More on Sydney CBD Contemporary art, food, beverage and music are fused under one spectacular, architecturally designed roof at Jacksons on George. The multi-level venue offers a spread of experiences across three distinct spaces. “Immaculate attention to detail and ingredients from renowned local producers are the throughlines connecting the Public Bar, Bistro George and the Rooftop,” according to General Manager Michael Broome. “Head Chef Steven Sinclair has unleashed his wealth of experience on each menu, weaving together Jacksons’ signature style of European-influenced bistro dishes with classic Aussie fare across all three dining spaces.” The food & beverage offerings are clear stars of the new Jacksons on George. However, according to Creative Director Maurice Terzini the atmosphere & vibe of the venue is something truly unique & elevates the guest experience even further. “I can’t wait for Sydneysiders to visit Jacksons on George… Great food and drinks intersect with contemporary art and music across all three levels to create a vibrant, contemporary venue. Our goal was to create a destination that had broad appeal yet retained a firm identity and we’ve achieved that… I’m tipping that the Rooftop is going to be the place to be this summer.” ‘The venue is split into three patently different spaces, each offering a unique feel & menu’ Firstly, there is the classic bistro experience of Bistro George. “The ethos at Bistro George is all about recognisable bistro classics, elegantly executed with quality ingredients,” says Head Chef Steven Sinclair. Think pub and bistro classics, elevated with the best produce and on-point service. Some of the menu highlights The Whole Yellow Belly Flounder (Market Price) - dialled up with brown butter and lemon sauce while the Chris Bolton Coral Trout ($60), doused in a limoncello beurre blanc. The Coppertree Farms Retired Dairy Cow Eye Fillet 220g ($60) and the Heritage Salt-Crusted Wagyu Ribeye 600g ($190) cater to larger hungers, while the Gin Rigatoni ($32) is Sinclair’s nod to the enduringly popular vodka rigatoni. If you’re looking to elevate your meals further then the Public Bar & the Rooftop is for you. These two spaces share a menu boasting pub classics taken to the next level and given contemporary updates. Here the highlights include; a Duck Sausage Roll consisting of reimagined cocetino (Italian sausage) with Maremma free-range duck mixed with saltbush, which is wrapped in buttery puff pastry. More casual-dining winners come via golden buttermilk-brined Fried Chicken ($18) spiced with a dash of fermented chilli in the batter and the Moreton Bay Bug Bun ($27). For mains, free-range Rotisserie Chicken (quarter $15, half $30) is cooked over charcoal and served with lemon thyme stuffing and green peppercorn gravy. On the drinks front, like the venue itself, the cocktail list on each level has its own identity, each with a nod to Australiana and made with top-shelf produce. At the ground-floor Public Bar, it’s all about retro pub classics, elevated. Like the food at Bistro George, its cocktail list leans Italian with local twists. Here, a Negroni ($23) is remixed with pandan and blanco tequila making the perfect start or end to a meal and the Bellini ($26) is reimagined with the seasons. Meanwhile, the 250-strong wine list, developed by Head Sommelier Anais Pierre who joins the team from Manta in Woolloomooloo, leads you from classic European drops to exciting new Australian upstarts.

More on Sydney CBD Missed out on a Euro summer this year? No worries – Sydney Dance Company is bringing Spain to you in Sydney. The world premiere and inaugural season of Up Close: Somos draws from its Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela’s Spanish roots as a project with “a distinct Latin flavour.” Held in the Neilson Studio at the Wharf, the performance features music by iconic Latin musicians such as Rosalía, Silvia Pérez Cruz, Buika, Arca, Diego Carrasco and Las Migas to accompany its dance performances. Before and after the show, audiences can visit Bar Boca – Sydney Dance Company’s café space transformed for the performance – for an extended Spanish experience. From home, if they still want more, Sydney Dance Company offers a dedicated playlist to prolong the show's atmosphere. Bonachela shared, “Somos is possibly my most intensely personal work yet. This is the very first time in my career that I have returned to my Spanish roots, digging deep and exploring how my home country has helped to shape me as an artist and as a person, honouring my family and the traditions of my place of birth.” Neighbourhood Media caught up with him to learn more about what we can expect from this deeply personal and cultural project. If this is our first encounter with your work, what should we know about you? Rafael Bonachela: I work as a Choreographer, Artistic Director and Curator, spanning both high art and popular culture. Somos is no different, with its passionate yet highly technical movement blending modernity and tradition. How will you incorporate your Spanish heritage into the show? In my fifteenth year as Artistic Director of Sydney Dance Company, Somos is my most intensely personal work yet. Meaning ‘we are’ in Spanish, in Somos, I reclaim the traditions of my place of birth and explore how they’ve moulded me as a person and artist. Somos revisits traditional forms with a modern sensitivity, exploring tragedy, aggression and passion. How else does Somos reflect your journey? Somos represents the very first time in my career that I have returned to my Spanish roots, digging deep and exploring how my home country has helped shape me as an artist and person, honouring my family and the traditions of my place of birth. I was born in the