Manly Arts Festival

Now in its 23rd year, the festival has long been a jewel in Sydney’s cultural crown, attracting audiences from across the state with the aim to not only get them enjoying the geography of the Northern Beaches themselves, but also to engage them with one of the most thriving cultural communities you could hope to find. Exactly what is fuelling this artistic renaissance within our northern neighbours is hard to say, but my money is on the council slipping something into the water supply.

“It does seem to be coming together at the moment, doesn’t it?” Roberts agrees, laughing. “Manly Art Gallery and Museum has been a cultural hub for the Northern Beaches, particularly over the last two decades, but of course there’s only so much we can do. We have always thought of ourselves as a regional gallery, even though we’re funded mainly by Manly Council and Arts NSW, and we’ve always worked with artists from Palm Beach, to Manly, to everything inbetween.

“But in the last five years, Pittwater Council has developed its own cultural plan. It’s moving towards exhibition spaces; it started the Live in Pittwater program to support these pre-existing cultural activities, and it’s generating new partnerships. Eramboo Artist Environment up in Terrey Hills has really been quite trailblazing in activating sites through public art. There’s the Avalon Art Carnival, and the Warringah Creative Space in Curl Curl which is seeing a lot of cultural development and is a very vibrant artistic precinct now. Then there’s artist-run initiatives, like the Art and Soul Collective. There have always been things going on, but we’re seeing extra support now. I think the Northern Beaches have found new confidence, and perhaps that’s what’s coming through.”

With so many music venues threatened, festivals folding and grass-roots galleries struggling for audiences, it’s encouraging to see such commitment to the arts. Of course, the Northern Beaches have long enticed artists of every make and mould, and while it may seem that Manly is turning into, say, Paris in the 1920s, Roberts is quick to assure that arts communities are going to need continued support.

Above:Northern Lightsby James Brickwood

“We’re still understaffed and under-resourced! But all the indicators for the new council are that arts and culture will be a priority. There are a lot of artists living here now. In the olden days, artists were attracted here because of the isolation and because of the cheap property prices. There was a real sense of community. You had Arthur Murch, who was a significant artist teaching upstairs at the Avalon Surf Club. You had Sydney Long, who had a tent on the shores of Narrabeen Lake and would invite groups there to create a little artistic hub.

“And there were always photographers. [The festival is] actually profiling seven photographers. When you talk to them they all say there’s something about the quality of light on the Northern Beaches. It’s bouncing from the ocean, from the lagoons at Pittwater and the harbour, and there’s this unique quality to the landscape here as opposed to the southern beaches.”

With a program that showcases author talks (including a discussion of Brett Whiteley by Ashleigh Wilson), artists markets, zine fairs, workshops and music – kickstarted by a live performance from Reg Mombassa and Peter Doherty at the launch party – it’s going to be difficult walking the Manly promenade without stumbling over something interesting and engaging.

Indeed, coinciding with the NSW Art Galleries’ latest exhibition, Manly will also play host to Frida Kahlo: Art, Life, Culture And Chocolate, an interactive look into Kahlo’s remarkable history. More than anything, the 2016 festival is a tremendous opportunity to break away from your usual suburban shackles and plunge into something refreshing and new; a chance to explore a multifaceted community just a short ferry ride away…

“We always want to attract new audiences,” Roberts says. “If you’re doing something authentic and real, born from the community, people visiting really feel that, and that’s what they want to be a part of. They want to quickly embed themselves in a local environment, and one way to do that is through participating in cultural events: visiting galleries, going to a café and finding local artworks hanging from the walls.

“And people love venue-hopping, picking and choosing. It really gives you a sense of involvement and a keenness to participate. You might come to the gallery to see an exhibition, but you end up seeing a concert as well, so you’re having that cross-fertilisation of disciplines. From there you might walk across to Desire Bookshop, which is having its Melody Poetry Desire event, and is having live music there as well at the same time. We’re trying to be very creative with our traditional spaces. A bookshop is no longer just a bookshop: it’s a place for conversation and music and dialogue.

“The flavour of the festival changes,” Roberts reflects. “Through a lot of socially-inclusive programs that have been developed, local people have really been given a lot of confidence. You might have some of the same presenters who have been there since the beginning, but then every year there are new partners, new events and artists. Everyone seems very motivated, there’s such initiative here, and the crowds we see really appreciate that.”

[Main image:Untitled Figures On Manly Beach by Nancy Kilgour]

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