Arts
George Calombaris portrait wins Archibald Packing Prize
ANDREW TAYLOR Betina Fauvel-Ogden has been awarded the $1500 Packing Room Prize for her portrait of celebrity chef George Calombaris.
Top stories
Cory Taylor, author of Dying: A Memoir, has died
![Australian author Cory Taylor has died aged 61.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/06/7537873/Thumbnail1011116663gpaqgkimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpzqlz.png1467800281758.jpg-90x60.jpg)
SUSAN WYNDHAM Cory Taylor, a fine Australian writer, has died within weeks of the rush-publication of her last book, Dying: A Memoir.
German music giant BMG buys iconic Australian record label Albert Music
![An end to the glory days of Australian music – Albert Music sold to BMG sees the German company now owning the company which brought us Easybeats and AC/DC, pictured here in 1979 Left to right: Malcolm Young, Bon Scott, Angus Young, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/05/7536070/Thumbnail1011082018gm9m35image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpyzvm.png1467701125294.jpg-90x60.jpg)
BERNARD ZUEL A gut-wrenching decision means Albert Music, the company "built" by Easybeats and AC/DC, will no longer be locally owned, ending 131 years of a family business.
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair: A sorcerer's tale from Cape York transforms waste into art
![Senior Pormpuraaw artist Sid Bruce Short Joe.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/01/7527789/Thumbnail1010881686gpvphrimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpupau.png1467538590395.jpg-90x60.jpg)
ANDREW TAYLOR A remote Indigenous community shares its stories and protects the environment with its ghost net art.
Comedy group Aunty Donna is not your father's sister or even your uncle's wife
![The men from Aunty Donna. From left, Zachary Ruane, Mark Samual Bonanno and Broden Kelly.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/30/7525857/Thumbnail1010627982gptxzgimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpp9ji.png1467266682502.jpg-90x60.jpg)
LENNY ANN LOW Aunty Donna, a group of mostly hairy, funny men, do stupid, smart and clever comedy
You've waited 16 years for this. So what took The Avalanches so long?
![The Avalanches, from left, Tony Di Blasi, Robbie Chater and James Dela Cruz.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/27/7517566/Thumbnail1010726836gpregrimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gprdtg.png1467413745818.jpg-90x60.jpg)
CHRIS JOHNSTON In their first interview since completing the album the world waited 16 years to hear, The Avalanches explain what happened after they left us.
Music
Frank Ocean hints at 2016 release for his new album Boys Don't Cry
![Could a Frank Ocean album be about to drop?](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/05/7536061/Thumbnail101106773312in97image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpyout.png1467701823565.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Elie Choueifaty Frank Ocean has hinted at a July (or November) release for the much hyped, long rumoured Boys Don't Cry album.
The Corner Hotel in Richmond celebrates 20 years in photos
![Photographer Ian Laidlaw and music and marketing co-ordinator Sally Mather at The Corner Hotel in Richmond.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/02/7529549/Thumbnail1010975683gpwq11image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpwptv.png1467417133549.jpg-90x60.jpg)
ANNABEL ROSS It was only in 1995, when The Corner Hotel was purchased by Tim Northeast and Matt Everitt, that it really came into its own.
Ngaiire's new album finds blastoma is the cure not just the disease
![Representing for a whole lot of different parts of society, and happy to. Funk/jazz singer Ngaiire.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/29/7523081/Thumbnail1010832868gptoq7image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gptnms.png1467172019921.jpg-90x60.jpg)
BERNARD ZUEL A childhood illness became the spur 25 years later for a career-changing move for Papua New Guinean singer Ngaiire.
Waleed Aly rocks out on guitar to Prince's Purple Rain at Reclink's Community Cup
![Rocked out for charity ... Waleed Aly warming up before the gig at charity football match, the Community Cup.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/27/7517658/Thumbnail1010776468gpsg5limage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpsg44.png1466983636552.jpg-90x60.jpg)
EBONY BOWDEN He's known for his wily political interviews and influential columns, but The Project's Waleed Aly turned rock god for a charity event in Melbourne on Sunday.