small Spanish town of La Garriga just outside of Barcelona in the 1970s at the end of Francoist Spain, when the country moved back to democratic rule. When I was born in La Garriga, a society that was going through 36 years of dictatorship, the country had experienced a lot of hardship and pain. I was born at a time of hope and change, and that change happened quickly. Somos captures an awakening after such a painful and turbulent time and a celebration of heritage and identity. How can we get into the mood of Somos? As Sydney Dance Company’s first-ever mainstage season in our intimate Neilson Studio, Somos offers audiences total immersion. For the duration of the season, Bar Boca offers wining and dining before and after performances, complete with live music on Friday and Saturday nights. The Up Close: Somos playlist is a curation of iconic Latin artists, including Rosalia, Silvia Perez Cruz, Buika, Arca, Chavela Vargas and Estrella Morente. Each imbued with different flavours and feelings, they are the canvas upon which I’ve choreographed a cascade of solos, duets and trios. You can listen to the playlist on Sydney Dance Company’s Spotify account. What do you hope we’ll take away from Somos? Somos is performed in the round, allowing the audience to witness the Company’s extraordinary artistry closer than ever before. So close you can see every breath, every muscle movement, every emotion. It’s this intensity of connection, collectiveness and communal experience that I hope will linger long after the lights are out. Tickets for Up Close: Somos are available from $35 for performances between 1 – 18 November at Neilson Studio at Sydney Dance Company. An audio-described performance, tactile tour and performance will also be run on Saturday, 11 November. For tickets, call 02 9221 4811, email boxoffice@sydneydancecompany.com or book online at www.sydneydancecompany.com By Tahney Fosdike

More on Sydney CBD Back for another hilarious year, Just For Laughs Sydney is hosting a variety of local and international comedians, including the wonderfully funny Phil Wang. Hot off his own Netflix Special Philly Philly Wang Wang, as well as appearing in Life & Beth, alongside Amy Schumer, Phil is bringing his highly anticipated new tour; Wang in There, Baby! to Sydney as a part of the Just For Laughs Sydney 2023, week-long event. We caught up with Phil to hear all about his new show and what audiences can expect. “I don't think relationships come up, this time around. I talk about race, as always. I'm always talking about being Malaysian and Chinese and coming from Borneo.” Phil, who was born in England to a British mother and a Chinese-Malaysian father, spent most of his childhood living in Borneo before moving back to the UK, where he attended Cambridge and was a member of the renowned Footlights comedy group. “I feel like as the years go on, I'm going into more and more detail of my origins. Like when I started, I talked about being Chinese because I was like, 'no one knows what Malaysia is.” Race and identity have been recurring themes in Wang’s comedy, throughout his career. Wang in There, Baby! sees him draw on those ideas again, and approach the cultural differences in his identity in a new way; “I've now spent half of my life in Borneo and half of my life in the UK - these two islands, and I sort of compare them.” He says of Wang in There, Baby! “Animals is the other theme that has come up - this show has sort of grown rather organically… I didn't choose a theme and write to it, but the themes that have sprung up naturally are food and animals…and my old life, my Borneo life.” “But then there's just other stuff that you know. I've got stuff about travelling and becoming a recognisable figure in the UK. It is a kind of collection of thoughts.” Unlike his previous work, Phil is taking a less rigid, more free-flowing approach with his current tour. “It's always changing,” he said. “This is the first time I'm just replacing routines with new ones if I prefer them and not being precious about it. In previous shows, I go ‘this is the hour show now and any new bits I need to save for the next show.’ Now, if I come up with something new and funny, if it's funnier than something in the show, I'll just replace it.” “It's a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster, but it's, I think, a funny Frankenstein’s Monster. It keeps it fresh for me, for sure, and I'm always tweaking it.” Phil, who is no stranger to Australian audiences, having most recently performed at The Melbourne International Comedy Gala in 2019, is excited to be once again, touring Down Under. "Australians are similar to the Americans in that they want the show to be good. Now, that might sound like an obvious thing to you, but you'd be amazed how many British people come to a comedy show, expecting, and almost wanting, to see a car crash. The highest praise you can get from a British person is when you can overhear them leaving your show saying, "that was quite good, actually.” "In that sense, of course, it depends on which part of the country you go to. Melbourne is kind of like good-looking librarians, you know. They're upbeat, but they've got like cool glasses and stuff. And then Sydney are good looking surfers but very sophisticated as well.” "I think, basically like Melbourne's New York. Sydney is LA, and the Gold Coast is Miami,” he joked. "In general. Australians would come wanting to have a good time. And that really helps. All in all, Australians are good audiences." At only 33, Phil Wang has been a fixture not only on the live comedy circuit but also on British comedy television for years. Many will recognise him from the likes of Taskmaster, 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Live at The Apollo, however, Phil's 2021 Netflix Special, Philly Philly Wang Wang, catapulted him to international fame when the platform shared the release to its millions of subscribers, worldwide. “It was made at such a surreal time - just towards the end of Covid. And you know the room was only half-full due to the social-distancing laws, and people were in masks, so you can’t really have many audience shots, and I hate my outfit. I look back now and go, ‘what was I wearing?’ We were coming out of lockdown. I just completely forgot how to dress,” he mused. “We filmed it a while ago now, and all it did was make me want to do another, without the lockdown version of me…Now I know how material translates onto the screen like that.” And yet despite internationally watched specials, huge television gigs and a booming podcast, Budpod, Phil says his first love will always be performing live. “It is an addictive substance,” he says of stand-up. “It's just the thrill of trying something new out, seeing if it'll work, and it's such a rush when it gets a big laugh. You know, something that just existed in your head that day, and it gets a big laugh that night that feels really cool. I don’t know of another format that has that immediate a return.” Phil Wang’s Wang in There, Baby! is a must-see for all comedy fans! Thankfully, the wait is only short-lived, Phil’s performance is scheduled for November 13 at the iconic Enmore Theatre. Book your tickets now. Just for Laughs Sydney is running from November 12 - 21, with performances at a plethora of Sydney venues, including the All-Star Gala on November 17 at The Sydney Opera House. For tickets and more information, head to justforlaughs.sydney to keep up-to-date with Phil Wang you can follow him on Instagram @philwangpix or head to his website; www.philwang.co.uk By Isabella Edwards

More on Marrickville A hybrid studio focused on community and cohesion. When asked to pick a song that describes her new Pole Dancing, Barre and Pilates studio, co-founder and CEO, Kimberley Mahoney, had to pick three – ‘We Are Family’ by Sister Sledge, ‘Spice Up Your Life’ by the Spice Girls and ‘Superstylin’’ by Groove Armada. Unified, energetic, and sexy; the most important emotions to experience whilst working out. New Workout Space in Marrickville BodySpace is Marrickville’s new hybrid studio and boasts all the components of a boutique fitness facility – complementary solo practice sessions, end-of-trip facilities with hair and body care products, hand-picked instructors, air conditioning and newly renovated interiors. Located on Shepherd Street, the studio is a stone’s throw from the suburb’s most popular pubs and cafes (Two Chaps, Lox in a Box, Sauce Brewing), so you can curate the perfect weekend morning or weekday evening around your class. Interview - Pole Dancing, Barre and Pilates studio We sat down with Kimberley to learn more about her new studio: What makes your studio different to others in the area? We have designed our studio to include Pole and Pilates together. This means that our members can enjoy all the benefits of Pole coupled with the remedial benefits of Reformer and Barre Pilates. We have a flexy membership and class booking system in place where members can design a package that suits their attendance frequency, and book in/out of the classes of their choosing each day/week. Our Reformer studio also has a boutique offering with only five beds so our students can get a private class feel at group class pricing. What do you look for when you hire each of your instructors? First and foremost, we look for individuals who are passionate about what they do. Whether we are hiring a trainer with years under their belt, or someone who is just starting their journey – passion and a love for people is essential. You can be the best pole dancer out there, but this does not mean you will be the best teacher. As an instructor, you are not only someone’s fitness coach – you become their mentor, especially when it comes to pole. You help people overcome barriers, physical and emotional. The classroom is a safe space for people to come together, feel safe, be themselves, train, and have fun – and our instructors play a large role in this. Technical skills are also essential, so we do follow a rigorous syllabus and ensure all our coaches (experienced and new) are trained to studio standards and follow a consistent methodology. What do you want people to feel like when they walk into the studio? Happy, at ease, safe, and surrounded by positivity with people they love. We want people to walk into their second home and feel excited to train each day while catching up with their studio friends. Community is what we look for the most and in fact, a lot of our members have met their lifelong friends at the studio. What do you want people to feel like when they walk out of the studio? Happy, exhilarated, motivated, and full of love, but also sweaty and perhaps a little sore from a very good workout. Can you step us through what the structure of a pole dancing class would look like at Bodyspace? A pole dancing class (like all our other classes) starts with a 10-15-minute full-body warm-up. Our warm-ups are tailored to each level and gradually increase in difficulty as our students grow. These include elements of strength and flexibility. We’ll then tackle the pole tricks outlined in our syllabus and finish off with learning elements of the term choreography designed for the level. Visit BodySpace Marrickville All our pole levels are eight weeks long, follow a bespoke syllabus, and students learn a new three-minute choreography each term. Students can feel at ease attending any class each week knowing that all classes will follow the same syllabus, and at the same rate.

