Top 10 Melbourne Culture On this week 09/02/2020
Serenity now!
10) Pleasure: Valentine’s Day ‘Art Celebrates Love’
14th February
What: In this Valentine’s Day talk, Pleasure co-curator Julian Goddard asks three artists about the role that love plays in their work.While love and the experience of beauty often go unnoticed in contemporary art, this will be a chance to look closer into artworks and draw out some of the more optimistic and joyous expressions of deep feelings for others – and ourselves – and the world around us.
Why: In defence of the audience of contemporary art, if we were to acknowledge the role that love plays in the work of contemporary artists, the illusion of the intellectually superior artist who isn’t in any way dependent upon our adoration to feed their raging egos would shatter and they’d have no audience. They can’t have it both ways.
9) Chicago: The Musical
9th-23rd February
What: Don’t miss Chicago starring Natalie Bassingthwaighte as Roxie Hart, Alinta Chidzey as Velma Kelly and Casey Donovan as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton’. Created by the musical theatre talents of John Kander, Fred Ebb and legendary choreographer Bob Fosse, CHICAGO’s sexy, sassy score includes “All That Jazz” and “Razzle Dazzle”.
Why: Remember those times when media savvy and fame would excuse rampant criminality? Good thing we’ve matured as a society.
https://on.com.au/search/search?parentId=9127b0a0-9476-11e9-b14f-a713526e5192
8) Animus Gin Masterclass
13th February
What: Come and learn all about craft Australian gin from the team at Animus Distillery. The distillers or as they like to call themselves Spirit Geeks, will take you through their entire range of gins and immerse you in the Animus story. Come and enjoy this fragrant spirit at the relaxed Garage Wine Store & Bar.
Why: One of the very few types of self-titled geeks who actually want you to participate in their ‘thing’.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Animus-Gin-Masterclass/8c714190-492d-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
7) Wild Beer and Cheese at Slowbeer
13th February
What: Another year, another stellar lineup of wild beer & cheese focused events! The first edition for 2020 teams Ellie & Sam Studd (The Studd Siblings) with Northside pals, 3 Ravens. Enjoy a selection of recent Wild Ravens & Nat Rav releases, expertly paired with some of Ellie & Sam’s favourite picks in the Will Studd Select range of cheeses.
Why: Cheese-induced constipation or alcohol-induced faecal incontinence. Which one will win?
6) Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art (Premiere Screening)
14th February
What: Banksy’s creativity has made him one of the most famous cultural icons of the modern era. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. Some of his most famous works include ‘Cardinal Sin’, ‘The Drinker’, ‘The Antics Roadshow’, ‘Fragile Silence’,’ Art Buff’, ‘Slave Labour’, ‘The Mild Mild West’, ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Bankrobber London’ among many others. This unofficial story of the man and the movement features interviews with Ben Eine (world-famous artist), Steve Lazarides (Banksy’s former right-hand man), John Nation (graffiti pioneer), Felix ‘FLX’ Braun (author & artist), Risk (renowned street artist), Ket (author & artist), Scape (author & artist), Will Ellsworth-Jones (Banksy biographer), Richard Jones (author & publisher), Simon Reynolds (pop-culture author) and Claire De Dobay Rifelj (art historian).
Why: See a film about the richest anti-consumerist since Pope Ratzinger.
5) Shakespeare Under The Stars: Twelfth Night
13th-29th February
What: Laugh yourself silly with: Sir Toby Belch – the man believed to have invented partying, Sir Andrew Aguecheek – dispossessed of any intelligence, Malvolio – a power hungry puritan who falls from a great moral height when pushed by Sir Toby, Maria – the housemaid who outwits Malvolio and housetrains Sir Toby, Viola – a shipwrecked girl who cross-dresses as a boy to get a job, Olivia – deeply grieving for her brother’s death refuses Duke Orsino’s overtures and rebounds by falling in love with the cross-dressed Viola, and Orsino – the lovesick Duke pining for Olivia, but seems to fancy Viola dressed as a boy! One of Shakespeare’s finest plays is given a wild makeover under the stars.
Why: A Shakespeare play with themes somehow more incendiary today than in the 1600s. How far we’ve progressed.
https://on.com.au/search/search?parentId=572a6290-38d0-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
4) Kiwi Fest
15th February
What: Kiwi Fest is a celebration of New Zealand culture, bringing together Melbourne’s Kiwi communities for a diverse festival of all things Aotearoa. Featuring live music from Kiwi acts, cultural performances and a range of traditional and artisanal food and drink (including a delicious array of craft beers) from and inspired by New Zealand’s world-renowned industry, Kiwi Fest will be an all-ages cultural event paying tribute to the Land of the Long White Cloud!
Why: For a brief moment, imagine what it’s like to exist as a culture that doesn’t present to the world as a balding over the hill bigot in a Hawaiian shirt lounging on a pile of cinders.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Kiwi-Fest-2020/8a533900-492c-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
3) Gene Kelly: The Legacy
13th February
What: Legendary actor, dancer, director and choreographer Gene Kelly brought astonishing grace and athleticism to the big screen – yet we know little about him. Patricia Ward Kelly – his wife and biographer – presents an intimate portrait of this dynamic and innovative artist who created some of the most memorable and iconic scenes in film history. This unique one-woman performance combines rare and familiar film clips, previously unreleased recordings, personal memorabilia, and insights culled from Kelly’s hours of interviews and conversations.
Why: Pay to see someone who screwed the person you really wanted to see. It’s the trashy economy of celebrity but culturally elevated because you have to put on pants to participate in it.
2) The National Sustainable Living Festival
9th-29th February
What: The National Sustainable Living Festival is not just an event, it is a movement of change-makers. Its mission is simple: accelerate the uptake of sustainable living and to seek solutions to global warming. With over 100,000 visits every year, the event is the largest sustainability festival in Australia — and not just in numbers, but also in impact. By showcasing cutting-edge solutions to ecological and social challenges, the Festival fosters and provides tools for the change we want to see and the difference we want to make in the world. Be part of the action — and join the sustainability movement with a month of workshops, talks, demonstrations, artworks, exhibitions, films and live performances. This year, they are shaking things up by featuring a new Climate Week program highlighting climate-focused events and exhibits in Melbourne and all across Victoria.
Why: We assume those 100,000 visitors each travel to the event via vehicles that don’t hurt mother earth. Individual go carts powered by their own sense of self satisfaction, for example.
https://on.com.au/search/search?parentId=ece757b0-438f-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
1) Jason Alexander ‘Master of His Domain’ Tour
12th, 13th, 14th & 15th February
What: Jason Alexander – Master of His Domain is an evening of comedy, music and conversation with the award winning star of stage and screen where you, the audience get to decide what’s let out of the vault. Alexander will present a variety of topics for the audience to pick and choose from, culminating in behind the scenes story of his life and his brilliant career. Ask him anything! In addition to his hit role on Seinfeld, he has starred on Broadway, has been nominated for six consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and appeared in hit films like Pretty Woman and Shallow Hal. He’s an actor, director, producer, writer, kids book author, award winning magician, semi-pro poker player and social/political activist. You’ll feel more inadequate than George Costanza once you’ve heard all the amazing things Jason Alexander has managed to achieve in his career. So don’t be a Costanza and get your tickets for this once in a lifetime event – it’s gonna be a Festivus for the rest of us!
Why: As you can see from the press release for the event, he’s clearly moved on from the Seinfeld days in terms of his career and his personal mental development.
https://on.com.au/search/search?parentId=7ed728c0-46bb-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
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