Ayebatonye Abrakasa

Welcome to the 49th guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! November’s culture selector is Ayebatonye Abrakasa: DJ, event producer, curator, director – and founder of House of Ayebatonye. Every week in November, Ayebatonye will be telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendation, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to her. I recently caught the last week of the fantastic group show, Fully Sick at Gallery Aurora in Summer Hill. Fully Sick was a group exhibition that showcased the work of artists living with chronic illness, pain and disability. The artists pulled “back the hospital curtain to reveal their intimate and vulnerable lived experiences and complex relationships to their bodies, their identities and the outside world.” (That's from the Facebook event.) According to statistics there are 9% of recorded working artists with disability, yet within our society they are not often represented. Fully Sick facilitated a space where the artists could use their art as a vehicle to look at the intersectionality of multiple marginalised identities, disability and accessibility advocacy. Through this exhibition, which featured a diverse range of artists, a platform existed for “experiences that are often silenced”. Aboriginal representation was of significant importance in this exhibition. Aboriginal people live with the highest mortality rate in this country and face racism and stigma in t

Welcome to the 48th guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! November’s culture selector is Ayebatonye Abrakasa: DJ, event producer, curator, director – and founder of House of Ayebatonye. Every week in November, Ayebatonye will be telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendation, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to her. If you’re yet to attend the annual Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) grad show opening night, then sorry to be the bearer of bad news: you’ve been missing out. The historic institution has assisted in cultivating the talents of many gifted contemporary artists and, as with the many other years I have attended, this year did not disappoint. It was so beautiful to see friends, family, teachers and artists alike on the lush green lawns and within the heritage listed buildings marvelling at gorgeous art while celebrating the success of their loved ones. There were several pieces that I was taken away by – one of the key highlights of the night for me was the installation by the uber-talented Mikaela Stafford. Mikaela is a multi-disciplinary artist and curator who plays with light, projections and sound to create illuminating bodies of work that utilise everyday objects (which I love as I always encourage DIY DIVA REALNESS!). Mikaela exhibited a piece featuring metal chicken wire pulsing with projections that refracted off the wire to create this hypnotising installation t

Welcome to the 47th guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! November’s culture selector is Ayebatonye Abrakasa: DJ, event producer, curator, director – and founder of House of Ayebatonye. Every week in November, Ayebatonye will be telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendation, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to her. I spent my last Tuesday evening the way every Tuesday evening should be spent: attending the first ever See You Next Tuesday event at the Lady Hampshire hotel.   I walked in and what I felt was the ambiance of a space that was fostering joy and mutual understanding through conversation. The vibe was welcoming, there were delicious free Pimms Cocktails and alcoholic lemonade on offer, and it felt as though the entire venue was celebrating each and every individual’s existence and the fact that we were all gathered in the same space. See You Next Tuesday was created to facilitate an inclusive, open and fun safe space for all female, female identifying, WoC, non-cis bodies and allies. I am always a fan of a space where I can interact with people that share a level of mutual understanding through lived experiences; where knowledge can be shared/exchanged, intersectionality unpacked and perceptions challenged. There was most certainly a lot of conversation that stemmed from a live interview hosted by FBi host/DJ/MTV presenter/national treasure, Flex Mami (pictured above)

Welcome to the 46th guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! November’s culture selector is Ayebatonye Abrakasa: DJ, event producer, curator, director – and founder of House of Ayebatonye. Every week in November, Ayebatonye will be telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendations for this week, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to her. If you know me at all, you would know I am all about food. I grew up knowing the importance of good food with my parents’ African restaurant in Newtown, and I am always looking for flavours that inspire me to live my best life. So there was no doubt in my mind that I would skip the social anxiety of big crowds at Newtown Festival (although I am sad I missed Oyster Club’s David Bowie Extravaganza) and instead spend my Sunday with two Brown Queens serving up plates of delicious food. Muhammad Ali and Amar (aka Bangles and Bindi) are two boys dressed in Saris bringing South Asian food to the Inner West with the launch of their new food truck: 2 Boys in Saris. I was lucky enough to be invited to the private launch, where in the company of ten fabulous people I ate my body weight in the deep fried decadence that is onion pakoras (onion, chickpea flower and curry leaf fritters) and fantastic North Indian street food, dahi bhalley (almond-ginger-lentil dumplings in spiced yogurt sauce). Supplied   What started off as a small-time catering business has bloss

Welcome to the 44th guest blog post of Time Out Sydney's 52 Weeks of #SydCulture 2017 challenge! November’s culture selector is Ayebatonye Abrakasa: DJ, event producer, curator, director – and founder of House of Ayebatonye. Every week in November, Ayebatonye will be telling us what she loved the week before. Think of it as your recommendations for this week, from someone who sees a helluva lot of arts and culture. Over to her. Last Thursday night I attended the incredible opening night of To the Inclusion of All Others at Verge Gallery, featuring a group of young artists from a diverse range of backgrounds, who have mobilised to address their disenfranchisement during this trying time, and reach out to the queer community to come together in solidarity. To the Inclusion of All Others sprouted from the postal survey on marriage equality, a difficult time for many within the LGBTQIA++ community, and explores the potency of sexuality, gender, local history and social commentary. The exhibition statement reads: Remixing and reconsidering these norms, artists will reference ceremonies, trinkets, sentimental items and other subtleties as a way to meditate on the ways we sustain each other in the wake of danger and delegitimisation. Coordinated by Nina Dodd and Jonno Revanche, the exhibition contains politically charged art created during a time in which I am sure a lot of us are critically self-reflecting on our lives and decisions in the midst of a divided nation where some peopl