Blog – 2016

New York highlights and favourite places: art, coffee, dance, food, running/walking, cocktails...

10 October 2016

I have just completed another fabulous walk-to-art New York tour and, as always, I was so fortunate to have open, passionate and grounded participants.

New York City has incredible energy and every time I visit this city I am injected with a "buzz". As you would expect many "research" nights were taken up with new food discoveries and openings.

As usual I stayed in Greenpoint and loved every minute. I was lucky to meet a very friendly man on the plane who also lived in Greenpoint. He shared his favourite newbies with me, and these also became my new favourite go-to places:

• Littleneck Outpost (excellent coffee and avocado on toast)
• Achilles Heel (a great bar and eatery... very friendly bar staff)
• Glasserie (Middle Eastern)
• Ramona (cocktails).

What goes on tour stays on tour. However, here are a few highlights of my time in New York City:

• Richard Serra's 30th major exhibition at Gagosian since 1983, Above Below Betwixt Between, Every Which Way, Silence (For John Cage), Through
• running/walking the Williamsburg Bridge
• The NY Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1
• Tenement Museum (I don't take tours, but this is a tour you should take)
• The Laundrymat Project ("We envision a world in which artists are understood as valuable assets in every community and everyday people know the power of their own creative capacity to transform their lives, their relationships, and their surroundings")
• Russ & Daughters (the best salmon in NYC)
• Gibney Dance Company (fostering contemporary dance)
• Brooklyn Academy of Music (something for everyone).

I am always proud to deliver a cultural experience that is unique and many steps away from the tourist trail.

Thank you to all who came on tour. You booked without knowing the itinerary and you all participated with enthusiasm, openness and trust everyday.

Until next time!

 

Handing over my "guide hat" while walk-to-art turns 10

12 June 2016

Ten years ago I was in New York starting a key chapter in my life. walk-to-art began on my return to Melbourne in 2006, and there have been many influential people along the way. One of them was my dear friend Belinda, who has been there from the start. This week I have handed over my "guide hat" and have been expertly hosted around the busy, foggy, full city of Shanghai, in China, by her.

We have...

• walked through the leafy, green surrounds of the French Concession
• ridden bikes through the back streets at night after too many cocktails
• visited the laneway shops
• been "destroyed" by Chinese masseuses
• sorted through fabrics at the Fabric Market
• learnt the art of Chinese cooking
• eaten at wonderful bakeries
• been to secret bars with secret doors and secret codes
• eaten lunch and dinner at outstanding restaurants on The Bund
• discovered great coffee, quaint cafes
• watched the people dance, sing, exercise and walk their birds in the local parks...

These are my favourite places in Shanghai:

• Farine – Coffee and fresh baked goods
• Baker & Spice – Coffee, breakfast, lunch and baked delights
• Green & Safe – Lunch, groceries, organic
• Egg – Wonderful all day b'fast
• M On The Bund – Lovely lunch on The Bund
• Speak Low – Secret bar

When left to my own devices, I followed my bible, Luxe City Guide app, and discovered the art of this big city:

• Street art – Writing poetry with water in the park
• Pearl Lam Galleries
• M50 Creative Space
• Yuz Museum
• Long Museum (West Bund)
• Rockbund Art Museum.

Thank you – As walk-to-art is turning 10, a big thank you to Belinda, Philip, Greg, Angela, Cathy, Maria, Anne-Marie and Charles. You have all been there from the start and are still here now.

Thank you to everyone else who have continued to spread the word on walk-to-art. To those who have been on numerous Naarm / Melbourne, New York and Venice tours. I have learnt, discovered, laughed and cried with many of you over the years.

walk-to-art has not only been about art; it has been a celebration of all the things that I love: art, design, walking, food, coffee, wine, cheese, pop ups, laneways and people.

 

Greg Wood takes his art to an exciting country town in Victoria

artists, spaces

26 April 2016

I am a city girl, but lately I have been enjoying the peace and fresh air of the country.

Recently I visited Kyneton, in Victoria, approximately 85km from Naarm / Melbourne and an easy 1-hour drive on the freeway. My reason to visit was to support my very good friend Greg Wood and his new exhibition, "Slow Release", currently at Stockroom.

Greg Wood, who was featured on walk-to-art's blog in 2009 (Greg Wood: the second exhibition of a fabulous artist), studied Fine Arts at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) in Hobart. Wood has been exhibiting for over 20 years and is a passionate painter with a deep understanding of the Tasmanian and Victorian landscapes. His paintings ask the viewer to look beyond the literal and enter a sublime world of luminous beauty. Wood has been shortlisted in the Glover Prize and the Fleurieu Art Prize, two prestigious landscape prizes.

Stockroom is an exciting rural arts hub located in Kyneton's thriving style precinct on Piper Street. Piper Street seems to be the place to be, offering great local pubs and cafes. My friend and I both agreed that we could easily move to this exciting country town.

Stockroom is an ambitious and unique space that includes a large, split level retail shop showcasing contemporary artists, makers and designers who create a range of products, including jewellery, ceramics, homewares, furniture and fashion.

