Foley Street Mural Launch & Street Party

A giant street party this Friday night, with food trucks, a DJ and pop-up bar, will launch a new 75-metre-long mural lining the walls of Foley Street, as part of Art Month Sydney.

WE ARE HERE, a 15-metre-high artwork presented by a collective of renowned Australian street artists, illustrators and photographers, depicts some of the city’s most significant people and events using a mixture of paint, collage, drawing, paste-ups, stencils and photography.

Each artist has completed a different section of the artwork, exploring a particular event or moment in time. The sections are woven together by a common colour palette, featuring bold reds, purples and blues, and the use of repeating motifs, including sign language.

In its early days Foley Street was part of the bush track linking Botany Bay and Sydney Harbour, then spent decades as one of Sydney’s busiest commercial centres, now its present-day life is as an emerging hub of arts, culture and creativity.

Foley Street will be closed to traffic for the launch. The event is part of Art Month’s annual East Sydney and Darlinghurst precinct night, with a host of galleries, artist studios and creative spaces in the neighbourhood staying open until late.

Mum's In

The first time I met Vashti Hughes was Saturday morning by El Alamein in Kings Cross and she was in character as the infamous Matilda 'Tilly' Devine. I was intrigued - like many of the other Organic Market shoppers - so I stopped to have a chat.

Vashti told me that she was inspired by Larry Writer’s seminal book “Razor” about inner city crime in the early 1900s that tells the stories of characters of the era like Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine.

Kate and Tilly were brothel owners, sly grog dealers and drug distributors who ruled the underbelly of Sydney from Surry Hills to Darlinghurst, Kings Cross and Woolloomooloo. By all accounts they were tough and they were mean. Plenty enough material there for some great yarns!

KATE & TILLY

So that's what Vashti has done - create a one-woman show called MUM'S IN: STORIES FROM RAZORHURST which is a warts and all cabaret romp through the age when cocaine, sly grog, prostitution and the keen edge of the razor ruled (oh how times have changed - no more razors!)

Vashti channels the molls and thugs who once ruled the streets and alleyways of the Cross in this dark comedy cabaret which continues to defy all current trends in Sydney theatre by extending its season time and again - yes its that good!

VASHTI AS TILLY

Check out Mum's In at the aptly named Bordello Theatre at the King Cross Hotel....

(go soon, as it won't last forever)

mumsin.com.au

Mum's In Promo......

The Yellow House

Late last year the Yellow House Pop-Up "popped up" in Macleay St much to the delight of local foodies who were all at sea when Brass Bistro disappeared, seemingly overnight.  What was to be a trial period of a few months has turned into a longer more permanent stay for the pop-up and this is a good thing.

It's a great little place with a good vibe, super friendly service, tasty food and it's situated in an ideal locale for lingering and people watching.

Under the stewardship of proprietors Jamie Morgan (chef) and Ben Sutton, Yellow House serves  "honest food for breakfast and lunch and dinner, designed to be shared and discussed," says Ben. The expertly prepared seasonal dishes are combined with a wine list put together by Melbourne’s sommelier of the year Travis Howe (The Age 2012) and can be enjoyed inside, by the bar or al-fresco watching the world roll by on Macleay St.

steak = honest food

This week sees the introduction of LIVE JAZZ and patrons can sample some of Jamie's fare with a Grazing Plate [$15-$25 dependant on seating]. Alternatively,  tuck into a bowl of Ricotta Gnocci, Steak or Fish of the Day [$20-$28].

Wine by the glass starts at $7 and carafes are $19-23.
Young Henry's boutique beer is also available, by the glass or by the growler (thats 2 litres to you and me).

Some of Sydney's smoothest Jazz musicians will be appearing -  the music kicks off from 6.30pm till 9.30pm. Get in early as seating is limited. Call Ben on 9356 3070 for a booking.

nobody puts baby in the corner

The Yellow House is a fabulous part of the local artistic history of the 2011 postcode, being a creative hub in the 70's and founded by artist Martin Sharp who told the ABC that "it really came out of an idea of Van Gogh's, 'cause he called his studio the 'Yellow House' and he wanted to start a community of artists in the south, in the sunshine, you know, to get away from the madness of Paris. In a small way, he certainly did it. And I was inspired by that idea." 

Every wall, floor and ceiling became part of this living gallery. The Yellow House was a 'multimedia' space and could be considered the first permanent "happening" in Australia. The building, a Queen Anne Terrace, dates back to the 1890's and houses the Pop-Up restaurant, a gallery and recently renovated apartments upstairs.  Some of the original artwork hangs in the lobby.  Nice to see it lives on....Expect more good things from the boys at Yellow House....