Australian and International contemporary jewellery artists. 20/17 provides the opportunity for both emerging and established artists to exhibit their work within the largest context of an established contemporary arts environment. It is a place where design lovers can interact with the creator of the work, purchase pieces or just admire the art. Studio 20/17 aims to increase the profile of the applied arts within the broader contemporary art arena.

www.studio2017.com.au

“Brooding, unkempt, and effortlessly cool,” is how Elias jewellery designer, Christianna Heideman, describes her dream man. “He’s into live music (hell, he’s in the band), he’s creative, a bit of a nomad and he’s a mad skater,” she adds, before admitting this mythical man played muse for her latest ‘Black Raven’ collection. “I haven’t found him yet, so I thought I may as well create him,” she smiles.

This season, the Elias man is layering up with necklaces, wrist bands and rings featuring crucifixes, crests, bullet shells and whitty musical references. “More is definitely more; these pieces are designed to be worn together,” says Christianna. With a tough palette of gunmetal, black and sterling silver, the cool, urban collection features raw black agate, black suede and leather, authentic bullet shells and nickel plated brass. Key pieces include a quirky knuckle duster tape deck ring, sterling silver chain link rings, a chunky agate bracelet and moody, crucifix necklace.

Priced from $70 to $160, ‘Black Raven’ by Elias will strike a chord with fashionable fellas.

www.damselfly.com.au