We’re counting down to the annual Sydney event, the Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art, which this year runs from the 18th to the 28th of October.
Presented by Performance Space and held at Carriageworks, this 10 day festival showcases many new works from artists right though Australia and Asia Pacific. Jeff Khan, CEO and Artistic Director of Performance Space, describes the festival a “performance of a kind you won’t see anywhere else, where the audience is an essential part of the journey, and the artists are really breaking the boundaries of traditional art forms.”
In anticipation, we have curated a list of reasons why you can’t miss this exciting event.
1. International works
Liveworks Festival has many works from artists all over Pacific Asia – Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, something for everyone.
For music loving people there is 100 Keyboards, a Sydney premiere by Japanese sound artist Asuna, where he brings a captivating and site-specific listening experience to the streets.
For dance fans, there is Infinity Minus One, a new work choreographed by Taiwan’s Su Wen-Chi explores our place as humans in the vast scale of cosmic time and space. It was created during her time at CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research), the piece is a fusion of science and performance, and features music from Indonesian group Senyawa.
2. Conversations
Whether you are an artist, arts worker or simply just curious, Liveworks Conversations will offer insights into the ideas and processes behind the works of the festival. Artists get to share and exchange ideas and stories, we well as discussing and reflecting on works, theories, inspirations and influences.
3. Local works
Not only does Liveworks Festival feature international arts, it is also a platform to showcase local art. Some of these local works include:
Working With Children by Melbourne based performance artist, writer, director and dramaturg Nicola Gunn is a Sydney premiere. Working With Children explores the moral and ethical minefield of working with children and the moral ambiguities it raises.
In Circles Of Fire: The Amphitheatre, by Sydney-based interdisciplinary artist and kidney-transplant survivor John A Douglas, explores the transformative experience of chronic illness, treatment and recovery using video installation, virtual reality, and live performance.
4. Workshops
Attend workshops and get hands on with the artists, educators and collaborators that help make Liveworks happen. You can learn theories and practical skills to apply to your own work and meet other like minded people.
5. A late night line up
Liveworks not only features a colourful day program but also contains a vibrant night lineup! Day for Night is the Liveworks’ night celebrations of the LGBTQI community. It provides an eclectic mix of art and music in the day, morphing into a hedonistic celebration of queer art, culture and music at night that features trailblazing senior artists alongside a new generation of performers, DJs and troublemakers.
Expect colourful works such as: Pearls of Wisdom, by Sydney performance artist Glitta Supernova drawing on feminine archetypes, queer family lineage and ancestral and cellular memories; and The Divine Game, by Rhada La Bia – the diva from India with her unique combination of durational cooking, performance and storytelling.
Presented by Performance Space and held at Carriageworks, the Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art, runs from the 18th to the 28th of October. For more information and the full program click here.
