Sexual equality wins over modern theatre audiences
Robin Usher
Cock is an attention-grabbing title for a new drama being staged in Melbourne and Brisbane but there is a lot more to it than any assumption about out-of-control promiscuity.
Gudirr Gudirr: Dalisa Pigram's warning call
Adam Brunes
Australian dance-theatre maker Dalisa Pigram hears the wader bird's call, warning of the changing tides. To turn a deaf ear is to risk drowning - a grave metaphor that floods Pigram's debut solo performance Gudirr Gudirr, which has its Queensland premiere on February 20 as part of the World Theatre Festival at Brisbane Powerhouse.
Fringe World's localism complements Perth Festival's international program
Brendan Hutchens
Rather than compete with the international scope of Perth Festival, the city's fringe festival is embracing the local arts community during its month-long run.
A Company of Soldiers
Rachel Storey and Naima Lynch
On February 7, a small group of Australian Defence Force soldiers will be given the opportunity to tell their stories on one of Australia's most prestigious stages. The Long Way Home is a play developed in collaboration between the ADF and the Sydney Theatre Company, and as the title suggests, it's an exploration of the challenges, hurdles and struggles many ADF personnel face when making the transition from war zones to home - oftentimes bearing both physical and mental wounds.
Perth Festival 2014: Three of the best from opening weekend
Nicola Harvey
Perth was at the centre of a perfect cultural storm on Saturday night with arts lovers enjoying Bruce Springsteen, Laneway Festival, Perth Fringe and the opening events of Perth Festival. Here's three of the best from Perth Festival's opening weekend.
Behind the scenes at Perth Festival 2014
Brendan Hutchens
The Perth Festival is one of the country's biggest celebrations of the arts, with an estimated half a million people engaging with the festival each year. This year's program is as extensive as ever, from Public Enemy to Giuseppe Verdi's Otello performed by the West Australian Opera and the Cape Town Opera Chorus. Artistic Director Jonathan Holloway has delivered a program with rich variety of music, theatre, dance, film and visual art. Brendan Hutchens spoke with Holloway in the lead up to opening night on February 7.
Boutique is best
Ed Gibbs
The demise of Australia's major music festivals points to an increasingly fragmented market where niche is king, writes Ed Gibbs.
A photographic portrait of Chinese New Year 2014
ABC News / Cassandra Hannagan
Central Sydney was overrun by horses of all sizes and colours on Sunday evening as the city celebrated Chinese New Year.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar-winning actor, found dead in NYC aged 46
News Online
Oscar-winning American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in his New York City apartment after an apparent drug overdose.
Chinese New Year celebrations kick off around Australia with fireworks, parades and a 100m dragon
Mark Doman
Chinese New Year celebrations have kicked off early in Melbourne with the unveiling of a 100-metre dragon at Docklands.
Out of the box: South Australia wins big at Sundance Film Festival
Ed Gibbs
Often maligned by their ill-informed neighbours in Victoria and New South Wales, South Australians increasingly appear to be having the last laugh on their budget-stretched cousins.
Baz Luhrmann blockbuster The Great Gatsby dominates ACCTA awards, winning 13 categories
By National Arts Reporter Anne Maria Nicholson
Baz Luhrmann's blockbuster The Great Gatsby has swept the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts awards in Sydney, winning 13 prizes including best film.
The Great Gatsby wins six technical prizes at AACTA Awards
By national arts reporter Anne Maria Nicholson
Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby has taken an early lead at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, winning all six of the technical awards for which it was nominated.
Chinese New Year: Hu Ming's artistic revolution
Rachel Storey
For Chinese New Year, Hu Ming has been commissioned by the City of Sydney to paint an image that represents the year ahead. In the year of the horse Hu Ming has turned to her mother for inspiration, the woman who guided her army career and supported her artistic ambitions in equal measure.
Plans to demolish the Palace Theatre to make way for a hotel have been rejected
Mark Doman
A proposal to demolish one of inner-Melbourne's biggest live music venues has been rejected.
Sydney Festival: Measuring the Universe with Roman Ond
Rachel Storey
Over the past three weeks, thousands of visitors to the Parramatta Town Hall have had their names and heights recorded in black marker on the white walls of a temporary gallery space.
Australian musicians Syre & Fresco make debut at Chinese Spring Festival Gala in Beijing
China correspondent Huey Fern Tay
Australian performers will take centre stage at this year's famous Spring Festival Global Gala concert in Beijing.
Pete Seeger: Iconic US folk singer and activist dies in New York aged 94
News Online
Legendary American folk singer Pete Seeger, known for renditions of songs like If I Had A Hammer and Where Have All The Flowers Gone, has died at the age of 94, US media reported.
Jacki Weaver awarded Australian film's highest accolade
By national arts reporter Anne Maria Nicholson
Jacki Weaver is to be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the national film and television awards later this week.
Cities of our dreams: Rome
Julie Rigg
In an ongoing series, Julie Rigg explores the way cinema shapes our understanding of great cities.
What politicians can learn from the Oscars
Ewen Hollingsworth
While the films nominated for the Oscars are, on the whole, worthy of the recognition, it would be nave to assume that campaigning and backstabbing don't play their part in Hollywood's night of nights. Indeed, there's a lot our politicians could learn from the political machinations of Hollywood A-listers. First and foremost, a campaign should never start too early. Secondly, when in doubt, spend money. But there is one thing that Australian politicians can teach Hollywood: how to represent broader society. Compared to the Academy, the Australian Parliament is a bastion of equality.
As it happened: Daft Punk, Lorde dominate 2014 Grammy Awards
News Online
French electronic duo Daft Punk have dominated the 2014 Grammy Awards, winning five gongs including Album of the Year and Recording of the Year. The band - consisting of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo - took the awards by storm with their hit single Get Lucky from the album Random Access Memories. Their five awards in total added to the two they took out in 2009. New Zealand 17-year-old sensation Lorde (real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor) also had a night to remember, winning two Grammys for her hit song Royals, which came in at number two on triple j's Hottest 100.
Spirit of Akasha: why filmmaker Andrew Kidman is paying homage to cult classic Morning of the Earth
By Mark Bannerman
Filmmaker Andrew Kidman explains why he took on the task of creating a homage to one of surfing's most iconic pictures.
Floating World scoops Sydney Theatre Awards
Anne Maria Nicholson
A new production of the 1975 play The Floating World has scooped a cluster of prizes at the Sydney Theatre Awards.
Melbourne artist Daniel Crooks beats Pussy Riot to win prize at inaugural Asian art awards
News Online
A Melbourne-based multidisciplinary artist has beaten controversial Russian punk band Pussy Riot to win a $US20,000 ($22,000) Asian art prize.