WINTER WONDERLAND (LAST ADVENTURE)

2015

Visual Arts; Music; Live Interactive Performances; Offsite Project

Artist/s: Heath Franco (NSW), Karen Therese (NSW), Kate Blackmore (NSW), Rosie Deacon (NSW), Singing Sadie (NSW), Safdar Ahmed (NSW), White Knuckle Fever (NSW), Renny Kodgers (VIC)

Winter Wonderland was a one-night only contemporary art event in one of Western Sydney’s last remaining fun parks, Adventureland Sydney. The night combined fairy-floss, snow cones, rides, bands and performances, all in the amazing landscape of a semi-ruined amusement park.

Winter Wonderland, co-curated by Zanny Begg and Megan Monte, probed the inventive, psychedelic, destructive and unique world of the fun park. Participating artists included: Heath Franco, Karen Therese and Kate Blackmore, Rosie Deacon, Singing Sadie, Safdar Ahmed, White Knuckle Fever and Renny Kodgers. The project was jointly organised by Campbelltown Arts Centre, UNSW Art and Design, and Adventureland Sydney.

Last Adventure - memories of theme parks in Western Sydney, was a satellite event as part of Winter Wonderland curated by students in the Masters of Curating and Cultural Leadership course at UNSW Art & Design. Last Adventure focused on memories of fun parks in Western Sydney through the work of six young and emerging artists. Rosie Deacon, Candy Shop, 2015, live performance.

Last Adventure engaged students and a youth network through providing the opportunity for professional development. The project supported a new generation of young curators and emerging artists, providing a practical platform on which they could demonstrate and explore their contemporary curatorial understanding. In a context framed by debates over culture in Western Sydney, Winter Wonderland celebrated the inventive, creative and challenging worlds of Sydney’s western suburbs.

Partners: UNSW Art & Design; Adventureland Sydney