Max your summer in Sydney

If you've ever wondered what would happen if a kid's drawing of their wildest dream utopia suddenly came off the page and into real life, you're in luck, because that's pretty much what's happening right now beneath the Art Gallery of NSW.  Artist and professional disruptor Mike Hewson has taken over the weird subterranean world of The Tank with his one-of-a-kind new exhibition, Mike Hewson: The Key's Under the Mat, where for the first time ever, all the main lights in the normally pitch-dark Tank will be switched on, revealing a weird wonderland of interactive art pieces and play equipment that have to be seen to be believed. We're talking: A steam room with stained glass windows that you can actually sit in, a functioning sauna with bespoke church pews, five actual operating public barbeques that you can cook on, rushing water to play in (seriously, bring your swimmers), a working laundry,  and a free-to-use recording studio, plus a whole plethora of bright and delightful surprises that are all about getting community together, to do cool stuff, for free. Basically, break your imagination and delete all adult expectations. This is unlike anything we've ever seen.  Kids who aren't afraid of some risk are also one of Hewson's big targets with this show (although parents, rest easy, the floor is specially made out of recycled soft rubber that's rated for use in public playgrounds), with the space also home to a wild children's playground. Intrepid kidlets can test their...

Springtime in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs is marked every year by the heady scent of jasmine lacing the air, and gridlock on the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk. The reason for the uptick in coastal walkers? Sculpture by the Sea: the world’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition, which will light up the iconic coastal corner of the city until Monday, November 3. Stretching along the clifftop path from Bondi to Tamarama, the 27th edition features more than 90 sculptures from artists across 13 countries – including Japan, Denmark, China and India – and promises a spectacle of creativity set against those unbeatable ocean views. This year, 36 artists are exhibiting for the first time, with 64 Aussie artists on the line-up – reaffirming the event’s reputation as both a global showcase and a proud celebration of homegrown talent. The standout pieces this year include Siren’s Song by James Rogers (a conceptual piece which won the $70,000 Aqualand Sculpture Award), i by WA artist Jina Lee (which won the Waverley Council Mayor’s Award) and Splotcher by Archibald-winning artist Tim Storried AM. In a special milestone, Japanese artist Keizo Ushio is celebrating his 25th consecutive Sculpture by the Sea exhibition – a feat that places him firmly in the event’s Double Decade Club, alongside six other long-serving artists including Ron Gomboc, Stephen King and Philip Spelman. Two more Japanese artists, Koichi Ogino and Haruyuki Uchida, join the 'Decade Club' this year for their tenth...

The Art Gallery of New South Wales’ newest exhibition – Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890-1940 – spotlights 50 trailblazing females who were among some of the first to draw attention to the fact that women can make some pretty bloody great art too.  The speedy rate of industrialisation in the 19th century meant a major shift in European society. Artists used it as a chance to reject traditional themes like religion, and instead focused on fresh ways to portray individuals (in a time where it felt like machines were going to rule the world). Meanwhile, women used it as their ticket to pull a seat up at the table. The focus of the exhibition is specifically on our very own Australian and New Zealander artists who made the journey to Europe to immerse themselves in the modernist movement. Gallery-goers can peruse works from historic names like Nora Heysen, Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, and also witness the work of some lesser-known but equally important creatives like CL Allport, Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Featuring celebrated and rediscovered paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture and ceramics, the exhibition includes work by celebrated artists such as Nora Heysen, Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, alongside lesser-known but equally compelling figures such as CL Allport, Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Dangerously Modern’s run in Sydney spans all the way to mid-February so a hot (art) girl summer awaits. You...