By Adeline Teoh When home brewer David Montefiore jokingly asked his friend Nicky Stephens to find a business to buy, little did he realise the perfect one was just around the corner. “I'd say to her, ‘Nicky, find a business we can go into together.’ She saw [The Hop + Grain] for sale and within three-and-a-half weeks we'd signed, quit our jobs and went into home brewing,” he says of the fortuitous timing. That was four years ago. Today, The Hop + Grain Brew Store has two sites — Marrickville and Moorebank — where home brewers can kit up with ingredients, equipment and advice or take a workshop to hone their craft. For while The Hop + Grain was forged in Marrickville, the microbrewery capital of Sydney, it is not a beer producer itself but part of the origin story for many individual beer producers. Montefiore can attest to the addictive nature of the craft. Not the beverage, but the process. “A lot of people go into it for the result, to save money: you can make two cases of craft beer for 25 bucks, which is $75 a case in the shop from a brewery. But, once they get into it, they go, ‘Oh, the hobby's fantastic’ and that becomes the more addictive thing.” It’s an activity that suits different kinds of people, he notes. “There's the artistic person who thinks a little more outside the square, and then you've got the scientists who put the lab coat on and stick to all their numbers. Home brewing suits both those people at the opposite ends of the spectrum.” Another drawcard is the freshness of the beer, which people don’t realise affects the taste until they try their own. “Beer is like food, it can spoil. Home brew means it's going from the shed to your fridge. It's the freshest it is ever going to be,” he says. Here are some tips to start your home brewing journey. 1. Time, space and equipment If you’re starting out, Montefiore will always ask how much time and space you have for this hobby and then recommend a method and equipment to suit. Starter kits are extremely accessible. For less than $100, extract brewing takes a few hours and has an ‘apartment-friendly’ footprint, while the all-grain brewing method requires more time, space, and equipment to produce more complex results. “I used to work in the golf industry and it was a struggle for people to justify six hours away from their family on a weekend to play golf. With this hobby you’re at home and you can get great results in a few hours,” he says. 2. Perfect your fermentation Home brewing is still recovering its reputation from the days when dad or grandpa would produce something almost undrinkable. The likely reason? They didn’t do the fermentation properly. “I reckon 95% of buggered up beer is due to bad fermentation,” says Montefiore. “The two most important things are sanitisation and the right temperature. Yeast is a living thing, it needs to be comfortable, it’s very sensitive. As long as you’ve got those two things right you'll get something to drink.” 3. Drink other beers Interestingly enough, ‘homework’ for home brewing actually takes place outside the home. Montefiore says if you really want to hone your craft, take note of what other brewers are doing and ask questions. “When you go out, especially to the microbreweries, try different beers. Ask the bar staff what's in the beers. They're always happy to share. If you like it, great, you can use it for your own. If you don't like it, you'll know what not to put in your own beers.” If you’re interested in learning more, The Hop + Grain has a range of classes to suit different levels, from absolute beginners to all-grain brewing. But be warned: once you craft your own you may never be able to drink a standard pub schooner again. “I drank VB for 26-and-a-half years, and I just love that I've discovered tastes and hops,” says Montefiore. “My palate has changed unbelievably quickly. I speak to many of our customers and they say, ‘I can't go back to what I drank’.” Visit The Hop + Grain Brew Store at 50 Sydney Street, Marrickville, or online www.thehopandgrain.com.au

Term Classes and Holiday Course for Kids of All Ages Let your creative light shine with performing arts courses for all ages, presented by NIDA Open! Based on the National Institute of Dramatic Art’s as, NIDA Open offers a range of fun and engaging performing arts classes for kids of all ages, experience and skill levels. With courses including acting, costume design, drama, musical theatre, TV presenting, voice, writing and more, NIDA’s term and holiday program provides a safe and encouraging environment where kids can build confidence and find their creative voice, all while socialising and having fun! NIDA Open offers term classes and holiday courses at NIDA Kensington and other venues around Sydney, led by a skilled team of teaching artists with experience across theatre, film, TV, entertainment and education. Some upcoming courses include: → NIDA Drama School → Acting for Stage and Screen → Public Speaking and Communication → Musical Theatre School → Smartphone to Big Screen and more! Book your term and holiday courses now at open.nida.edu.au

More on Marrickville In a modern, fast-paced, internet-focused age the world around us has become a fleeting folly. However, for one young man, the history of Sydney has never been more important to focus on & highlight to the broader community. Nathan Mete's love for history led him to start the page Retro_sydney, which has now amassed an incredible number of followers - 101,000 at last check. While the images Nathan posts Retro_Sydney are stunning to look at, it’s the stories behind the pictures that makes them oh-so magical. Whether it’s a glimpse at a major transformation of an iconic place. A nostalgic rush for a time passed by. Or simply keeping someone's memory alive, photographs are a truly unique form of expression. Neighbourhood Media is excited to have Nathan contribute to this month's issue with a selection of photographs. So, without any further ado let’s check out what he’s found for us this time: Photos by: John Ward via City of Sydney Archives.

