Just two weeks after the Festival of Dangerous Ideas transformed Carriageworks into a palace of out-of-the-box ideas, Sydney’s multidisciplinary arts hub is opening up its doors to the largest and most diverse art fair in the country. Back for its eighth iteration, Sydney Contemporary is popping up at Carriageworks from Thursday, September 5 until Sunday, September 8. There’s a full four-day program of immersive stalls and installations to explore, as well as talks, performances, and a whole lot of incredible art ready to be claimed.
Alongside all the art (with more than 400 artists showcased by 85 emerging and established galleries from Australia and around the world), there’s an extensive event line-up to keep you entertained. The ambitious program includes engaging panel discussions, guided tours, educational workshops, after-dark parties, and a glittering VIP Program. The Fair has also partnered with some of Redfern’s best restaurants for its Art + Dine program – with very good dinners guaranteed within a ten minute walk of Carriageworks.
Our top picks from the Talk Contemporary program include So you want to be an artist? Building a creative career in 2024 (Friday, 6-7pm) featuring Laura Jones (the winner of this year’s Archibald exhibition), The Good Weekend Quiz: So You Think You Know About Art? (Saturday, 12-1pm) featuring the quizmaster himself Richard Glover, and Weave and Weft: Art and Fashion which is kicking off the program at 1.30pm on Thursday, September 5 with insights from Atong Atem, Lisa Havilah, Kaylene Milner and Darren Sylvester.
Curated by Talia Linz, Senior Curator at Wooloomooloo’s Artspace, this year’s Installation Contemporary program features a series of 12 major art pieces, including a 20-metre wide Skywalker Gibbon installation on the Carriageworks rooftop. The program will also feature thought-provoking works by APY Art Centre Collective, David McDiarmid and Mai Nguyen-Long (to name a few).
Gallery booth highlights for 2024 include Melbourne’s ACAE Gallery, Brisbane’s PARKER Contemporary and Perth’s Mossenson Galleries, along with an exhaustive selection of Sydney’s very best contemporary galleries including Chalk Horse, Arthouse Gallery and A Secondary Eye.
When the sun sets on Sydney Contemporary, the party starts – with a Campari bar serving on-point Negronis, and live music on the Friday night from three-piece jazz ensemble the Mike Nock Trio and electronic harpist Jake Meadows.
That’s just skimming the surface of what we can expect from this year’s event. You can explore the full program at sydneycontemporary.com.au.
Tickets for Sydney Contemporary start at $38 for a day pass (plus booking fee), $31 for concession tickets, $69 for Art Night, and $150 for Unlimited Access over the four days. Snap up your tickets over here.