Top 10 Sydney Culture On this week 17/01/2021
Keep your solids down.
Virtual
5) Kamala Harris: How Will America’s New Vice President Wield Her Power?
19th January
What: Harris is poised to become the first woman, the first Black and the first person of Asian descent to be inaugurated vice president of the US. As she steps into the White House, millions of voters responsible for her win are asking challenging questions: will she emerge as a brave and powerful voice for the nation’s most vulnerable? Or will her embrace of the political centre limit her impact? Looking ahead to the next four years, the panel – including Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic Margo Jefferson and Guardian West Coast political reporter Maanvi Singh – will discuss the opportunities Harris will have to drive policy change and inspire a new generation of leadership, and the hopes, obstacles and anxieties that accompany her rise to vice president.
Why: If we’re all going to be forced to be invested in US politics, we might as well do so with a degree of depth.
4) Ambush Comedy
20th January
What: Ambush Comedy is on ZOOM! Join Lucas Connolly, David Piccolomini, and Brittany Cardwell for stacked lineups of top comics from NYC and beyond. This week’s lineup features: Josh Johnson (Comedy Central’s The Daily Show), Kate Willett (Netflix), Courtney Maginnis (Comedy Central), Mic Nguyen (Asian Not Asian podcast), Joe Larson (America’s Got Talent, FOX) and Isabel Hagen (Fallon).
Why: A Fallon alum and a Got Talent contestant on a Zoom comedy show; because sometimes you need reminding that your life isn’t as pathetic as it could be.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Ambush-Comedy-(Sydney)/d0df74e0-56ca-11eb-833c-8d4622c61372
3) Uncertainty: An Existential Perspective
18th January
What: Among the various contemporary psychotherapeutic models, the existential approach emphasises the inevitability of uncertainty. The openness of existence alerts us to the awareness that, at any moment, all prior knowledge, values, assumptions and beliefs regarding self, others and the world in general may be “opened” to challenge, reconsideration or dissolution. Paradoxically, existential therapy argues that uncertainty remains a constant given of human experience rather than reveal itself to be just an occasional and temporary consequence arising out of unusual circumstances. If existential thought is correct in this view, what might it have to tell us about the practical aspects of working with uncertainty? In these uncertain times, join Professor Ernesto Spinelli for a workshop concerning the particulars of existential thought.
Why: It’s time you updated your soapbox rhetoric, or else people will think you’re losing your lack of charm.
2) Virtual Stargazing: Tour of the Moon
22nd January
What: Take a closer look at various surface features of the Moon in this interactive session! The view will include the craters, maria, mountains and highlands, and much more!
Why: Staring at anything other than the earth right now seems preferable.
1) Shinto, Nature, and Impermanence: The Puzzle of the Ise Shrines
22nd January
What: Japan’s most famous sacred site is a pair of shrines in Ise that have been ritually rebuilt every twenty years for over twelve centuries. The shrines at Ise are often seen to embody the essential features of Shinto, Japan’s native creed, including a love of nature and acceptance of impermanence. Yet these are in fact modern ideas, unsupported by the historical record of Ise. Shrine priests and others have meticulously documented Ise for a millennium. These documents reveal a complex and eventful history, marked by war, natural disaster, and theft, as well as miracles and massive crowds of pilgrims. This presentation will introduce the history of Ise Shinto, explore the metaphors that have developed around the ritual rebuilding, and unpack some of the puzzles in the forgotten history of Ise.
Why: Fetishise Japanese art that’s over-age.
Real
5) Waverley Cemetery Tour
23rd January
What: Do you enjoy the coastal walk from Bondi to Bronte, marvelling at the monuments in Waverley Cemetery and wonder who is buried there? Experience a walking tour, led by Friends of Waverley Cemetery Volunteers. Waverley Cemetery is the resting place of many famous an infamous people including test cricketers, politicians, murder victims, authors, poets and criminals!
Why: Experience the height of housing envy.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Waverley-Cemetery-Tour/4c7d76a0-56cc-11eb-833c-8d4622c61372
4) Requiem: Rescript
17th January
What: Experience an immersive theatre piece that honours the loss of non-human life during the black summer fires and looks towards new beginnings. A ritual for living and ongoing connection. A muslin handkerchief. A knot to remember. A name. A loved one returned. Ash as rescript. Temporarily transporting ash from the land of her post-fire home Julie creates a space to honour the loss of non-human life during the black summer fires while acknowledging new beginnings.
Why: We can’t help but feel this art piece has already achieved its intent. There’s no greater honour in life than not being subjected to contemporary art theatre because you’re either dead or don’t possess the sentience to mentally process it or both.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Requiem:-Rescript/5d1338b0-56cc-11eb-833c-8d4622c61372
3) Snorkelling at Little Bay
19th January
What: Have fun experiencing snorkelling with marine biologist and expert instructor Will Jones from the Marine Discovery Centre. You’ll learn to use the equipment properly and learn effective snorkelling techniques while discovering and identifying the local marine life in the quieter waters of Little Bay. Look out for Angelfish, anemones and sea wrasse while you’re experiencing the diverse marine life in these protected reefs in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs. BYO snorkel and mask. Fins provided.
Why: Because under water, you don’t have to talk or listen to your children.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Snorkelling-at-Little-Bay/2f581170-56cc-11eb-833c-8d4622c61372
2) Four Pillars Laboratory: Gin Masterclass
23rd January
What: Welcome to the Four Pillars Laboratory! Experience some gin tasting fun!This masterclass is about learning a little and laughing a lot. You will be regaled with the stories behind the brand, the history of gin and goodness knows what else.
Why: Die of consumption, not infection.
1) Tin Sheds Gallery Exhibition: Thresholds
21st January
What: Thresholds presents recent collaborative work by Sydney-based artists Julia Davis and Lisa Jones. The exhibition, curated by Claire Taylor, explores ideas of transience and place. Thresholds invites visitors to reimagine layers of the built environment under Sydney’s CBD and contemplate the passing of time in both human and geological time-scales.
Why: An art exhibition just esoteric enough that you don’t have to go to another art exhibition for at least another three months and still ride the feeling of intellectual superiority over your friends and loved ones.
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