More on Marrickville “You can walk up the road and see hundreds of your neighbours” By Isabella Edwards We spoke with Mayor Darcy Byrne about his efforts to bring more community-minded events to the Inner West, as well as why it’s important to maintain the area's pub culture and why making the streets more pedestrian-focused is the way forward, pedestrianising the Inner West Following the success of the 2022 Marrickville Music Festival on 19 November, Mayor Byrne had this to say: “The crowds really flocked down there, which I think is indicative of the fact that people are really keen to come back together through community events and Main Street activity following COVID-19.” When asked if the residents could expect to see more community events in the future, the Mayor said: “The Marrickville Music Festival will be back again next year. We have the Espresso Chorus, who have traditionally held a very large-scale outdoor Christmas carols event on Norton Street in Leichhardt — they are coming to host two concerts in December at Marrickville Town Hall.” “We also want to go further than just annual festivals by having more regular street closures and pedestrianising main streets on a bi-monthly or quarterly basis, and that's a project we’re working on intensively.” The pandemic prompted a boom in outdoor living in response to capacity limits and indoor restrictions. However, the Mayor has acknowledged that the high cost of outdoor events has been a disincentive for businesses and councils. “I think we need to make sure we get the policy settings right so that we encourage more use of our public spaces and streets for community gatherings. Now that the COVID-19 situation is a lot safer, there’s a real hunger from local people and people across Sydney and Australia for more community events.” Pedestrianising the Inner West “We are working systematically to look through how we can reduce those costs, and we proposed to the NSW government that there be a pilot, here in the Inner West, of a programme to have more pedestrianisation of main streets.” “We want the inner West to become the alfresco dining capital of Sydney and pedestrianisation of main streets is a really good way to work towards that goal.” Currently, the Inner West council website promotes many outdoor community events and activities, such as the free Newtown Walking Tour. “One of the main reasons people love living in and visiting the Inner West is that our streets are such fun, vibrant and interesting places. If you live here, you can walk up the road to your Main Street and see hundreds of your neighbours and spend time in the public domain, in a way that is very social. “Walking tours are another great example of something that we should be supporting and promoting and making it easier for local community organisations to hold, and that will be part of the plan as well next year.” Another part of the Inner West’s identity is its historic pub scene. Recently, the council voted to heritage-list 27 pubs in addition to the 31 already protected. “In recent years, for the first time ever, we’ve seen a trend towards pubs being converted for other business uses or for residential development, and we want to counteract that. The message we're trying to send to prospective pub owners is that if you buy a pub in the Inner West, be prepared to operate it as a pub.” “These hotels, many of which have been in existence for more than a century, are really integral to the Inner West and the inner city. We don't want to see that famous pub culture going out the back door,” said the Mayor. However, these protections do not enforce how the pub must operate. Lately, the Inner West has seen a rise in integrating pubs with other businesses, such as The Exchange in Balmain, which recently closed its doors after an attempt at using the building as a co-working and bar space. Mayor Byrne had this to say of heritage protections: “It protects both the façade of the building and the internal fittings, such as the public bar, so it is much more difficult to simply convert a pub into office space once it has been heritage listed. But it does still allow flexibility for a different hospitality use or a different mix of uses within a pub. The Exchange has since been approved to be used as a pub and boutique hotel. Mayor Byrne recognised this revision to traditional hotel usage as “a really good thing for our local economy.” The Mayor is also tackling the enemy of pubs and live music venues: noise complaints. The council is combating such complaints with their “Good Neighbour Policy”, which sees residents and licensees meet to resolve their issues through mitigation rather than litigation. “The reason that we created our policy is that there are lots of examples of famous live music venues across Sydney that have gone under because of the legal costs of having to fight against noise complaints.” “In NSW, the system allows for someone who’s making a complaint about noise at a live music venue or a pub to go through multiple different government agencies. Not just the council but also the licencing police and the liquor regulator, and other agencies as well. So, the costs of fending off those complaints, which are sometimes vexatious, became prohibitive for lots of Sydney’s most famous live music venues,” said Mayor Byrne. It's clear the council is looking to improve the spirit of the Inner West and the appeal of main streets. Notably, the Mayor is looking to implement reduced rates for main street landlords who keep their dwellings tenanted, subsidised by higher rates for those who leave their buildings empty — which would require an amendment to the Local Government Act. When asked how this would benefit the area, Mayor Byrne said: “When main street landlords choose to keep their properties untenanted for long periods, those empty shopfronts have a detrimental effect on the whole Main Street economy. It drives down pedestrian traffic and lowers the vibe of a main street if there are many shopfronts which are shuttered and empty.” Regarding improving community sentiment, the Mayor has said that he wants to see more involvement from residents. “It shouldn't be the council working from the top-down hosting events we control. We need more creativity coming from the bottom-up with local businesses, organisations and residents coming up with ideas.” This follows the events of Saturday night when the council held a viewing of the match between the Socceroos and Tunisia — an idea brought to the council by two residents. “It was fantastic for local businesses. Local cafes and restaurants were chock-a-block with patrons who then came out to watch the game afterwards.” You can contact the Inner West council via their website to share any ideas.

