Returning to Sydenham Green on Saturday 19 August 2023, EDGE Sydenham is where art and community unite for a unique celebration of postcode 2044. Be immersed in a vibrant showcase of local creatives working across visual arts, performance, movement, live music and more.
Shining a spotlight on the Inner West as the cultural engine of Sydney, the festival will feature artists across all genres, having developed new work for Inner West audiences that celebrate the unique people, histories and architecture of Sydenham, Tempe and St Peters and the Inner West more broadly. Discover their work through creative installations, workshops and presentations. Plus, experience a hefty line up of emerging talent from the local schools of postcode 2044.
Ahead of EDGE Sydenham, be sure to check out EDGE Creative Trails Midjuburi happening the weekend prior, Saturday 12 - Sunday 13 August.
Banner image: Cameron Stanton, pictured as part of Tortuga Studio's GLITCH
Program Announcement
The EDGE Sydenham 2023 program is here! Check out the incredible line up creative activations that you can enjoy on Saturday 19 August at Sydenham Green, as well as some exciting activations in the lead up.
On stage, there will be performances from local artists Vinay Lunar, Meshky, Tempe High x Jeremy Rose, and local school performances. Around Sydenham Green, check out interactive art and workshops with Totem Skate Collective, Poppin Jack and Bunkwaa & Skulk, plus food and community stalls and much much more!
EDGE Sydenham 2023 Featured Artists
Tortuga Studios
SIDESHOW | a Cabinet of Curiosities
6:00pm - 8:00pm
A menagerie of the beautiful and the bizarre, SIDESHOW by Tortuga Studios draws deeply on the dustbowl era of the American Midwest. A multidisciplinary exhibition of the inner west’s leading industrial artists and performers, it pays homage to the striped mythology of the travelling show, and features rigged machines, tightwire tropes, cabaret clowns and carnies, all channelling a cultural alchemy that smells like old straw, cheap popcorn and spilled greasepaint.
Tortuga Studios website
Tortuga Studios Instagram
Tortuga Studios Facebook
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Keila Terencio
A Dance
2:10pm & 4:00pm Puppet-making workshop
2:25pm & 4:15pm Performance
Peacock spiders love to dance! The little bodies pulsate to the rhythm of every melody, every song played on the radio, every tune sang out loud. However, these dancers don't enjoy dancing alone. Join us as we follow the journey of a peacock spider searching for a dance partner. A Dance is a puppet show and workshop, designed for all ages, you will get an opportunity to make your own spider puppet and help our friend seeking its perfect rhythm.
No bookings are required, simply drop in on the day.
Concept and Producing: Keila Terencio
Puppet makers: Highly Strung Puppets
Creatives and Performers: Oliver Durbidge, Rudolf Hendrikx, Sam Lowbridge, Sammie Nicolaou, Thomas Hetherington-Welch.
Keila Terencio Instagram
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Clare Waton
The Shak on EDGE
12:00pm - 5:30pm, Basketball courts
The Shak celebrates the diverse and colourful textile industry that helped to create Sydenham through the eyes of the child artist. Participants 7-16yrs old are invited to collaborate with lead artist Clare Walton to design an installation inspired by the vivid and colourful textile industry to design and build their own village, sharing their idea of the workers homes, the factories, the tools and machinery used. Using locally sourced recycled timbers, pallets and fabrics they will build installations that share their idea of how this industry helped to create the community of Sydenham.
Bookings are required with limited spots available. Workshops will be happening at Sydenham Green from Thursday 17 August.
Book The Shak on EDGE via TryBooking
Clare Walton Instagram
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PeopleLab
Finding Art Workshop & Public Art Treasure Hunt
12:00pm - 5:00pm, Basketball court surrounds
Turn Sydenham into a giant outdoor art gallery with the power of white gallery labels at Public Art Treasure Hunt. You'll discover the bizarre, the beautiful and the unexpected with Canberra based artists PeopleLab who will equip you with a map, customised art labels, and a prize (a nice leaf)!
Key artists Claire Granata and Pablo Latona have been creating public space activations as PeopleLab since 2019. Their aim is to engage communities more deeply with their surroundings through playful engagements, mindful connections, and a good dose of silly fun.
No bookings are required for Public Art Treasure Hunt, simply drop in on the day.
Finding Art workshops will be happening at St Peters Town Hall on Sunday 13 August. Bookings are required with limited spots available.
