The best kind of night is a free one. That is a good enough motto as any and with the bustling art scene in Sydney why not get some friends and hit up the gallery circuit.
This is a great idea for a number of reasons.
1. The whole 'bums on seats' concept. Ok, so there probably won't be many seats there, and if there is and you park on them then you're kinda missing out on the whole concept. But getting along to these things really helps the artist gain more public attention and they damn well appreciate a crowd.
2. Word of mouth. If you go, more often than not you'll tell your friend about it and they'll go. Word of mouth is bigger than
interest rates right now, so do your bit and spread the good word.
3. It is a free night out! Unless you get your art buyer hat on and purchase some work (gosh knows the artists want you to). It is a great way to mingle, meet people and have a sneaky beer or wine.
The deal is, many of the galleries large and small have continually changing exhibitions and more often than not they have an opening night to launch the occasion. These occasions can be celebrated by a few cheeky beers to more of a party atmosphere, complete with band, VIP's and some hip new microbrewery beer that you've never heard of, (that or
VB Raw, which I strongly suggest you never try).
And heck yes peeps, it is free as a bird*. There are too many galleries and openings to poke a stick at and some of them get more of a line up than a midnight session of that
Harry The Wizard Kid.
A good place to know where the galleries are at is to check out the online gallery listings from Art Almanac. These events happen weekly, it is a great way to meet new people, get your culture on and have a different, uber inexpensive night out. Check out the art schools too, like
this one or
this one.
*Of course there are exceptions. Sometimes birds cost money, as do galleries, but not often.
