Community music initiative The Sound Doctor will stage three consecutive headline shows at the historic Anglesea Memorial Hall over Melbourne Cup weekend. Queenie, Telenova and Budjerah are booked for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Founder Dr David Corbet says the support acts are a highlight, giving emerging artists a chance to perform for attentive audiences. Fremantle singer-songwriter Banjo Lucia opens for Queenie, Melbourne duo Wishlist opens the Saturday night show, and local act Wild Gloriosa joins Budjerah on Sunday. Tickets are available through The Sound Doctor website.
A new recording studio and performance space has opened at Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre in Fremantle. The Mayakowa studio and Malo performance space are designed for community members, emerging artists and creatives, including those new to music and performance. The $1.26 million project was funded by the Australian Government, with the City of Fremantle operating the facilities. Its first artists are supported by a $90,000 sponsorship from Fremantle Community Bank. Booking details will be released soon.
Artworks priced from $99 to $12,000 will be shown at the 2026 Packsaddle Exhibition at NERAM in Armidale. All money raised goes directly to the gallery. Volunteers select works from Sydney galleries and individual artists and printmakers. Packsaddle coordinator Moira Lloyd says the exhibition offers art for every budget and gives emerging artists a professional showcase. Over the past 40 years, Packsaddle has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the gallery and helped fund more than 50 acquisitions for its permanent collection.
AU Now app
Your suburb’s news, alerts and Shorts — in one app
Alerts, Shorts and your saved stories — free on Google Play.
Platform Arts, based in Geelong, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a special exhibition. Former participants say the organisation helped launch their careers without them having to leave the region. Mural artist and painter Eden Ariston joined in 2022 and later became its venue coordinator. Clothing and costume designer Lazarus Gordon said the organisation opened doors for work in a field with few opportunities locally. The 30 Years of Platform Arts exhibition runs from 22 October to 12 December.
An art event called ARTPARK will take over a car park on Nangari Street in Canberra on Saturday 17 October, from 7.30 pm. Organisers Claudia Hunt and Riley Curtain say the event features 25 creatives across three floors, with art installations, an exhibition space and a dance floor with live music and DJs. The founders run MOONLIGHTING, a small project that pays emerging artists and helps them sell their work. Both organisers say the event is aimed at artists as much as the public.
Shadows, a nightclub, bar and live music venue in Civic's Sydney Building, has closed its doors. Owner Andrew Heaney took over the former Sideway space in July 2024 and ran it for just over two years. He said the venue was built to give new bands, promoters and performers a chance on stage. Heaney said his only regret is that it could not run longer, and he hopes young people will pursue their goals. He also raised concern about ongoing Civic construction affecting access to the city. The Shadows team is working to secure new venues for upcoming bookings.
Melbourne-based artist Fiona O'Byrne has won the $50,000 Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture with an oil-on-linen painting of her 20-year-old daughter. Titled Luci, now, the work shows her daughter seated on a stool with a neutral expression. Judges praised the softness and tenderness of the portrait and its unlaboured handling of paint. Perth-based Yasamin Khadembashi won the $10,000 Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize for her two-metre self portrait Immoral Warrior. The prize received more than 1,100 submissions this year. The 40 finalist works are on display at WA Museum Boola Bardip until November 29.
