The winners for the inaugural Time Out Arts & Culture Awards in Australia have been announced at awards events in Melbourne and Sydney. Both Critics’ Choice and People’s Choice trophies were awarded to stand-out musicals, plays, performers, art exhibitions, and museum exhibits from the past 12 months.
The establishment of the Time Out Arts & Culture Awards comes off the back of strong brand recognition of Time Out’s Food & Drink Awards, which have been running in Sydney and Melbourne for many years now. Time Out has a strong reputation for independent critical reviews in both arts and hospitality, and it was time to channel this into establishing a new awards showcase for the Australian arts community.
“Our cities have thriving performing and visual arts scenes that deserve to be spotlighted and celebrated, and the new Time Out Arts & Culture Awards are an opportunity to do just that,” says Time Out Melbourne Arts & Culture Editor, Ashleigh Hastings. “We’re aiming to give Australian talent the recognition they deserve, while continuing to encourage people to get out and experience the best of our cities, which is what Time Out is all about.”
The Sydney Awards event was held at the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s home venue at Pier 2/3, overlooking Sydney Harbour down in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct; while the Melbourne event took place at Aunty Kim’s, a soirée venue in Collingwood from the Rice Paper Scissors team.
“This is just the beginning,” says Time Out Sydney Arts & Culture Editor, Alannah Le Cross. “We have identified a hunger for more arts awards in this country, and spaces to bring people from across the creative industries together. So we’re keen to grow the Time Out Arts & Culture Awards year on year.”
Read on for the list of Critics’ Choice and People’s Choice winners in both Sydney and Melbourne (and you can check out nominees for all awards via the winners’ page, here)...
SYDNEY WINNERS:
Best Musical: Zombie! The Musical
Best Performance in a Musical: Seann Miley Moore in Miss Saigon
Best Play: The Lewis Trilogy
Best Performance in a Play: Janet Anderson in Overflow
Best Art Exhibition: Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns
Best Museum Exhibition: 1001 Remarkable Objects
Impact Award: Artspace
People’s Choice Award for Best Musical: & Juliet
People’s Choice Award for Best Performance in a Musical: Casey Donovan in & Juliet
People’s Choice Award for Best Play: Back to Birdy
People’s Choice Award for Best Performance in a Play: Janet Anderson in Overflow
People’s Choice Award for Best Art Exhibition: Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns
People’s Choice Award for Best Museum Exhibition: The Underground at Qtopia
MELBOURNE WINNERS:
Best Musical: Groundhog Day the Musical
Best Performance in a Musical: Courtney Monsma in Wicked
Best Play: The Hate Race
Best Performance in a Play: Max McKenna in The Almighty Sometimes
Best Art Exhibition: Triennial
Best Museum Exhibition: Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion
Impact Award: Connection at The Lume
People’s Choice Award for Best Musical: Groundhog Day the Musical
People’s Choice Award for Best Performance in a Musical: Calista Nelmes in Rent the Musical
People’s Choice Award for Best Play: Death of a Salesman
People’s Choice Award for Best Performance in a Play: Max McKenna in The Almighty Sometimes
People’s Choice Award for Best Art Exhibition: Connection at The Lume
People’s Choice Award for Best Museum Exhibition: Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition at Melbourne Museum