Leo Schofield's postponed Sydney Sings festival believed to have cost taxpayers $1m
![Leo Schofield](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/20/7502480/Thumbnail1010439594gjuv1uimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpl86i.png1466416383244.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Nick Galvin and Andrew Taylor NSW taxpayers are $1 million out of pocket and Sydney's singing community is in turmoil with the shock cancellation of the Sydney Sings festival.
Stage THEATRE MUSICALS DANCE OPERA COMEDY
Billy Crystal on Donald Trump, Muhammad Ali and watching When Harry Met Sally with Princess Diana
![Portrait of actor Billy Crystal. 5th July 2016, Photo: Wolter Peeters, The Sydney Morning Herald](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/05/7536336/ed-05-billy_20160705211652175244-90x60.jpg)
SARAH THOMAS As Billy Crystal departed the US for his Australian tour just days ago, Hillary Clinton appears to be nudging ahead in the polls.
Meet the man who makes it rain in Singin' in the Rain
![A scene from <i>Singin' in the Rain</i>, which opens in Sydney on July 9.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/07/7540493/Thumbnail1011161140gq0pgdimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gq0oxg.png1467887708020.jpg-90x60.jpg)
ELISSA BLAKE In the world of showbiz, Alasdair Elliott is the guy who can rain on your parade. He can turn a sunny stage musical into a wash out.
Ranters Theatre's Come Away With Me to the End of the World ruminates on death and life
![Set designer Callum Morton (far right) and Ranters artistic director Adriano Cortese (kneeling) of Come Away with Me to the End of the World with actors (L-R) Patrick Moffatt, Beth Buchanan and Heather Bolton at Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne.
Photograph Paul Jeffers
The Age ARTS
1 Jul 2016](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/04/7533088/Thumbnail1010972830gpxyrbimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpwnmm.png1467691637619.jpg-90x60.jpg)
ANNABEL ROSS When readers of a certain vintage think of model volcanoes, they might recall an episode of The Brady Bunch.
Helpmann Awards 2016: Matilda The Musical gives grown-ups the slip in nominations
![Sydney Matildas Sasha Rose, Molly Barwick, Bella Thomas and Georgia Taplin.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/20/7503112/Thumbnail1010535913gpnegnimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpnai1.png1466478760914.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Debbie Cuthbertson and Louise Rugendyke Matilda The Musical leads Helpmann Award nominees with 13 nods, followed by Opera Australia with 10 and Melbourne Theatre Company with eight.
Zoe Coombs Marr brings Dave back in award-winning show Trigger Warning
![Zoe Coombs Marr.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/28/7520921/Thumbnail1010824186gpthh4image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gptgxm.png1467177067594.jpg-90x60.jpg)
ELISSA BLAKE What to do when every time you open your mouth, you offend someone? What way forward is there for a stand-up comic whose act is a showcase of everything you don't ever want to see in comedy again?
Visual Arts FULL COVERAGE
Election 2016: Turnbull government unlikely to win over arts sector at the ballot box
![MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Television and film writer, director and producer Tony Ayres is seen during lunch with Age journalist Paul Kalina at Mess Hall restaurant in the cbd on June 9, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Ayres has produced the tv show Glitch which will premiere on ABC TV in early July. (Photo by Wayne Taylor/Fairfax Media)](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/30/7526569/ed-30-tony_20160630213529138503-90x60.jpg)
ANDREW TAYLOR The Turnbull government is unlikely to attract many votes from the arts sector, but are the alternatives any better?
National Art School head Michael Snelling says merger with UNSW 'on the cards'
![Michael Snelling, director of the National Art School, concedes a merger with the University of NSW is possible.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/28/7521414/Thumbnail1010836474gptso1image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gptqey.png1467099604661.jpg-90x60.jpg)
ANDREW TAYLOR Sydney may be left with just one tertiary art school, with the head of the National Art School conceding the institution may be forced into a merger with the University of NSW.
