
More than 100 artists, who have been selected by a respected panel of experts, will feature their unique creations at the next edition of The Other Art Fair taking place at The Cutaway at Barangaroo from Thursday 2 December to Sunday 5 December. But, the weekend of art will be more than just paintings on walls.
Audiences at The Other Art Fair will this summer get to experience two phenomenal art installations which were forced to postpone their Sydney debut earlier in the year. The first was one of VIVID Sydney’s headline attractions while the second, by multidisciplinary studio Eness, was to feature at the Nature Illuminated seasonal wonderland in The Chinese Garden of Friendship.
Both will be on display across the entire weekend alongside other artistic offerings, a pop-up Bombay Sapphire bar with a curated cocktail-tasting quiz and late-night art sessions as well as DJ sets.
The Other Art Fair Program
Evanescent

Evanescent is not only a luminous light and sound installation, it is a piece of ‘art-chitecture’. From the brains at Sydney-based design studio Atelier Sisu, this immersive walkway of glistening and colourful bubble-like spheres create a stunning visual display of colour that morphs with changing light. Wander among them and awaken your childlike wonder and playfulness for an experience that is sure to enchant and excite.
Evanescent makes its Sydney debut at The Other Art Fair after VIVID was forced to cancel.
The Birds
The multidisciplinary studio Eness are audio-visual wizards. Their larger-than-life installations, which include Sky Castle, Sonic Light Bubble and Airship Orchestra, have captured our attention for years and every new project astounds and amazes.
This year they teamed up with Fever Originals to create a new interactive installation for the Nature Illuminated experience, which has been postponed till early next year. Instead, The Birds will debut at The Other Art Fair and this is your chance to come up close and see what The Birds have to say or do.
Neon Nudes
It’s a life drawing session, but neon.
Step into a darkened space, pick up your paintbrush and select your UV paints because you’re about to unleash your inner artist and paint the model in the room, who is lit up only by UV lights. Nat Cheney’s Neon Nudes: UV Life Drawing is a glowing canvas and you can be a part of the experience.
Society6 Illustration Corner
Local illustrators Aley Wild, Georgia Frew and Harley & J will be taking up residence at The Other Art Fair and will be creating complementary illustrations. Watch them work their magic right in front of your eyes and take home a special piece of art from your visit.
Hand-Poke Tattooing
If you prefer to take home some art on your body, then you’re going to want to make a beeline for the hand-poked tattoo corner at The Other Art Fair where Ink Sphinx and Nah Mate will be putting their exclusive designs straight onto your skin. You could be the proud wearer of art from just $150.
The Bombay Sapphire Bar
Apollonia and Hotel Palisades are among the four Sydney cocktail bars that have teamed up with Bombay Sapphire to debut four new cocktails at The Other Art Fair. Visitors, however, will first be invited to partake in an interactive cocktail tasting quiz to ‘curate their own cocktail’. Based on their preferred flavour palette, they will then be matched with one of the four cocktails that have been inspired by the botanicals used in Bombay Sapphire gin.
Beers, wines and other spirits will also be available to drink and food will be provided by some of Sydney’s favourite street food vendors like Wafflo and Food Trap.
Friday Late
It’s art after dark on Friday night when The Other Art Fair celebrates its edition with performance pieces, live DJs and other installations.
Grab a drink and go for a wander. There’s plenty to see and do, like talk to the exhibiting artists and become an art buyer. There really isn’t much of a better way to kickstart your weekend.
DJs will be performing throughout the fair.
Artists and New Futures
The Other Art Fair is a new way of discovering and buying art. At this edition, 109 emerging artists have been selected by Saint Cloche Gallery founder Kitty Clark, respected art advisor James Dorahy and Saatchi Art’s Chief Curator and VP, Art Advisory Rebecca Wilson to exhibit their work in the fun and relaxed environment.
For the first time, a new initiative that intends to help launch the careers of emerging artists will form part of the fair. New Futures sees four artists receive free exhibition space and mentorship at this year’s event.
They are Beatrice Buckland-Willis, whose work is multidisciplinary and focuses on the representation of female pain and plays with satire and parody; Tiarna Herczeg, who seeks to redefine what aboriginal art is; Singaporean born Byne, who draws on mythological and religious themes to convey his now atheist beliefs; and Lesley Wengembo, whose portraiture attempts to capture the essence of indigenous faces before it dies out.
The Other Art Fair Details
Presented by Saatchi Art, the leading online art gallery that helps people all over the world find art and artists they love, The Other Art Fair Sydney is part of a number of in-person events that includes experiences in cities around the world such as Brooklyn, Chicago, London, Los Angeles and Toronto.
When: 2-5 December 2021
Where: The Cutaway at Barangaroo
Times: Thursday 2 December: 4pm – 7pm/7pm – 10pm, Friday 3 December: 2pm – 10pm, Saturday 4 December: 10am – 6pm, Sunday 5 December: 10am – 5pm
Price: $20 presale (free for children under 12)
(All images supplied)