This Friday 1 September, Sydney’s vibrant new dining and lifestyle precinct, Sydney Place, will kick-off its month-long arts and culture festival, in partnership with Sydney Fringe Festival. Throughout September, Sydney Place will come alive with a series of interactive art installations and retailer activations (including Thursday Happy Hour specials from Bar Besuto and Eat Fuh, among others), and on 9 September for one-night-only, they’ll host an exhilarating evening of live entertainment, theatre, immersive art and delicious food and drink offerings at the Sydney Fringe Block Party.
Throughout the month of September, Sydney Place will be transformed into a living gallery with a captivating occupation by a diverse and renowned group of renowned visual artists. The artists, including internationally-acclaimed James Gulliver Hancock, will activate Sydney Place with art installations in shop fronts, restaurants and walkways, which will give patrons the opportunity to imagine, explore and discover.
To celebrate the month-long festivities, a number of Sydney Place’s food and beverage retailers will offer exclusive happy hour promotions each Thursday evening, starting 14th September. Newly-opened Eat Fuh are serving up $5 pho and bánh mì, Open Sesame are doing $5 falafel plates, C9 Gelato are scooping $5 single scoops for the first 50 guests, and Joel Best’s Bar Besuto is offering $5 serves of their mini Steak Frites with every drink purchase. A Bourke and Ward pop-up bar will be serving drinks from 4-8pm, offering $7 happy hour specials from 4-6pm, which guests can enjoy whilst listening to performances by DJ Mr Chad, DJ Dean Martin and DJ Levins.
At Art Occupation, visitors will discover the Dream Bar – an exploration of AI generated visual art, presented to the everyday passer-by in a way that is theatrical, immersive and tangible. Pull up a stool at the bar and let the dream mixologist turn your personally curated dream into reality, using only sleight of hand, and some very clever AI.
As part of Sydney Place’s living gallery, an Art Walk will be activated throughout the precinct, encompassing a large-scale mural by Indigenous artist David Cragg, a staircase activation by Micke Lindebergh, and hand drawn illustrations around the precinct by James Gulliver Hancock and Lauren Webster.
Visitors will also encounter a suspicious ‘DO NOT PRESS’ Big Red Button installation that invites the curious to uncover the unexpected that awaits. Two art vending machines will be situated throughout the precinct, providing opportunity for visitors to take home a piece by their favorite artist. All profits raised from the art vending machines will be donated to WAGEC (Women and Girls Emergency Centre). 
On 9 September, Sydney Place will come alive with an exhilarating celebration of art, music, and culture during the Sydney Fringe Block Party event, marking the highlight of the month-long festival. Sydney’s finest visual and performing artists will inhabit the precinct, with multiple stages, DJ’s and jaw-dropping live performances from the world of circus, cabaret and drag, extending from day to night. Sydney’s favourite disco doof, Poof Doof, will pop up with their Pride Patrol truck featuring entertainment including DJ’s Dutch Kiss, Nip Slip and Argonaut, drag performances by Karna Ford and Kalin Klien, and roving artists including Diesel Darling and Kerrie Stanley, among many others.
Whilst enjoying the entertainment, visitors can taste delicious food and beverages from Sydney Place’s wide selection of retailers offering special promotions for the festival, including 20% off at ToastieSmith, $5 pho and bánh mì at Eat Fuh, $10 wraps at Open Sesame and free miso soup with any sushi box at Sushi Yuzen. C9 Chocolate and Gelato are offering $5 single scoops for the first 50 guests, and Dopa by Devon are offering $10 mini dons. Thirteen Feet Tattoo are also getting involved, offering free tattoos for their first 30 guests.
Steve McGillivray, Lendlease Project Director, Sydney Place, says: ‘We are delighted to partner with Sydney Fringe Festival to celebrate the best of Sydney and to launch Sydney Place as a new day-to-night destination at Circular Quay for cult-favourite food, connection and rich culture.’
‘The month-long activation will provide the community and all who visit Sydney Place the opportunity to immerse themselves in a new vibrant precinct. Interactive installations and live entertainment will showcase the talent of diverse local artists and bring the public spaces to life, and there’ll be a range of bespoke offers available from our newly opened retailers.’
Sydney Place, Sydney’s newest lifestyle, office and dining precinct, is home to more than 15 exciting food and beverage operators including Lode Pies, Malay Chinese Noodle House and Joel Best’s newly opened Japanese whisky bar, Bar Besuto. Maurice Terzini’s reincarnation of the iconic Jacksons on George will join the precinct in September, along with a number of other retailers.
Sydney Fringe Art Occupation is a month-long free event, held from 1-30 September 2023 at Sydney Place, 180 George St, Sydney. For more information, please visit https://www.sydneyplace.
