The Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum Now presented by ANZ.

Welcome to our Secret World at Play. A night of interaction through art, music & spoken word. We dare you to play!

What do you get when three offbeat event curators from wildly opposing backgrounds and an underground bar hidden beneath the depths of Surry Hills’ burgeoning creative precinct unite as part of the inaugural March 2015 Spectrum Now Festival? A fascinating, interactive sonic and visual exploration into our world of wonder and magic! Playbar, Funkt Creative and Behind The Front have come together to curate a special event “OUR SECRET WORLD AT PLAY” on Friday the 20th of March 2015 at Play Bar Sydney, 72 Campbell Street, Surry Hills at 6pm!

Sydney’s most innovative music and visual underground bunker, Playbar is revealing itself to a wider audience for the first time, delving into the festival themed as ‘Surprise’, dedicated to bringing the broad-ranging and vibrant cultural and artistic life of Sydney to the streets. ‘Our Secret World At Play’ explores a 5 piece interactive art exhibition curated by Julia Odgers from Funkt Creative, interactive explorer of ideas by spoken word poet and ‘experiential engineer’ Bravo Child, live music by 10 piece band BATERIA 61 playing Samba Batucada – the sound of the famous carnival of Rio de Janeiro and collector of many styles DJ Edseven – founder of Lioness Presents!

Our 5 piece art exhibition features abstract artist Chie Tokuyama (Japan), graphic designer Patrick Curda, 2014 Greenway Art Prize winner illustrator Nat Sharpe, graphic designer Sam O’Callaghan (Adelaide), graphic artist Jamee (or Jamii) Hale and Funkt Creative Julia Odgers.

Welcome to ‘Our Secret World at Play’! Where imagination takes flight, where the secret world of curiosity calls on the brave to experience a world far removed from the everyday invoking you to feel the spirited enchantment of creative collaboration.

I dare you to Play!

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Julia Odgers //

Waterloo artist Julia Odgers has been creating art for over ten years. She’s had three successful solo shows, and this will be her second group show curation. And once again she’ll be participating. Typically her paintings are abstract pieces with bright colours, multiple layers and textures however this time she opts for the Wacom pen vs the paint brushes offering something unique to her typical style.

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Chie Tokuyama //

Hailing from Japan, Chie Tokuyama is an artist that has lived in Osaka, Fukuoka and Hokkaido. She has spent her life establishing an impressive body of abstract works. Chie’s bold use of colour and intricacy leave the viewer mesmerised in the detail of her subject matter. She now lives in Marrickville.

www.chietokuyama.wix.com/artist

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Patrick Curda //

Patrick Curda is a Communication Designer by trade. He runs a design studio by the beach which ticks along quite nicely. Being self employed means he has time to pursue a lot of other interests – music and DJing, classic sports cars (he’s currently restoring a 1971 Alfa Romeo) and scuba diving.

www.coastdesign.com.au
www.foundationrecordings.com.au

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Nat Sharpe //

Nat Sharpe believes that the world is a colourful, intricate place with both small and large creatures moving mostly harmoniously in places of colourful liquid, tied together in balls of string.

In 2014 Nat won the People’s Choice Award in the Greenway Art Prize and she is one of four Inner West artists awarded a place in The Newtown Artseat, 2015.

www.nataliesharpe.com

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Sam O’Callaghan //

Sam O’Callaghan is a amateur artist from Valley View in Adelaide, South Australia. Studies include graphic design and advertising as well as sign writing. White space is kind of something he likes to fill up with noise and activity and where possible he likes to put the pen straight onto the paper without a plan.

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Jamee Hale //

Jamee (or Jamii) Hale is a Graphic Artist living in Cromer on the Northern Beaches. She is a tactile person whose pet loves are animals, nature and putting life back into old furniture.

Jamee’s soft sculptures are a combination of quirkiness and playful fun taking inspiration from children’s books and charicatures. They are made from recycled clothing, old gloves and socks, stuffing, sewing and lots of giggles.

www.jamiih.com

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BRAVO CHILD //

“Live your art. Play your life.”

Bravo Child is a performance artist, game developer and experience designer. Building narratives on poetry and whimsy, he realises his worlds through physical performance, puppetry and sensory art.

Championing play and raw moments of connection, Bravo’s work is always vibrant and challenging. Whether juggling words, characters, pixels or bowls of custard, Bravo immerses his audience in a surreality which provides a unique perspective on life on planet Earth.

Beginning his career as a performance poet with accolades ranging from Winner of the Australian National Poetry Slam and Winner of the Patrick Alexander award for poetry section of Melbourne Fringe Festival to four years consecutive winner of Flexing Skillz; cross-discipline team freestyle competition, as part of Platform Hip Hop Festival at Carriageworks. Bravo has now developed his craft as an experience artist, bringing a tangible element to his world of words.

“One of the most prolific artists I know. It will do you good to learn about him.”
“I want to live in his poems.”
“He wears colors everywhere, is like a raiiiiiiiiinbowwww.
Have you seen him wearing pink?
With his gigantic glasses?
He’s like a gorgeous raiiiiiiinbooooow!”

