Challenge #5: A Sydney-Themed Event Part III

About a hundred years ago, the Awesome Tour of Sydney team challenged me to “turn my attentions to Sydney culture and nightlife” by running an event.  I ignored them and turned my attentions to finishing my dissertation.  Then I handed my dissertation in, and ignored a little voice in my head saying, “don’t you still want to go to Sydney and blog about it? Isn’t there something you should be doing about that?”, and went on vacation instead (and, since it’s travel-related, you can read about it here, here, here, here, here, and here, because apparently all I needed was a little break from work to become the most prolific writer since P.G. Wodehouse).  Then I came back from vacation, and continued to ignore that little voice, which was not so little anymore, and hid behind the great shield of WORK.

Having procrastinated my way into the title of Queen Procrastinator of Procrastination Land, however, did nothing to shut that voice up, and it also left me feeling empty and guilty.  So finally, this weekend, I decided to take my crown off, send my lazy subjects away, and revisit the challenge at hand.  Too weary for a visit to that usual wellspring of inspiration, the pub, I convinced Xander to cook a hunk of beef so big we’re still trying to work our way through it, invited Ben to carve the meat and help consume some of the millions of potatoes we’d ambitiously roasted, and the then the three of us sat down in the throes of a food coma to brainstorm.

Here’s a question: what do you do when you’re overworked and overfed, underpaid and well past the deadline you were given when someone handed you £200 to host an event, with no other resources but your own dubious ingenuity?

You make another cup of tea.  Then you and your friends look up alternate meanings to the word “event.”  Someone might even suggest, high on his fourth cup of builder’s, that you make up and write about a mental event. You might even decide to put that idea on the back burner, because it’s not so absurd, actually–or it isn’t, at least, the longer you look at it.

But eventually (pun fully intended), you will realise, like I realised, that the best thing to do is always to simply use what you have, and use it well.  What did I have?  Words.  The internet.  Some much needed spare cash, which could cover transport and incidental costs.  And easy access to one of the world’s most dynamic capital cities.  So I decided to make my event a voyage of discovery; to look for Sydney in London.  Not being much for nightlife (give me a cosy pub over a raucous club any day), I focused my energy on art, culture, and history. What followed was a virtual (and literal) exploration of all things Australian in the Big Smoke…

This is an internet-based competition, so I made my preliminary map out of websites and links.  My first stop was this site, which became a kind of 21st century compass.  I learned that 20% of all those Australians who live abroad reside in London, a city which ironically figures in the nation’s history as a point of departure, for both convict settlers and others.  Today, there are many aspects of Australia–often surprising, almost always hidden–lingering on the streets of England’s largest city, but you have to know where to look for them.

So on a bright Sunday morning, I headed out in search of Sydney.  My point of departure was the Australian War Memorial at Hyde Park Corner. Elegant and affecting, the memorial “commemorates the service men and women who served in WWI and WWII by listing the names of the towns in which they were born.  Superimposed on the 23,844 town names are 47 of the many battles in which they fought and made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, Australia.”  Here’s where to find Sydney on the wall…

Then I walked through Kensington, past chic shoppers and harried youths on mobile phones, to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which houses a variety of Australian works.  If you’ve got the time, take advantage of the Prints Study Room, open 10-5, Tues-Sat, to order all the Australian material you want–check this site out for a good list.  But if, like me, your hours are budgeted, you could visit these two pieces, to give you historical context, a sense of variety, and a nice stroll through the museum’s vast third floor…

Start with this rather spectacular 1887 print, designed to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.  The print portrays the Queen, surrounded by representations of the British Empire, including Australia (hint: look for the kangaroo), and can be found in the British Galleries, Room 123, Case 1.

Then head for the jewellery room, past the dull lights and bright glitter of a thousand years’ worth of bling, and find this gem, by Australian jeweller Rowena Gough, born in 1958, who “sees her button jewllery in the context of South Pacific culture, where the use of shell often has social and political implications”.  Find it in Jewellery, Room 91, Case 39, Shelf B, Box 3 (personally, I think it would look nice with my Sydney-inspired outfit from week 2)…

They’re only two pieces of art amongst hundreds of thousands, but if you make a pilgrimage to them, as I did–if you place them side by side in your mind–a poetic juxtaposition emerges, an indication of worlds colliding–one rigidly colonial, one inspired by cultural history but openly modern, functional, visually and ideologically appealing.

I strolled out of the V&A and down the street, to my next stop, the beautiful and imposing Natural History Museum, as a nod to Captain James Cook, the British explorer known for having achieved “the first European contact with…Australia.”  The Natural History Museum houses a number of stunning botanical drawings prepared by the fortuitously named artist Sydney Parkinson on board Cook’s HMS Endeavor, including many, like this one, from Australia:

The museum holds records from Cook’s voyages, and incredible descriptions of things seen for the very first time, including the kangaroo, described by a visitor as “…an animal as large as a greyhound, of a mouse colour and very swift.”  Before exiting, I bought a book, chronicling all three of Cook’s exploratory trips, for inspiration.  If I’m lucky, I’ll get to chronicle my very own exploratory trip to Sydney soon…

To conclude, I meandered southward (how appropriate, really) to Sydney Place, where I stood and basked in the glory of the name, and then reflected on how amazingly London-y the Place still manages to be.

But, most importantly, this event is about you–the reader.  If my hunt has inspired you, consider making a visit to the Imperial War Museum, which holds “a large collection on the experience of Australians during wartime” and, amazingly, has a copy of the only surviving film of the battle at Gallipolli.  And for even more Sydney-inspired stuff in London, check these links out:

Australia Now: an exhibition of contemporary Australian art on at this Covent Garden gallery.  Open to the public from 18-28 September 09.  Curated by Jonny White, Director of COMODAA (Contemporary Modern Australian Art), the exhibit showcases nine of Australia’s leading emerging and established contemporary artists.  “Through supporting and promoting Australian Art outside of Australia,” White explains, “I hope COMODAA is the missing link between European Collectors and Australia’s contemporary art talent.”

The Big Pond: Australian Artists Overseas–a great set of articles on the practical and creative issues that face Australian artists working overseas.

East London West Sydney is “a new hip-hop theatre project led by artist from the hip-hop and urban cultures of the UK and Australia.  These artists explore the urban experience and struggles…the project’s emphasis is survival and creativity at the margins of the city.  Utilising a performance framework and engaging other art forms and technologies, UK and Sydney’s hip-hop cultures will converge, exchange and co-create.”

And, of course, if you’re nowhere near London, this post just goes to show: Sydney is not as far from your doorstop as you might think.

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