More on Marrickville 2204 Magazine interviews three creative designers working their magic in Marrickville. Xanadu Designs Christina Sceats. Christina, owner of Xanadu Designs, is an artist who creates wearable one-of-a-kind Jewellery. She began as a Jewellery designer in the early 2000s after studying at the Enmore Design Centre. Although she left the industry for a while, building a career in the performing arts and teaching, Christina came back to creating again. The move back to creating was inspired when she was invited to a party and wanted to wear a pair of huge, colourful, lightweight earrings but found the market was lacking. This led Christina to start experimenting with leather. It soon became her favourite medium and it’s easy to see why. It is lightweight, durable and holds its shape. The earthy quality of the leather and its sustainably and knowing it will eventually return to the Earth all made it an appealing medium to the Jewellery Artist. Christina is a versatile artist who takes sustainability very seriously in her creations. She experiments with different leathers that are uniquely Australia, such as Kangaroo and Cane Toad leather and Eel skin. Christina is inspired by colour and wants her clients to feel confident and fabulous wearing her unique one-of-a-kind colourful designs. In particular, the last three years have been a time where Christina has really pushed the boundaries on what can be done with leather using paints and finishes to bring about extra colour, while keeping her products uniquely Australian and Earth Friendly. Upcycled Bags Designed by Kate Kate Shanahan believes that the world would be a dull place without creativity and that by creating art we create a space to hear people's stories and to understand ourselves more. The Artist first developed a love of creating when she was a costume and set designer for the theatre. It was here that Kate learnt to upcycle and save things from landfill and in the process create wonderful and captivating pieces for the stage. Her time in the theatre inspired Kate to create Upcycled Bags, where she uses a variety of mediums. Her favourite being leather as it is hard-wearing, it can be painted on and will allow her bags to last and grow old gracefully. Each bag Kate creates is truly unique and built from upcycled, sustainable materials. They are designed to be beautiful as well as functional. Each object she creates is a wearable piece of art that has a story woven into it from the past of the objects it is made from. Helen Rose Nehill While creating art and using her hands, Helen is in her element. She loves to use her rich imagination to dream up imaginary worlds and create wonderful characters. Helen Rose Nehill is an artist and Illustrator who studied Design and Illustration at the Design Centre in Enmore. Over the years, Helen has studied at various art schools and completed courses to further develop and refine her skills. Helen’s favourite medium to use is ink and dip pen and using watercolour and gouache to include pops of colour. It is not just a process for Helen, it is a fully immersive, sensory experience bringing her into the present moment. When Helen uses ink, she loves everything about the process, from the way the ink glistens on the paper before it dries, to the scratchiness of the nib as she draws. It is truly a meditative experience. Helen supports the process that art has in the act of healing and mental health. Not only does it nurture her soul as she creates, but the artist firmly believes that it is important for the mental and social health of a community. Creating things with our hands and being present in the moment heals ourselves and each other.

