Sydney thinks of itself as the centre of the country, the only part that matters, but in the lucrative art market, Sydney is subsidiary to the old moneyed city of the south -- Melbourne.
For 20 years Daniel Thomas lived and worked in Sydney. In the 2 decades since he has left he has remained a frequent visitor, but he still sees Sydney from afar.
Nowhere is the art of Sydney's youth more obvious than in the public sphere. Discussion with Linda Forrester a researcher of the creative culture of graffiti, street machining and skate boarding.
The most incisive commentary on the visual arts in Sydney usually occurs in private conversations that are not repeated in print for fear of the NSW defamation laws. But there is a great deal published on the visual arts....
Editorial by guest editor Joanna Mendelssohn. What after all is different about Sydney? I have tried to give some idea of the debates which are not always expressed in writing - the incestuous nature of the mighty arts organisations; the way that words influence or corrupt understandings of art; and the limits on public debate because of fear of the consequences.