by Kylie Eastley
Last
night I felt the first glimpse of excitement at the prospect of
hitting Sydney to see my first Biennale. Today I left a grey rainy
Hobart and arrived to a warm, shiny and sunny city that seemed to
buzz with energy. Or perhaps that was just me.
It was
not only me experiencing the euphoria. I am joined by fellow writers
Steph Cahalan and Lucy Wilson; all of us leaving our family and work
commitments behind to throw ourselves on the Biennale sword. To see,
experience and try to share a little of this with you.
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| Steph and Lucy |
It was
a chore to find accommodation as the Sydney to Surf is on
Sunday and hotels are pretty well booked out. Many hours on the
internet and sending emails had been fruitless, until Steph finally
found The Australian Hotel in The Rocks. It would be remiss of me not
to write about this place, because it is bloody brilliant. It is an
old style pub, and as I write at around 10pm, there is a lot of noise
coming from the crowd below. But it is really close to everything;
has the most ornate breakfast room, lounge area and even an outside
terrace with a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Not bad hey?
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| The Breakfast Room |
Once
settled, and having thrown off the Tasmanian attire for more suitable
Sydney wear, we made our way to the Museum of Contemporary Art. This
really was an opportunity to have a first glimpse at what was on
offer. The MCA has provided a range of opportunities for visitors to
not only view the art works but interact through workshops, seminars
and tours. In the few hours we wandered the galleries the staff were
incredibly obliging and informative about artists, exhibitions and
other opportunities. There seems to be a strong desire to involve and
include the public in this Biennale. Although, it has only been a few
hours and there is still so much to see.
Over the
coming days we will be posting numerous pieces about different works,
but also about how we respond individually. It's going to be a wild
and challenging ride at times, and already the discussion is hotting
up.