Most of us know and love the whip-crackin’, brown-leather-pants-wearing character of Calamity Jane from her appearance in the 1953 movie musical of the same name starring Doris Day. This version of her sings like a Disney princess and has perfectly coiffed blonde hair, which is somewhat unrealistic for a woman who dressed in soldier’s uniforms in the 1880s, took responsibility for her six younger siblings, and could outshoot, outdrink and outswear any other man in her hometown of Deadwood, USA. Beloved Australian actor Virginia Gay’s interpretation of the famous Calamity irreverently, lovingly muddies up the too-perfect-movie-musical-version in a brand-new production that is positively stuffed with theatrical treats, now showing at the Opera House. It’s grimy, it’s silly, and the fourth wall is nowhere to be found. It’s also the biggest production since the original staging of this idea, which debuted in 2017 as part of the Neglected Musicals program at Hayes Theatre Co transforming Sydney Opera House’s studio theatre into a grand version of Deadwood’s Golden Garter saloon and theatre. The premise of Calamity Jane is this: Calamity is an unruly local of small-town Deadwood who rides with “Wild” Bill Hickok, and has a hopeless crush on second lieutenant Danny Gilmartin (despite her otherwise masculine appearance, Calamity is still very much a little emotional girl at heart). When the local theatre owner fails to secure a beautiful actress from New York, Calamity vows to...

Most people know a Suntory beverage. Maybe it’s the mega popular Minus 196 cans, the ultimate to-go Boss Coffee, the refined Roku Gin or premium Japanese whiskies. What we guarantee you *don’t* know is just how many popular labels it owns: think everything from Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark to Canadian Club. And now, you can experience more than 125 years of Suntory’s history and innovation all in one place – for the next three months. Say hello to Sydney’s new Suntory Bar. The Japanese spirit company has chosen the city’s only Japanese culture and dining precinct, Prefecture 48 on Sussex Street, as host for the residency. The moody Whisky Thief bar with gorgeous historic artwork and marbletop counters is the place to be when you clock off. Choose between timeless highballs, signature serves, special cocktails, RTDs, The Premium Malt beer and whisky flights crafted by the team at Prefecture 48 in collaboration with Suntory.  The must-try tipple of the affair is the Highball. While it’ll be dished up with a range of Suntory whiskies (it’s what Suntory’s known for in Japan), we say try the spotlight cocktail, the Hakushu Highball, first. Not only is it a refreshing mix of Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve, soda and mint, but it’s been paired with an exclusive snack from the genius Michelin Star chef Tetsuya Wakuda (you know, from *the* Tetsuya’s). Now’s the chance to sample Wakuda’s cuisine since his eminent Sydney restaurant closed last year – that’s a golden opportunity if we ever...

There’s always a lot going on at Sydney’s favourite house. So much so that it can be hard to keep track – with new headliners dropping every other week, and huge events taking over the various venues seemingly out of nowhere.  Keen to go to a show under the sails over the next few months? We’ve rounded up a few top picks in the Sydney Opera House winter to spring season:  Badu Gili: Healing Spirit, a stunning illumination of the sails This dynamic projection will light up the Eastern Bennelong sails with First Nations artwork five times a night, every night until Friday, December 12.Dates: DailyTickets: Free Backstage tours, a peek behind the curtain Explore the inner workings of Australia's most famous buildings on one of these expert-led tours. Dates: DailyTickets: From $48 On The Steps, open-air summer shows The magical On The Steps open-air performance program is set to bring 50,000 music lovers to the Opera House forecourt for two magical weeks this summer. Highlights from this year’s line-up include Franz Ferdinand, Loyle Carner, Parcels and Boy & Bear. Dates: From December 2 - December 15Tickets: From $81.50 Gatsby at the Green Light, Martini-fuelled cabaret Back by popular demand, Gatsby at The Green Light is as close as you’ll come to West Egg without leaving the country. The raucous interactive show will transform the Studio into a 1920s inspired nightclub once again, complete with fully functional bar. Think of this production as a sort of live concept album –...

Need a new profile pic? We’ve got you. One of the world’s biggest immersive experiences has landed in the Harbour City – serving up a fun, surreal backdrop for your Instagram grid glow-up . Bubble Planet: An Immersive Experience is open now at Paddington Pavilion, Sydney Olympic Park, offering Sydneysiders a transporting, ultra-Instagrammable experience. Already experienced by more than two million visitors around the world, with sell-out runs in Milan, Los Angeles, London and Brussels, Bubble Planet is a fantastical world of optical illusions, cutting-edge virtual reality experiences, giant bubbles, and next-level immersive projections. Visitors to the Sydney site can expect to embark on a dreamlike journey through more than 10 otherworldly rooms, home to giant bubble domes, LED underwater-style wonderlands, selfie hubs and VR dreamscapes.  Almost 10,000 tickets were sold ahead of the official opening, so we expect this one will be another sell-out run for the people who brought the incredible immersive Van Gogh experience to Sydney back in 2020. Session at this bizarre immersive world run for between 60-90 minutes, and the experience is suitable for people of all ages – with kids under four welcomed in for free. Keen? You can learn more and snap up tickets over here.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, things to do and travel inspo, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Want more activity inspo? Here’s what’s on in Sydney this...