Christo's 3km floating bridge victim of its own popularity
![Organisers underestimated how many people would visit the artwork, and how long they would stay.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/25/7514981/Thumbnail1010745048gppio9image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gprrvc.png1466826443468.jpg-90x60.jpg)
An influx of people to a small Italian town to see a big orange art installation has caused unforseen problems.
Victorian major events chiefs quit as government expands White Night to Ballarat
![The work of Ballarat art collective The Pitcha Makin Fellas was projected on to the Royal Exhibition Building during White Night Melbourne 2016.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/24/7514084/Thumbnail1010718110gmzikkimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpr732.png1466775810020.jpg-90x60.jpg)
DEBBIE CUTHBERTSON Victoria's most senior major events executives responsible for managing and attracting sporting, cultural and tourism drawcards have departed.
Archibald Prize 2016: Natasha Bieniek's small portrait captures Wendy Whiteley's great life
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/23/7510574/Thumbnail1010359865gpq2jdimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpjint.png1466663781881.jpg-90x60.jpg)
ANDREW TAYLOR Natasha Bieniek's portrait of Wendy Whiteley may be one of the smallest entries in this year's Archibald Prize.
Books FULL COVERAGE
Why does it take the dying to remind us how to live well?
![Doctor and author Leah Kaminsky: Books like Cory Taylor's memoir help us face the subject of dying.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/06/7537978/Thumbnail1011121000gpzuazimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpztyg.png1467791331035.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Leah Kaminsky Dying: A Memoir by Cory Taylor, who died this week, speaks out against the muzzle Western society had placed on discussing death. By Leah Kaminsky.
Brenda Niall's life of Archbishop Mannix wins Australia's oldest literary prize
![Mannix, by Brenda Niall.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/06/7537594/Thumbnail1011106183gpzimtimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpziiv.png1467795685179.jpg-90x60.jpg)
JASON STEGER Brenda Niall has won Australia's oldest literary award for her acclaimed biography of Archbishop Mannix.
Bestsellers: Jane Harper holds off Annie Proulx in the independent charts
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/07/04/7532961/Thumbnail1011031065gpansoimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpxwk9.png1467597489334.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Jane Harper's debut crime novel The Dry is number one in the independent charts but faces a strong challenge from Annie Proulx's epic Barkskins.
Alain de Botton and his School of Life come to Sydney
![Susan Wyndham Dinkus](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2014/04/25/5378091/Susan-Wyndhamdinkus-90x60.jpg)
SUSAN WYNDHAM Learn to live, die and converse better; the battle to #SaveOzStories; focus on Australian literature
Bookmarks: News and views from the book world
![Illustration: Andrew Dyson](http://web.archive.org./web/20160708134442im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/28/7520931/Thumbnail1010828305gptkavimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gptk41.png1467343449681.jpg-90x60.jpg)
JASON STEGER Parallel importing, a literary prize and who's coming to the MWF.
Features
Archibald Prize 2016: Pick your favourite
The judges have had their say - but what do you think?
Election 2016: Arts report card
We asked 10 questions of major and minor parties and gave them a mark based on their responses and performance during the campaign.
Video
Madonna starts Melbourne concert close to midnight
3AW speaks to a caller who waited more than four hours in the rain for Madonna's first attempt at her new "Tears of a Clown" show.
White Night 2016 highlights
Didn't get out to see White Night this year? Here's what you missed out on.
Grammys 2016: Kendrick Lamar performs
Rap artist Kendrick Lamar gives a fiery, politically charged performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards.
Photo galleries
Golden Plains Music Festival 2016
Golden Plains Music Festival 2016
Spectrum Now Photography
The Spectrum Now Festival photo exhibition features some of the most celebrated entertainers in the world, all captured by Fairfax photographers.
Laneway Festival 2016
13,000 people indulged in 12 hours of music at the Sydney Laneway Festival. Follow us on Twitter and check out our photography club Clique