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[title]Partying in Sydney can be a hit or a miss, especially for queer identifying folk. It’s easy to feel discouraged when venues created to cater to LGBTQIA+ community become overrun with squealing hens parties, glittery harnesses and hetero gogo dancers. However, if our recent visit to the Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art at Carriageworks tells us anything, it's that if you know where to look, there is plenty of grungy, alternative artistic flair sitting just beneath Sydney's flashy surface.
Day for Night was one such exception. Back for its sixth edition, the legendary queer party exhibiting wild peformance art, artists and DJs ran for a whopping 12 hours, transforming a giant warehouse space in Carriageworks into a Berlin-esque artistic haven that saturated the senses.
The legendary party experience had a splash of everything; including leather-clad men performing a razor blade shave, sparkly humans twirling for their lives with light-up hula hoops, and drag king sailors grinding beneath a flowing sail, all bathed in the persistent glow of a deep red light. All main performances were supported or followed by a variety of DJs, treating us to a range of EDM tracks and camp hits, finishing with the event's drivers, Stereogamous. Together, the queer musical duo comprised of Paul Mac and Jonny Seymour did all they could to create a queer community safespace.
A miniature version of Rush – the immersive art installation about the queer clubbing experience – added another layer to the frivulous proceedings. (Time Out spoke to the artists behind it about what they discovered, and it turns out queer punters just want "hot chips, good conversations and 'sexier pursuits'".)
The highlight of the night was a powerful set from the multi-talented musical artist BVT, who interlaid their captivating musical act with speeches on decolonisation and celebrating diversity within an already diverse queer sphere. At the beginning of their set, BVT asked all BIPOCs and trans audience members to come to the front and “take up space”, showing the audience what it means to truly celebrate minorities within existing minority communities.
This powerful move set the tone for the performance, an expression of BVT's culture and identity through outstanding vocal stylings, beatboxing and tight dance routines. The highlight of the act was BVT's song 'Lalaki', its title is a Tagalog word that has been historically used in a derogatory manner, but which they have since reclaimed as their own power.
The strength of these messages epitomised what Day for Night represents at its core, with it being (in their words); "an explosion of queer joy and togetherness", combining excellent party vibes, titilating performance art and an overwhelming sense of safe inclusivity to create a Sydney night out unlike any other.
As Sydney's nightlife scene continues to flourish post-pandemic, and with the imminent coming of WorldPride to our Harbour City, we can only hope to see the continued thriving and transformation of the city's queer nightlife scene into a far more inclusive space.