Book Finding Art workshops via Humanitix
People Lab Instagram
People Lab Facebook
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Studio ARTES
Art is for Everyone
12:00pm - 6:00pm, Sydenham Green
Art is for Everyone is a transformative project that aims to break down barriers and redefine art's accessibility. Through interactive experiences, curated exhibitions, and diverse, multidisciplinary artistic expressions, they create an inclusive space where individuals from all walks of life can engage, connect, and find inspiration.
Studio ARTES is a not-for-profit organisation that provides creative programs and professional artistic development for adults with disability. They have worked both individually and collaboratively across a variety of mediums including painting, textiles, sculpture, photography, sound and video art in the creation of this work for EDGE Sydenham.
Art is for Everyone exhibition, as part of Creative Trails, will also be happening at Studio ARTES on Saturday 12 - Sunday 13 August.
Studio ARTES website
Studio ARTES Instagram
Studio ARTES Facebook
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Lou Steer
A Pocketful of Fierce Violets
1:00pm - 2:30pm, St Peters Library
Why Fierce Violets? We're no shrinking violets! Join outrageous performance group Fierce Violets backstage at the famous Pocket Playhouse. Watch amazing spoken word performers Lou Steer, Charles Freyberg and Paris Rosemont create a new show while vying to be the best, to the beats of Franky Valentyn’s music.
Performances will be happening at St Peters Library on Saturday 19 August. Bookings are required with limited spots available.
Book A Pocketful of Fierce Violets tickets via Eventbrite
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Sarah Kukathas and Patrick Cremin
Sydenham Searching
12:00pm - 8:30pm, Basketball court fence
Sydenham Searching is a visual exploration of Sydenham’s urban iconography through photography and painting. Artist duo Sarah Kukathas and Patrick Cremin live and work in Sydenham and have created a series of public works that depict glimpses of a suburb where industry, community and creativity collide on the edge of the Inner-West.
Kukathas and Cremin are an artistic duo based on Gadigal Land in Sydney. Their collaborative practice explores place, highlighting the icons of a city through visual glimpses, capturing the quiet chaos though photography and painting. Individually the artists have exhibited in various institutions across Australia and studied at UNSW Art and Design.
Patrick Cremin Instagram
Sarah Kukathas Instagram
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Si Yi Shen
Auspicious Beasts x Sydenham
12:00pm - 5:00pm, Sydenham Green
Auspicious Beasts x Sydenham is a series of welcoming Augmented Reality (AR) prototype sculptures created using site-specific material "collected" throughout Sydenham and the surrounding neighbourhood. This work is grounded in research investigating place and narratives. Unpacking the area's agricultural and industrial past, the artwork deconstructs and reconstructs the environment/objects that the artist captured during on-site creative research and walking sessions. Grab a self-guided map at EDGE Sydenham, and discover them all.
Si Yi Shen website
Si Yi Shen Instagram
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Tim Andrew
Colour in Sydenham
12:00pm - 5:00pm, Sydenham Green
Colouring books can be educational for children and popular with adults for relaxation and mindfulness practices. They make art-making easy and accessible. I employ our comfort with this medium to invite everyone to add to the colouring wallpaper, shifting the roles of the artist and audience. I feel the shared colouring wallpaper is a democratic act and I’d love nothing more than everyone to enjoy the experience together.
Tim Andrew is a Sydney-based Multimedia artist who works with the collection at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. He holds a Bachelor of Design and has a background in new media and art history. Tim's work includes murals and projection, sculpture, writing, and printmaking. He has exhibited his work in Australia, Asia, USA, and Europe.
Tim Andrew website
Tim Andrew Instagram
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Main Stage Program
12:05pm Welcome to Country
Auslan interpreted
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12:15pm St Peters Band
St Peters Public School band is a small, but dynamic ensemble comprised of students from Year 2-6. Under the direction of Greg Shapley, the SPPS band plays bespoke arrangements that cater to the variety of levels in the band. Today this ensemble will be playing two pieces: Seven Nation Army and Bad Moon Rising.
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12:45pm Tempe Primary Stage and Senior Band
Tempe Public School’s Stage band is a brass band with a jazz focus, comprised of students in year 4 to 6. Tempe Public School’s Senior Band will be performing this year with students from years 4 to 6 directed by Murray Jackson.
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1:45pm Tempe HSC Showcase
Cheer on the talented Tempe High students as they present a taster of the works they will be performing as part of their HSC exams! Catch them before they become the stars of tomorrow.