More on Marrickville Executive Chef Lucas Doan brings a refined dining experience to the Inner West with the D’s Bar & Dining. What better way to ease into the weekend than with dinner and a live jazz band on a Friday and Saturday evening whilst dining on the culinary creations of Executive Chef Lucas Doan at Marrickville’s The D’s Bar & Dining? After almost 20 years honing his culinary skills in Sydney’s most exclusive restaurants, Executive Chef Lucas Doan has brought to life his childhood dream of opening his first restaurant, The D’s Bar & Dining, in Marrickville, where he and his family first migrated to in Australia. Most recently head chef at upmarket Luna Lu, on Sydney Harbour, and before that at Merivale’s iconic Mr Wong, Doan’s inspiration for The D’s Bar & Dining stems from his family’s long history in hospitality in their native Saigon, where they had a strong presence in restaurants, bars and cafes. Doan was just 15 years old when he realised his passion for bringing people together through the craftsmanship of beautiful food, deciding at a young age to be a chef instead of a film director for which he’d been studying in Beijing! Having worked in various kitchens across Asia, as well as his more recent stints at some of Sydney’s high-end restaurants, Doan has drawn on his varied experiences to create The D’s Bar & Dining menu. He counts international heavyweights Wolfgang Puck, David Chang, Martin Yan as well as local chefs Dan Hong, Takahiro Teramoto and Clare Smyth, as his culinary inspirations. And while the style of cuisine differs, Doan would love the same atmosphere, energy and personality of Restaurant Hubert for his own establishment, The D’s Bar & Dining. “I love the atmosphere, service and food there (at Restaurant Hubert), no matter what day or time you go in, it is always full of life and personality,” he says. At The D’s Bar & Dining, Doan has created a contemporary Asian menu reflecting his dual Vietnamese/Cantonese heritage, and catering to an eclectic demographic of cultures for which Marrickville and the Inner West is known. The menu which is regularly updated with innovative new dishes includes Beef Pho Tartar, Lobster Noodles and the famous The D’s Spring Roll. “We love to get inspiration from other cultures,” he says. “We always encourage our guests to embrace the customary approach of sharing dishes as our menu takes on familiar staples infused with traditional and modern techniques dedicated to preserving the freshness and nuances of our local produce.” By opening in Marrickville, fast becoming a go-to for multicultural dining, Doan hopes to give local diners a more accessible option than having to travel into the bustling CBD. “We want to target those who want a little bit of a more refined feeling in the Inner West, where you don’t need to travel all the way to the city to have a different experience.” To make a reservation: P: (02) 9171 5787. E: Bookings@theds.com.au

Surveillance, Sustainability and Safe Spaces It was in the eerie depths of winter 2021 that artist Shelley Watters conceived of Surveillance, a series of photographs taken in and around Marrickville during lockdown (“the Delta variant,” she prompts). Walking around the empty streets late at night, Watters mulled over the concept of privilege, art and the nature of confinement. The Marrickville local was then employed at the Sydney Opera House and drew a salary, a very comfortable position compared to other artists whose incomes had dried up. While walking along the Cooks River, the border between Marrickville in the Inner West Council area and Earlwood in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA, she realised that the neighbouring suburbs had very different experiences of the pandemic. “We were in lockdown but they were in ultra-lockdown. I was very aware of the position of privilege I had,” she notes. The fruits of that time became images of buildings overlaid with coloured acrylic. “I was voyeuristically looking and wondering, thinking about these homes, imagining the lives [within]. How were they experiencing this lockdown? And there are no figures at all in those images either. So they really do feel quite lonely and alien,” Watters explains. The different colours change the mood of the image, helping viewers engage with “how our perception changes when we look at something time and time again, when we see it afresh with new eyes,” she adds. It certainly shifted her view of Marrickville. “Surveillance was very much about place,” she states. “Place has a big influence on my work as an alternative way of connecting time and place with the bigger issues that we are experiencing.” It’s fitting that Surveillance, her first solo show, ran at Marrickville’s Scratch Art Space earlier this year in the neighbourhood it depicts and where she still lives. Much has changed since the project began, Watters is now a full-time artist, having given up her ‘day job’ in arts marketing and communication. It’s the culmination of almost 10 years of deepening her artistic pursuits, one that began in 2015 after the birth of her second child when she embarked upon a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Visual Culture at Curtin University via Open Universities. Now, she’s transferred from online to an in-person program at the Sydney College of the Arts where she intends to finish her degree in 2024, and then consider honours. “I have the opportunity to work with Joyce Hinterding and Vicky Browne and Julie Rrap – some really incredible artists in their own right who continue with their own practice in addition to fostering the kind of creativity and rigour to develop art practices of students,” says Watters. “It's really wonderful to be in person and to feel much more connected to the Sydney art world.” That art world is now expanding beyond her house, which is a new challenge. While there’ll be fewer interruptions (“I was playing around with ideas in my backyard and in the video you can hear my kids asking, ‘What are you doing, mummy?’”) and more space (“There was the time I filled our toilet with light blue balloons to create an installation in the smallest space we had”), there’s also the reality that art materials are now dearer. Watters intends to focus on procuring