The Sydney Film Festival has just wrapped up, and we were lucky enough to see four films across three of the venues involved this year – the State Theatre, Cremorne Orpheum and Randwick Ritz. So good to see cutting edge cinema in venues that also fill you with a great sense of the heritage and history of film. Given how well the festival is run, and the calibre of the movies on show, it’s no wonder SFF had its best ever audience figures.
End of financial year is fast approaching, so now is the time to make your tax-deductible donations! Did you know that our culture vouchers can be redeemed as donations? All you need to do is go onto our website, choose either Donate: Silver or Donate: Gold, and select your preferred organisation. We will donate the money in your name and send you the receipt for your taxes.
Finally, Creative Australia’s latest National Arts Participation Survey found that 60% of Australians cited cost as the biggest barrier to attendance, with fewer Australians giving their time and money to the arts than in 2019. (You can read more in Limelight.) Given that subscriptions or tickets to cultural events are a discretionary spend for most people, they are one of the first to go if cost of living pressure is too much. Our culture vouchers are one way to ensure people still have the opportunity to enjoy the arts! We’d love for you to get on board and buy our vouchers to give to your staff, customers, family or friends.
If you’d like more information about Giving Culture, contact us or sign up to our monthly emails at givingculture.com.au/contact. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn for other updates and posts on what’s happening at Giving Culture, and in the arts and culture scene in Australia.
Incognito Art Show
The Incognito Art Show Sydney kicks off next weekend at Carriageworks! With 20,000 original artworks by 15,000 mystery artists for just $100 each, it all begins at 8am on Saturday 27 June and runs until Sunday 5 July.
To see artworks before they get snapped up, visit during the Incognito Art Show’s viewing days from Wednesday 24 June to Friday 26 June.
Can’t make it in person? All artworks will be available for purchase online from Sunday 28 June, 6pm.
All profits go towards funding professional development programs for artists with disability, including Studio A, The Art Factory and Access Arts. Click here for opening hours and all-important details.
In preparation for this year’s exhibitions, you can redeem now for an Incognito Art Show – Gold Voucher or an Incognito Art Show – Silver Voucher.
Ensemble Offspring
A late addition to Ensemble Offspring’s season – Lone Hemispheres is back! At Carriageworks Sydney from 1:00pm on Saturday 1 August, experience a rare sonic universe where solos and electronics fuse in real time. Featuring Jason Noble, Lamorna Nightingale, Claire Edwardes and Véronique Serret, the program traces a sonic lineage from the pioneering Fairlight CMI to contemporary tools including Ableton Live and Max/MSP. Radical European and Australian works fuse acoustic virtuosity with richly layered electronics to create an expansive, boundary-blurring sound world.
Redeem your silver voucher now for two tickets for this “timeless and surreal” (ArtsHub) Ensemble Offspring program.
The Australian World Orchestra
The AWO’s Education Concert, A Time to Shine, is now on sale.
Presented in partnership with the Regional Youth Orchestra, the AWO Education Program offers emerging musicians the rare opportunity to work alongside some of Australia’s finest orchestral artists through tutorials, sectionals, and interactive Q&A sessions, providing invaluable insight into professional orchestral life at the highest level.
The program culminates in A Time to Shine, a special concert showcasing these talented young musicians as they take to the stage alongside AWO players. Together, they will perform two vibrant and contrasting masterpieces: Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 — works that both challenge and celebrate the ensemble’s collective artistry.
A Time to Shine
Saturday 22 August, 2:30pm
Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Book tickets online
And, don’t forget, redeem your Gold or Silver Voucher now for tickets to AWO’s upcoming concerts on 19 August at Arts Centre Melbourne, or 20 August at Sydney Opera House!
Australian Theatre for Young People
Unlock creativity during school holidays with ATYP’s fun, drama workshops for young people in Sydney, led by industry artists and designed to build acting skills, confidence and lifelong storytelling. Starting from 6 July, and running during both weeks of the holidays, a lot of the courses have sold out or are selling quickly, so get in now to save a spot!
Contact us at info@givingculture.com.au or on (02) 4872 4981 to find out how you can redeem your gold or silver voucher for credit towards these workshops.
Australian Chamber Orchestra
From Winter’s Stillness, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane from 25 July – 9 August
Out of winter’s calm comes a blockbuster concert experience.
Directed by Richard Tognetti, the ACO is joined by Nordic jazz visionary Arve Henriksen and vocal phenomenon Trio Mediæval in a luminous meeting of voices, textures and feeling.
From Winter’s Stillness draws you into a world shaped by the contrasts of quiet and energy, of intimacy and vastness. Featuring the music of Sigur Rós, Alfred Schnittke, and a world premiere by Oscar and Grammy-award-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (Tár, Chernobyl, Joker), this is a performance that moves between the ancient and the contemporary, traversing time and space in a journey to the majestic frozen North.
Redeem either an ACO – Gold Voucher or ACO – Silver Voucher to put towards tickets to ACO’s groundbreaking national tour.
Sydney Film Festival
That’s curtains on the 73rd Sydney Film Festival! See who took home the major awards at the 73rd Sydney Film Festival here – led by Minotaur, which won the Sydney Film Prize, accepted by director Andrey Zvyagintsev at our Closing Night award ceremony in-person. It was also announced on the night that SFF has increased its audience by 10%, and – for the second year in a row – it’s been the highest selling Festival in SFF’s history. Thank you Sydney for showing your love of cinema.
Melbourne Chamber Orchestra
Classical accordionist James Crabb joins Melbourne Chamber Orchestra next month to bring his unique flair to works by leading composers in Under the Canopy.
From the ornate beauty of Rameau and the bold invention of CPE Bach, to Gubitsch’s tango pulse and the raw soul of Scottish tradition, these works speak across time and place with one voice: expressive, searching, alive.
Aaron Wyatt offers a deeply moving portrait of the Australian landscape. Exploring themes of identity, Country, and connection to nature, his reflections ground the program in a powerful sense of place.
With Crabb in the spotlight, this concert promises a memorable journey through sound, land, and story, delivered with passion and imagination.
To secure tickets to Under the Canopy at Melbourne Recital Centre on either Thursday 9 or Sunday 12 July, redeem your Gold or Silver performance voucher now, or redeem Gold or Silver vouchers that go towards shows of your choice throughout the year.