Carriageworks have revealed a dynamic program for 2018 and its going to be huge with the season spanning contemporary art, dance, performance, music, screen, food and ideas. The Artistic Program will support 690 artists and will present 70 projects, including 10 world premieres, 17 international works and 17 new Australian commissions.
From January Carriageworks will introduce 10 new food events, including masterclasses, live cooking demonstrations and a continuation of The Night Market series, presenting Australia’s very best chef’s and producers.
2018 opens with a large-scale, site-specific installation and commission by Carriageworks of renowned German artist Katharina Grosse. From 5 January until 8 April as part of Sydney Festival, Grosse’s immersive installation will take a month to create as the artist fills Carriageworks, with eight thousand metres of material woven and suspended from the building’s unique industrial architecture.
The Horse Trotted Another Couple of Metres, Then it Stopped will be a work of immense scale and kaleidoscopic colour that represents the world premiere of new work by one of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists.
From 3 – 28 July, leading Japanese contemporary artist Ryoji Ikeda will return for his third major installation at Carriageworks. Ikeda will present Micro Macro – a large scale, immersive sound and light work that sits at the intersection of art and quantum physics.
Rounding out the major contemporary art projects for 2018, acclaimed American visual artist Nick Cave will return to Carriageworks in November to present Until – the largest scale project that Carriageworks has presented. Until is comprised of thousands of found objects and millions of beads, giving the feeling of stepping inside one of Nick Cave’s iconic sound-suits. Until will be free to the public and include an expansive public performance program throughout its five-month presentation from 23 November 2018 until March 2019.
On 2-3 February, Resident Company Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) will present The Backstories, a solo performance from Moya Dodd. Dodd was selected as one of the Matildas at age 19 and represented Australia on the world soccer arena for almost 10 years. Dodd has been described as the most powerful Australian in World Football, is one of the first women on FIFA’s Executive Committee and a global advocate for gender equality in football. Throughout 2018, CAAP will also present four Long House events, a combination of talks, masterclasses, workshops and performances from artists with a shared interest in exploring Asian Australian themes through contemporary performance.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebrates their 40th Anniversary at Carriageworks from 24 – 25 February, with Black Nulla Cabaret as part of Koori Gras presented by Resident company, Moogahlin Performing Arts; Sissy Ball a one night only choreographed Vogue-ing ball with a nod to New York’s underground Ballroom scene; and a series of thought-provoking talks and forums exploring queer thinking.
Sydney Chamber Opera will present the world premiere of a new chamber opera that unfolds as a “slow-motion panic attack” based on a real-life phenomenon of the weeks following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Presented from 28 March until 7 April, The Howling Girls is a collaboration between composer Damien Ricketson, director Adena Jacobs and renowned soprano Jane Sheldon. Featuring a chorus of young girls, The Howling Girls is about five teenage girls who presented separately to hospitals in New York with identical symptoms: they couldn’t swallow, and believed that some debris from the destruction had lodged in their throats.
The Sydney Writer’s Festival will be presented at Carriageworks for the first time from 30 April until 6 May, bringing together writers from across Australia and around the world.
Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia returns to May 14 – 19 for the sixth consecutive year, bringing with it innovative designer brands and emerging talent, exclusive runway shows and industry style sessions.
Open Frame on 28 – 29 June will feature a line-up of international and Australian experimental artists that operate at the edge of contemporary sound practice. Presented by Carriageworks and ROOM 40 and curated by composer and artist Lawrence English, the 2018 event will feature a new commission from Eliane Radigue (FR) and a performance from Charlemagne Palestine (USA).
From 29 June to 5 August, Carriageworks and Resident film production company, Felix Media, will present a major new commission: a moving image work for the New Normal, Carriageworks’ National Disability Strategy, by Amy Amos Gebhardt and Dan Daw which examines the language of connection between spaces and the place of humanity in the natural world.
To celebrate NAIDOC week, on 5 July, Carriageworks and Koori Radio will present Klub Koori. The program will bring together leading Indigenous musicians presented alongside emerging talent.
Carriageworks and Resident Company, Sydney Chamber Opera will co-present Resonant Bodies, bringing together adventurous vocal artists over two days from 31 August until 1 September. First held in New York City in 2013, the Australian iteration showcases Swedish-Ethiopian composer-improviser Sofia Jernberg, Indonesian experimental vocalist Rully Shabara and luminous New York soprano Ariadne Grief joining SCO favourite Mitchell Riley, with new music royalty Deborah Kayser and local rising star Sonya Holowell for a unique demonstration of the breadth and range of the contemporary voice.
Building on the success of previous editions, Australasia’s international art fair Sydney Contemporary will return on 13-16 September featuring leading Australian and international exhibitors complemented by a curated program of talks, performances and events.
Curated by Hetti Perkins and Jonathan Jones, the Black Arts Market returns on 6 – 7 October to present the strength and diversity of south-east Australian Indigenous arts practice. The market attracted over 10,000 visitors in 2016, and will provide a unique opportunity to engage with artists and acquire new works.
Sydney Dance Company will present the fifth edition of New Breed, commissioning Australia’s most innovative choreographers to create new work with members of the Sydney Dance Company. New Breed will be presented from 29 November until 8 December and is made possible by The Balnaves Foundation.
On 4 December, Ensemble Offspring will present Lone Hemispheres, a program of striking, interdisciplinary music across all forms from seminal chamber music to free improvisation. Based in Sydney, Ensemble Offspring is led by acclaimed percussionist Claire Edwardes and has premiered over 200 works in its 20-year history.
Throughout the year the Carriageworks Farmers Markets will continue to present the very best seasonal and artisan produce and, in 2018, will introduce a program of cooking masterclasses and events in collaboration with Australian and international guest chefs in partnership with Smeg Australia. The seasonal Night Markets will be making a come back and a special food series will be hosted together with renowned Copenhagen-based restaurant Noma’s initiative Mad will be presented in April and July.
To check out more information head to www.carriageworks.com.au
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