ABLAZE WITH CULTURE

XX Mon. YYYY

I overheard a woman walking past in Crown St, Darlinghurst the other week saying, quite loudly and emphatically, "Sydney hasn't got any culture!"

I was quite shocked and disbelieving; does this woman live in a vacuum? An unbelievable array of cultural events is at our doorstep, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. Hundreds of people were milling about Circular Quay and around the MCA last Thursday night, literally gawking at the amazing light shows that make up VIVID.

Customs House and the MCA are particularly exciting examples of animated lighting wizadry, with the MCA being very time-focused, in respect of the major work The Clock, which formed part of the new hang. So glad I managed to catch at least a few hours of this astounding cinematic masterpiece. There have been some excellent reviews of the work in various publications including the SMH and The Australian, so I won't go into detail here except to say that if it ever shows again I want to attempt to see the whole 24hrs worth. It IS that good.

VIVID has another 4x nights to go so if you've not seen any of the light displays yet then get out there! Some have said that the Opera House sails were disappointing this year; I found the work beautifully subtle and an excellent foil for the more outlandishly colourful pieces adorning Customs House and MCA.

This year the lightworks extend right round from the Opera House to Walsh Bay. And Walsh Bay is where you will find Garry Stewart's Be your Self, an astonishing piece of contemporary dance theatre. My partner and I, and many others in the audience last Saturday night, walked out of that performance gob-smacked. He said it felt like being on an acid trip! On every level it was a truly breath-taking performance.

The score was thrilling, comprising in the first 20 minutes or so a rapid-fire monologue of scientific data describing the human self. The minimal and surprising set was a perfect complement to the dance, which progressed from confrontational and sometimes violent expression through rythmic gymnastics and staccato procession to a very measured exploration of the individual parts that comprise a human body. The whole preformance was totally mesmerising and quite transformative.

The Head On Photographic Festival has just completed its run to great acclaim, with over 100 exhibitions around town and now the Redlands Westpac Art Prize has opened at the National Art School Gallery in the old East Sydney Technical College. It was formerly shown at the Redlands School and then Mosman Art Gallery. I stumbled across this wonderful show quite by accident this morning and took advantage of the spare hour I had to take it all in.

A very diverse show, the exhibition brings together works by those already well recognised in their fields, including Rodney Pople with a lovely triptych on Martin Sharp and Ben Quilty with a portrait of his Dad, together with some exciting and fascinating works by lesser known contemporary artists. It was guest curated by artist Lindy Lee and runs through until August 2nd. Definitely worth the effort.

No culture in Sydney? You're just not looking.