A sizeable disposable income shouldn’t be a barrier to squeezing the most out of the city’s artsy and cultural offerings (especially in this economy). The city is set to sizzle when Sydney Festival fires up the summertime revelry with three big weeks of events. There are more than 130 things to choose from, with a heap of free events to pick from (and a bunch more that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, also).
Sydney’s iconic harbour will take centre stage, with works and events presented on (and in celebration of) water, from January 5-28. If you’re staying home for any reason, the Sydney Festival At Home Program has been created so that anyone, anywhere, on any device can discover and enjoy Sydney Festival content any time. It features an evolving mix of live streams, work from emerging artists and more – and it is all totally free to view.
If you’re getting out and about, we’ve rounded up our top picks of free Sydney Festival experiences. Bust out your planner and fire up the group chat, it’s time to make this a summer to remember, on any budget.
9 top free experiences at Sydney Festival in January 2024
Meet this giant inflatable octopus bobbing around on Sydney Harbour
It’s no secret that our city bloody loves to set a massive inflatable thing loose on Sydney Harbour (remember the vacant stare of that big rubber duck?) – but this humongous octopus is one that we’re genuinely intrigued by. Multidisciplinary Māori artist Lisa Reihana’s majestic Te Wheke-a-Muturangi: The Adversary will take up residence in Watermans Cove, Barangaroo. Inspired by a tale from Māori mythology and made from more than 1,000 pieces, the giant female octopus will be gently animated by harbour breezes and shifting currents, bathed in sunlight and moon-glow. To deepen your connection to the artwork, you can scan the QR code on-site to hear Te Wheke’s remarkable story; or, hit the harbour on a kayak tour for an up-close encounter (from $89). Showing from January 5-28.
Get hands-on at this haute couture event where you make and model your own outfit
This workshop-performance hybrid invites you to create the unique fashion statement of your dreams from old clothes and textile waste (with artists on hand to help you realise your creation). If you live for the design challenges on RuPaul’s Drag Race, then start your engines for House of Fast Fashun (Jan 20-21). A runway show will happen every hour on the hour, with music, an audience, and the opportunity to show off your creation in an inclusive and celebratory reclamation of the catwalk (while contemplating the colossal waste created by the fashion industry). Werk.
Have an opera on the harbour experience with this dark and edgy floating show
A nautical noir performed under the stars and on the harbour – Puccini’s one-act masterpiece Il Tabarro (Jan 9-13) will be staged for free aboard The Carpentaria, a historic bright red lightship built in 1917 – the same year Puccini finished work on the composition. Innovative director Constantine Costi and his team are taking this darkly romantic tale of passion, desperation and heartbreak to an updated setting inspired by 1930's Depression-era Sydney, with a live orchestra to boot. Tickets are free and you can register here. Can’t make it down? This event will also be available to watch via live stream as part of Sydney Festival's At Home digital program.
Get onboard with concerts and workshops led by seafaring environmental punk activists
Sailing into Sydney for the Festival, global seafarers Arka Kinari will dock at Campbell’s Cove for their harbourside season (Jan 18-20). Across three nights, their sailing vessel will be transformed into a stage for a free multimedia performance from duo Grey Filastine (US) and Nova Ruth (Indonesia). Combining synthy post-folk beats and cinematic visual artistry, the pair explore the potential of a radically different future after the carbon economy, one that promotes resilience and encourages re-engagement with the sea.
Get down with a dozen nights of free live music and Southeast Asian market vibes
Spice up your humid summer evenings under the big trees in the Seymour Centre courtyard with Banyan Nights (Jan 9-21), which celebrates the rich culture of Cambodia and its neighbours over 12 evenings. The market square will feature tuk-tuks, lanterns, crafting workshops and free live entertainment from the likes of Maggie Tra, Pho the Girls, Suara Indonesian Dance Troupe, Alisha K, Marcus Whale, Blanche, and a curated evening with the self-described ‘Gasysian Empress of Sydney’ Dyan Tai + friends and Rainbow Chan. Peckish? Save up your pocket money to tuck into traditional Cambodian, Indonesian, Malay and First Nations food.
Listen to the next generation at this powerful and inclusive First Nations ceremony
The Vigil (Jan 25) is an intimate annual event on the eve of January 26 that has been part of Sydney Festival for six years now, and in 2024 a new generation of First Nations artists will take centre stage at this powerful platform for truth-telling and hope. In a unique festival collaboration, the Marliya Choir is joining this year’s ceremony with a group of young Indigenous singers from Cairns at Barangaroo, and a large-scale installation on Stargazer Lawn will come to life with the choir as they sing of their dreams, realities and hopes for the future. Working closely with the festival, choir members have been asked to reflect on how they see the future Australia they want to live in, with their answers shared in song and in the night sky above Sydney through a spectacular drone experience. The event starts at 8.30pm and no registration is required; it will also be free to stream as part of the At Home digital program.
Pack a picnic for a concert under the stars with the Sydney Symphony and William Barton
A free, unticketed evening of good company and great music featuring a rousing fireworks finale, there's a reason Sydney Symphony Under the Stars (Jan 20) is a permanent fixture on the Festival's calendar. This year the annual event in the Crescent in Parramatta Park is mixing things up, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to be joined by the didgeridoo magic of William Barton and some esteemed friends.
Suss out beautifully haunting art experiences at Casula Powerhouse
This underestimated hub of artistic brilliance out west in Liverpool is well worth a visit, especially with the dark and mystifying (and interactive) exhibitions that Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre is offering up during Sydney Festival. Ever wanted to meet an ancient Celtic spirit? Immersive video art installation Margaret and the Grey Mare (Dec 9-Apr 28) is allowing you to do just that, through the power of Artificial Intelligence. Taking place in a forest at the height of the European witch-trials, Katy B Plummer’s work explores the possibilities of AI as oracle, and witchcraft as a feminist framework through a sort of operatic fever dream. Meanwhile, The unbearable right to see and be seen (Dec 9-Apr 28), a new major solo exhibition by artist Eddie Abd, explores the tension between self-representative image-making and the gaze. The artist melds together digital images and embroidery, and ancestral and modern references to create gilded, beautiful and haunting images.
Volunteer to dance on stage with a master musician
Multi-award-winning recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey undertakes a radical re-invention of the solo recital in Soliloquy (Jan 17), subverting the hierarchy of traditional concert music presentation. While tickets to be in the audience start at $79, there is another way to be in the room, and that is to share the City Recital Hall stage. Some 32 volunteers are invited to perform on-stage with Lacey, creating a hypnotic act under the guidance of renowned dancer-choreographer Stephanie Lake and director Gideon Obarzanek. No dance experience required. Volunteers can register their interest via the Sydney Festival website.
Of course, this is just a taste of the massive program. If you’re getting down to Sydney Festival’s Thirsty Mile hub along the finger wharves in Walsh Bay, check out free art displays including Talking Posters: Garage Graphix 1981-1998, an exhibition exploring the lineage of hundreds of political and socially relevant screen-printed posters created in Mt Druitt; and Hi-Vis, the vibrant 46-metre-long installation from British artist Michael Shaw, where “art strangles architecture on a grand scale”. You should also closely guard any hot chips, because Melbourne’s always-anarchic Snuff Puppets are setting giant Seagulls loose around the city. Big and tall, these clownish avian menaces will be flocking to The Thirsty Mile, Bondi Beach and Circular Quay in free roaming performances. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.