found objects – hat tip to the Marrickville Pay it Forward group – and other sustainable matters she can work with conceptually. As for her next move, she has secured an exhibition at Redfern’s 107 Projects for her new show, Safe Space, which explores gendered violence (50 per cent of the profits will go to the nearby Women's & Girls' Emergency Centre). She’s also currently looking at the council food and organic waste program for inspiration. “Something else that is really close to my heart is compost, so keep an eye out next year for the compost project.” Find out more about Shelley Watters at www.shelleywatters.com Her new exhibition Safe Space will be shown at 107 Projects in Redfern from 30 November to 10 December 2023. Local favourite Artist Shelley Watters on her favourite parts of the suburb: “We're so blessed to have this amazing library. It's such a great meeting hub for Marrickville. I also really love Gelato Franco, and Gasoline Pony would be another place that I would definitely call out, plus the galleries Scratch, AIRspace Projects and Sydenham International.” By Adeline Teoh

By ALEC SMART More on Cronulla Neighbourhood Media caught up with guitarist Ray Beadle, one of the foremost attractions at the 2021 Cronulla Jazz & Blues Festival in June. Blues guitar virtuoso Ray Beadle is performing two consecutive shows at Brass Monkey in Cronulla on 5 June, with a talented combo featuring Jonathan Swartz, Andrew Dickeson, Clayton Doley and Jade MacRae. Ray has enjoyed a varied career, with several collaborative recordings, six studio and three live albums to his name, including his latest, The 301 Live Session, released July 2020. Ray credits his mum’s diverse music tastes, which included Robert Craig, AC/DC and Dolly Parton, as a primary influence on his music appreciation. ”That non-biased prejudice towards any style of music from my parents really opened me up to be able to play and listen to whatever I wanted, and that’s still with me today.” he told Guitar Heroes in 2011. She is also a Maori - has this influenced your musical output? “I feel like the Maori spirit of the joy of music is something that has stayed with me always.” Ray was given his first instrument on his 9th birthday. What sort of guitar was it and could you already play before then? “I came home from school and it was in my bedroom on a guitar stand. It was a Stratocaster copy, a Cort. I still have it actually! Yeah, I was already playing a bit just on my dad’s acoustic.” Ray told Guitar Heroes in 2011, “I still remember it like it was yesterday, coming home from school and the guitar is sitting in my bedroom. I lost it completely! I loved it, took it to school with me every day. I was obsessed with it for about 6 years… All my friends at [Smithfield} school used to sit around at lunchtime and play guitar.. When I was about 16 my mum passed away and I moved to Marrickville from Fairfield and just started gigging straight away..” How long did it take you to master the instrument whereby you could play chords and scales? “Well, I am nowhere near mastering the guitar! I’m still learning and still have a lot to learn. I remember something clicking at around age 14 when It all began to make sense and I could genuinely express emotion.” Ray first began playing live (to audiences other than jamming with school friends) after he moved to Marrickville, at the age of 16. How did you start, was it street busking or jamming with other musicians in music venues? “Jam nights were the places to go. I met so many like-minded people. It was great. Sydney Blues Society had the best jams.” Foreday Riders with Ray Beadle (2nd right) Soon Ray met Ron and Jeff King from the Foreday Riders, Australia’s longest-running Blues band (founded 1967 and still performing today) who have played with many Blues legends, including B.B. King and Hound Dog Taylor. Influenced by big hitters Ray Charles, Lightning Hopkins, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Memphis Minnie, Willie Dixon and Manfred Mann, they have also been the backing band for touring musicians such as Bo Diddley and Junior Wells. How did you come to the attention of the King brothers? “A good friend of mine, Peter Ghossein, took me to one of their shows at The Royal Hotel in Ryde and asked them if I could sit in (I was too shy) and they said yes. That was the beginning of years of great memories!” Ray revealed the King brothers, Ron on harmonica, Jeff on guitar, “really helped me out a lot in booking gigs and stuff… They taught me a lot. From when I was 16 to 22 I was playing with them. I got really inside the Blues with those guys – they’ve got years and years of experience over me!” Was Foreday Riders your first professional band experience? “No, I had a gig as a guitar player in a blues band of friends that I had met through the jam nights mentioned earlier.” What other bands did you join as a regular member? “The Hippos, Whose Muddy Shoes, George Washingmachine and the Deadwringers.” Who have been some of your favourite artists to perform on stage with? “Jeff Lang, Chris Finnen, Chris Cain, Little Jimmy King, James Muller, Diesel, Renee Geyer, Kevin Borich, Geoff Achison, John Morrison’s Swing City, and Jackie Orzascky.” Ray’s latest album, The 301 Live Session, features a mix of his original songs and covers of Blues legends, including Robert Johnson, Louis Jordan and Muddy Waters. ---------------- Ray Beadle (with guest musicians) will be performing twice at Brass Monkey on Saturday 5 June 2021. EARLY SHOW: doors open 5.30pm for a 6.15pm show LATE SHOW: doors open 8.30pm for a 9.30pm show Details: http://brassmonkey.com.au/breaking-news/cronulla-jazz-blues-festival-presents-ray-beadle-jonathan-swartz-andrew-dickeson-clayton-doley-with-jade-macrae-early-late-show/ Brass Monkey, 115a Cronulla St, Cronulla, ph. 9544 3844 Ray Beadle: W: http://www.raybeadle.com.au IG: @ray.beadle =================== Cronulla Jazz & Blues Festival, 4-6 June 2021 Website: https://www.cronullajazzandbluesfestival.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CronullaJazzAndBlues Facebook events: https://www.facebook.com/events/cronulla-st-cronulla-nsw-2230-australia/cronulla-jazz-blues-festival-2021/951394702068902/ =======================================