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2:15pm Tempe High Stage Band
Tempe High Stage Band is an audition entry group that provides an opportunity for band students to expand their repertoire and learn some jazz skills. They know the benefits of music on the brain, and the social benefits of creating music with other people. The band is conducted by Murray Jackson
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2:45pm Tempe High Wind Ensemble
Tempe High Wind Ensemble offers students the opportunity to gain experience learning and playing music together, and to mix socially across a broad range of age groups. The aim is to increase students' musicianship, provide opportunities for performances and to compliment the school curriculum. The Ensemble is conducted by Murray Jackson.
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3:15pm Tempe High Jazz Band X Jeremy Rose
The students of Tempe High will perform original compositions from local ARIA-nominated jazz saxophonist and composer Jeremy Rose.
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3:50pm Meshky
Auslan interpreted
Gypsy punk courted cabaret and the result was Meshky. A dalliance of interpretation and performance that dances with spontaneity best describes this eclectic troupe. From cannibalistic sodomites to lovable murdresses, see the unapologetic genreless show that is Meshky.
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4:50pm Vinny Lunar & Low Beams
Auslan interpreted
Vinny Lunar, the genre-blending artist, effortlessly fuses RnB, Hip-Hop, and South-Asian melodies, breaking stereotypes about South Asian identity. With roots in Hyderabad, India, and a multicultural upbringing in Australia, Germany, and Sweden, Vinny's music embodies his unique perspective. His latest EP "Chauffeur" with Low Beams blends Indian heritage with a modern twist. Keep an eye on this confident and unapologetic artist.
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5:50pm Mayor Speech
Auslan interpreted
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6:00pm Tortuga Studios: A Cabinet of Curiosities
A menagerie of the beautiful and the bizarre, SIDESHOW by Tortuga Studios draws deeply on the dustbowl era of the American Midwest. A multidisciplinary exhibition of the inner west’s leading industrial artists and performers, it pays homage to the striped mythology of the travelling show, and features rigged machines, tightwire tropes, cabaret clowns and carnies, all channelling a cultural alchemy that smells like old straw, cheap popcorn and spilled greasepaint.
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Sydenham Green Activations
Poppin Jack
Electric Slide
12:00pm - 6:30pm, Skate park
Electric Slide is an interactive Street Dance event for all ages. You can watch some of the best dancers in Sydney battle it out in a 1v1 dance competition, learn new moves at the free dance workshops, enjoy special guest performances, and have a boogie on the open dance floor.
There will be three free dance workshops, plus a 1v1 Dance Battle with eight invited guest dancers and an open preliminary round limited to 30 spots. The best eight making it through to verse the invited eight dancers in the top 16 round. The winner will receive a $500 cash prize! Alongside, experience showcases from guest judges and local young people.
Registration is required and will be available on the day from 12:00pm.
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TOTEM Skateboarding
Skateboarding workshops
12:30pm - 3:10pm, Skate park
Come along to join group skateboarding workshops with the TOTEM Collective! In a fun and inclusive environment, build the necessary physical, mental and emotional skills needed to use skateparks safely and keep injuries low.
Bookings are required with limited spots available.
Book TOTEM Collective skateboarding workshops
Image Credit: Matej Hakl. Photo: Haklography.
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Bunkwaa & Skulk
Skateboard painting and cartooning workshops
12:00pm - 2:00pm, Skate park
Local comic writer Bunkwaa and street artist Skulk will be on site for you to take part in exclusive drawing and cartooning workshops to plaster skateboards with graphics. Wooden skateboard decks and paint pens will be provided.
Bookings are required with limited spots available.
Book skateboard painting and cartooning workshops via Eventbrite
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Acapella Flashmob
12:00pm - St Peters Primary Choir
1:25pm - Tempe Public Choir
3:00pm - Tempe High Choir
At the corner of Henry St and Reilly Lane, join us for a series of pop-up performances by the choirs of postcode 2044! Singing your favourite songs these talented musicians will surprise and delight you with their acapella tunes!.
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 Circusworks
12:00pm - 5:30pm, Sydenham Green
Try your hand at some circus skills with the colourful, educational and fun Circusworks Playground!
No bookings required, simply drop in on the day.
Circusworks website
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Enquiries
For all EDGE Sydenham related enquiries, please contact events@innerwest.nsw.gov.au or phone (02) 9392 5000