132 AUSTRALIANTRAVELLER.COM
The 100 | Culture fix
60
DISCOVER AN
ART DECO TOWN
You might not expect to find one of Australia’s
biggest bounties of Art Deco buildings in a town
in Far North Queensland, but this is what you
get in Innisfail – where Art Deco meets the
Great Barrier Reef. The CBD of this
once-prosperous sugar cane town was largely
rebuilt in the style of the day following a cyclone
that destroyed much of it in 1918. Explore its
bold and colourful buildings on The Innisfail
Town Walk or take a tour of the landmark
Johnstone Shire Hall, which was said to
‘rival any hall built in Sydney’ when it opened.PHOTOGRAPHY: PRUDENCE UPTON (SYDNEY WRITERS’ FESTIVAL); QIN SHIHUANG’S TERRACOTTA WARRIORS, PIT 1 AND QIN DYNASTY (221-206 BCE) (DETAIL) QIN SHIHUANG’S TERRACOTTA WARRIORS, PIT 3, QIN DYNASTY (221-206 BCE) (DETAIL), © SHAANXI HISTORY MUSEUM (SHAANXI CULTURAL HERITAGE PROMOTION CENTER) AND EMPEROR QIN SHIHUANG’S MAUSOLEUM SITE MUSEUM (NGV)59
58
56
THE NGV KEEPS PULLING OUT THE BIG GUNS
Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria just keeps on giving in the culture
stakes, from fashion blockbusters like the House of Dior to contemporary
works of modern masters like David Hockney: Current. This winter’s epic
exhibition is no exception. Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality and
Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape is a dual presentation of Chinese art
and culture from both the past and present. The former will see a large-scale
presentation of the Qin Emperor’s Terracotta Warriors – the so-called ‘eighth
wonder of the world’, while the latter sees contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang
create all-new artworks inspired by China’s culture and traditions.WORLD-CLASS WRITERS’
FESTIVALS
From Melbourne to Mildura, Byron to
Brisbane and the Kimberley to Canberra,
writers’ festivals around Australia are
truly world-class, attracting top local
and international talent and providing the
perfect excuse to do something different
of a weekend. Highlights of this year’s
Sydney Writers’ Festival (pictured) which
runs until 5 May include lauded Pakistani
writer Fatima Bhutto, niece of Benazir,
and novelist Chloe Hooper.ALICE SPRINGS IS THE
CULTURE CAPITAL OF
THE OUTBACK
With groundbreaking Parrtjima – A Festival
in Light going from strength to strength
each year, fusing ancient culture with
modern technology, and Fab-Alice Mardis
Gras (pictured) fresh from giving Sydney
a run for its money with its inaugural event,
Alice Springs is becoming a cultural
destination in its own right. So consider
planning your next trip to the Red Centre
around its cultural calendar.EVEN MORE ART AT ULURU
From Field of Light to creative fine dining
experiences and ancient and contemporary
Aboriginal painting, the scope for
transformative art set against the iconic
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park feels
endless. And now for the first time ever
on Saturday 2 November, Opera Australia
will perform here in a blend of music, art
and landscape. Presented by Voyages
Indigenous Tourism Australia, the concert
will include famous arias from Bizet,
Puccini, Rossini and Verdi.57