I’m a person who’s damn dependent on good weather. A bad day means I’m stuck in doors feeling mopey and downright shitty. But a smashing day like today has me skipping through the streets of inner-city Sydney tra la la la la.
And today was a fabulous day to do a bit of a walking tour, guided by the Sydney Equisse live sites (follow the big orange balloons, follow the big orange balloons). The Sydney Esquisse is a fabulous idea: scatter commissioned design and visual art around Surry Hills, in and amongst the cafes, bar and shops. I managed to cover half of the 40 sites and saw some great pieces of work in the determinedly artsy yet suburban setting that is Surry Hills.
The best part was probably the Clock Hotel (Crown St) in which I emerged to a group of 20 somethings all looking like the very funky “cutting edge” artsy students and designers that they probably are (people who are way too cool, and simultaneously sort of geeky, for me) spray painting a section of the pub. There was another place I went to tucked behind Oxford St (can’t remember the name but its next to Acetate Records) in which I commented to the guy (again, funky looking) how I would never have found the place if I hadn’t been directed here by the festival map. He commented that they avoided Oxford St and Crown St because they’d rather be a place for “people in the know,” which made me laugh and reply “well I’m glad I’m in the know now.”
As great an idea as this is (and by the way it ends on Sunday) how about a festival which is truly infused with the streets and places and people of Sydney? How about a festival that utilises the fact that every single place is imbued with meaning. Examine the events of the past that happened there, or people of the present occupying the space and their attachment to the place and their dreams for the future, or examine its relationship with other places etc. etc. and utilise that as inspiration for on site art/literature/music/film. But pieces which not only comment or represent the stories but actively attempt to create new meanings too.