Blog: www.spacemaninwonderland | Website: www.bravochild.com
Phone: 0403 965 396 | E-mail: bravochild@bravochild.com

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EDSEVEN (Lioness Presents) //

Armed with a unique ear, deep collection and a skill for combining diverse sounds, Sydney’s edseven has built a solid reputation as a dj over the last decade as well as a producer/remixer and more recently as a promoter.

A collector of many styles, a typical Edseven dj set could include anything from Detroit Hip Hop to Nigerian Funk, Broken beat to Chicago House, Classic Soul to Future Beat and beyond.

This musical range and the technical ability to hold it all together has seen edseven called upon to support international acts including Funkineven, IG Culture, Recloose, Grooveman Spot, Nickodemus, Suff Daddy, Linkwood, Samiyam, EL-P, Dj Food, Frank Booker, Mark de Clive Lowe, Raf Daddy, Peanut Butter Wolf, Pablo Valentino, Mark Pritchard, Jose James, Waajeed, James Pants, Domu, Dj Spooky etc.. Edseven has also held regular local guest spots and residencies across Australia including Soul of Sydney, The Croft Institute (Melb), Space is the Place, Rootdown (Melb), Dust Tones, Future Classic, Tonic Lounge, Playground Weekender, Adelaide Festival, Sugar, Vibes on a Summer Day and Headroom…

Edseven’s production work draws upon the varied influences with releases including the dusty Off Kilter Hip Hop of his first two EPs on Straightup Recordings to his future focused ‘Pigeon Clap’ released via Frequency Lab on their Headroom compilation. Remix work for artists including Cookin’ on 3 Burners, Dj Regal, Onur Engin and Rephrase..

In 2012 with the help of Melbourne stalwart Inkswel, edseven started a series of warehouse parties under the name “Lioness Presents’. The aim of this venture was to showcase top shelf international producers/djs in intimate Sydney warehouse spots. Delivering the initial goal in spades Lioness brought out West London artist Funkineven (Eglo Records), prolific master musician/producer Mark de Clive Lowe (Tru Thoughts), French House/Beats don Pablo Valentino (MCDE/Faces Records), cult label Firecracker’s Linkwood, Steve Spacek (Africa Hitech /WARP) and Recloose (Planet E).. Lioness Presents has gone from strength to strength with good friends Henry Compton and Fred Tectonic joining the crew soon after it’s inception.

Late 2012 also saw edseven start a weekly Hip Hop, Funk, Beats, Soul and Afrobeat night ’73 ’til Infinity’ in his home suburb of Newtown co presented by Sydney institution Soul of Sydney.. this monthly event has evolved to now call Surry Hills’ Play Bar home.

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BATERIA 61 //

Bateria 61 was formed by a group of friendly individuals who share a passion for samba. We’re on a mission to capture the unique and challenging swing of the carioca sound, and to share the fun with anyone who’s keen!

Our founding members have many years of experience playing in similar bands both in Sydney and abroad, including Sambalouco, Samba Frog, G.R.E.S. Alegria and Arrastão in Japan, and Samba Agogo in Wales.

website: www.bateria61.com/
facebook: www.facebook.com/Bateria61

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WHEN: FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2015 – OUR SECRET WORLD OF PLAY – SPECTRUM NOW
WHERE: PLAY BAR SYDNEY. BASEMENT 72 CAMPBELL STREET SURRY HILLS – 6PM DOORS OPEN
FREE ENTRY, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED. THE WORLD IS INVITED.

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The night went down as one of the most special events we have ever had at Play bar… All the transitions from art show, to spoken word, beatbox & poetry, to a flash mob samba band, to some of the dopest beats, made the night something to remember for a very long time… A huge thank you to everyone involved, all the artists, musicians and peeps behind the scenes that made it all happen, Get Funkt Creative & Behind the Front… All the hard work paid off with that beautiful coming together of people

There is so much we would love to say, however we cannot possibly put it any finer than Heather Feather did with her write up… Thanks Heather

Well Sydney town you have done it again!

When three creative geniuses, PLAY BAR, Funkt Creative and Behind the Front come together and present an event like “Our secret World at Play’, the senses are in for a real treat with the sights and sounds igniting the very energy in the room giving off a vibe that electrifies the air.

“Our Secret World at Play’ was the first event of The Sydney Morning Herald’s “Spectrum Now” Festival presented by ANZ. When you get three live performances energtic as Bateria 61 Grupo De Samba – playing the sounds of carnival Rio de Janeiro, the rhythmic rhymes from the word wizard himself, Bravo Child and the fatest beats from one of Sydney’s finest DJs Edseven founder of Lioness Presents, you have a magical collective that provides all the necessary flows of a Sydney party that you’ll never forget.

The featured artists that were an integral part of making this an unique celebration of collective talent included; abstract artist Chie Tokuyama (Japan), graphic designer Patrick Curda, Nat Sharpe winner of the People’s Choice Award in the Greenway Art Prize, graphic designer Sam O’Callaghan (Adelaide), graphic artist Jamee Hale and Funkt Creative curator, visual artist Julia Odgers and photographer Khufu Ra founder of Dog Town Production (NYC).

Well done to all the creatives involved for taking the Sydney party scene to a whole new level of flying high!

Another massive shout out to Khufu from Dogtown Productions for the amazing photos below…

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