It also includes two gallery spaces with a bi-monthly exhibition program. Stockroom directors Magali Gentric and Jason Waterhouse are passionate about creating a vibrant arts hub, which provides a forum for artists of all disciplines.

Greg's beautiful, elusive landscapes are on exhibition till 1 May.

"Slivers of land are represented beneath heavy skies that threaten to consume the ground below. At first glance, the works could be mistaken for abstract, but the viewer is greatly rewarded by allowing the time to let the scene unfold."

 

Biennale of Sydney: highlights and tips (including food)

artists, spaces

22 March 2016

I was fortunate to visit the 20th Biennale of Sydney in its opening week. "The Future is Already Here – It's Just Not Evenly Distributed" opened on 18 March and can be seen until 5 June.

I was in great company, with a talented artist and friend, and we ran around to all the venues before the crowds rolled in. There are 8 different locations or "embassies" to be visited:

1. Cockatoo Island
2. MCA Australia
3. Art Gallery of NSW
4. Artspace
5. Carriageworks
6. Mortuary Station
7. In-Between spaces
8. Mobile Book Store

Here are my rules to navigate a biennale:

• Research is important.
• Try not too do too much in one day.
• Be realistic about how much you can and want to see.
• Make sure that the person who holds the map is in control (in our case we took it in turns).
• Include, of course, the all important debrief at the end of the day over a glass of wine or two (check my favourite stops in Sydney)!

Highlights – The highlights, in my opinion, were mainly located at Cockatoo Island – it was fun to wander and explore the desolated industrial space. To get there, take the Harbour City Ferries that operate regular services from Circular Quay.

I loved the work by William Forsythe, who was born in New York and now lives in Germany. William Forsythe is considered one of the world's foremost choreographers. Nowhere and everywhere at the same time (2015) allows the participant to glide between the moving pendulums. You become the dancer, the choreographer and the art. This work is beautiful, silent and elegant. It is also fun!

For those who did not make it to the Japanese Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015, a new artwork by outstanding artist Chiharu Shiota is on exhibit at Cockatoo Island. Chiharu Shiota creates intimate and intricate webs comprised of metres of black thread. Another beautiful work by another Japanese artist, Taro Shinoda, is at the Art Gallery of NSW. Abstraction of Confusion (2016; pictured) is an incredible installation that fills an entire room creates a meditative silence as if you were in nature. Sitting on the tatami mats allow you to disappear into the hand-built cracked clay walls and sunken floors.

Also on the menu – As you all know, food, coffee and wine stops are very important to me. A friend whom I met up with suggested two new places in Sydney... they were both great, even hard to find!

Here is my list for Sydney:

• Reuben Hills, Surry Hills (coffee, breakfast, fabulous banana bread with caramel salted butter – ouch! Be careful not to fall in love)
• RELISH FOOD CO, Surry Hills (lunch, salads, coffee, a perfect pit stop after walking all day)
• Ghostboy Cantina (pictured), Dixon House, Haymarket (tacos, fun food hall, cheap wine, great find, brings me back to Hong Kong days)
• Baxter Inn (hidden bar, find the lane, find the red rope, walk down the dark stairs to the very American whiskey bar; loose a few hours underground)
• Sagra Restaurant (perfect Italian, to take the perfect person, in a small house in Darlinghurst).

 

MONA, Hobart, Tasmania: why you really should go

artists, spaces

16 January 2016

In need of a short break... head to MONA for a little bit of art, food and wine action.

MONA is short for Museum of Old and New Art. Founder David Walsh is responsible for putting Hobart (Tasmania) on the international art map, luring almost 2 million visitors from around the world since it was opened, in 2011. Two years later Lonely Planet declared Hobart one of the top 10 destinations (because of MONA), so if you haven't been there yet you really should go.

Love or hate the "art wank" or the collection that tends to lean to the darker side of life; death, sex and destruction, it still holds the wow factor. MONA is a like a bat cave and at times the building takes over the art. Actually the building is the pull for me.

Big named exhibitions, such as Gilbert and George (until 28 March 2016), bring in income that is needed to keep the doors open. MONA leaks money, losing A$8 million or more a year and is supported by David Walsh's gambling interests.

Recently a friend and I stayed in The Brett pavilion, one of eight pavilions on site. Luxurious accommodation with a "wow" view over the Derwent River, high tech with wireless touch panels (which I must confess took us a while to get our heads around!). Upstairs and downstairs well equipped with heated floors in the bathrooms, books, wine and Aesop products.

We lost time in the infinity pool, drank the bubbles kindly gifted and experienced the calming work of James Turrell at night (don't forget to bring a jumper as it gets chilly).

Here are my best tips:

• MR-1 Fast Ferry is the way to get there.
• Eat at Templo in Hobart (book before hand as it's tiny... you would hate to turn up with no seats available).
• Eat at Franklin in Hobart (hot place to go).
• Stay at one of MONA's pavilions with someone you love or wish to love.