If you’ve ever wanted to get seriously close to a Sumatran tiger (without there being a terrible ethical or safety problem in the way), now is your chance. Tiger Trek is an experience that's free (included in the cost of your Taronga Zoo tickets). Attendees are invited to get into a flight simulator that takes them (very quickly) from Mosman to the Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra. Upon landing, you travel through an Indonesian-inspired village, meandering down a path past village shops and through a rainforest that looks uncannily like you’re in Indonesia. At the end, you'll get the chance to meet the three Sumatran tigers who were born at Taronga Zoo in 2019, as well as their beautiful mother, father, uncle and grandmother.  With only 350 Sumatran Tigers left in the wild, these tigers are incredibly important. Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, but as seen through Tiger Trek, all is not lost. Deforestation in Indonesian rainforests has decreased by 75 per cent since the folks over at the zoo began monitoring it in 1990. There has been a steady increase in the consumption of sustainable palm oil worldwide, with shoppers far more aware of the devastation caused by unsustainable palm oil harvesting than ever before. It's easy to feel helpless when it comes to this stuff, which is why one of the coolest parts of Tiger Trek is Choice Mart – this end room of the trek has been built to look like a supermarket check-out, complete with interactive touch screens that...

No Lights, No Lycra is an afterwork activity unlike any other. Beloved by its loyal followers for decades, this pitch black anonymous dance class is all about two things: total and unfettered freedom and the chance to seriously, seriously dance.  With locations all over the world, No Lights No Lycra has been bringing sweet tunes, sweat and a total lack of inhibition to people who are keen to boogie like nobody’s watching them for years. And for interested Sydneysiders, opportunities to let loose in the pitch dark are plentiful.  How does it work? You arrive (solo, or with whoever you want to bring as your anonymous dancing companion), enter a community hall, and dance for a good hour and a half to absolute bangers. The catch? It’s so dark you can’t see your feet.  The joy of this dance class is that it cuts out all the surface bullshit of judgement and fear and leaves space just for you, your joy and time for you to move your body in a way that thrills you, and you alone. In Sydney, there are weekly classes going down in Bondi, Newtown, Parramatta and Sutherland – plus a whole lot more. You can find out all the details of your closest local event by just typing in your location into their online interactive map.  Tickets generally seem to cost around the $10 to $15 mark for an hour or so, which feels pretty worth it to us, and you can book online through your location (which can be found using the aforementioned map). Forget Saturday nights and 79 tequila shots. No Lights...

Following a record-breaking 2025 event, Sydney Writers' Festival has announced that it’s switching things up – bringing a series of literary events to Sydney’s State Library throughout the year. Launching this September, the program will feature more than 70 events, with headline speakers including game-changing activist and former Greens leader Bob Brown, plus a range of beloved Aussie authors including Hannah Kent and Michelle de Kretser. Backed by $1.5 million in funding from the NSW Government, the year-round program is the first stage in what Minister for the Arts John Graham has described as “a comprehensive strategy to support the writing and literature sector,” which “aims to boost the writing industry in NSW, and strengthen the cultural heartbeat of our city.” Alongside the series of talks, workshops and readings (which kick off on September 18, with more events yet to be announced), the partnership between Sydney Writers’ Fest and the State Library will see a dedicated literature hub brought to life within the library – creating opportunities for more Sydneysiders to connect with books and storytelling. The initiative will also work to support emerging writers in NSW, with the Festival CEO Brooke Webb citing the shared aim to “champion more writers, inspire readers, and nurture vibrant literary communities across NSW.” Why now? According to Sydney Writers’ Fest, overall book sales are higher now than pre-2020, with 73 per cent of people aged under 30 reading for...