Šime Knežević’s 2025 play Various Characters approaches with care and confusion the condition of Australian multiculturalism. A coming-of-age tale of multiple teenagers living in socially turbulent mid-2000s Sydney, the play never fully realises its focal point, nor answers the many questions it raises before the curtains close.

The Museum of Contemporary Art’s autumn 2025 season celebrates the diversity of Australian Contemporary Art with two exciting new exhibitions: ‘The Intelligence of Painting’, which features the work of fourteen women artists for whom the paint medium is a vital part of their practice, and Warraba Weatherall’s ‘Shadow and Substance’,  the first solo show by the Kamilaroi artist. ‘The Intelligence of Painting’ will run until 20 July 2025, while Weatherall’s work can be viewed until 21 September 2025. These two exhibitions are wildly different – just as the contemporary art scene itself is diverse and unpredictable. 

Walking past the slightly uncanny midnight pickleball league in a mostly asleep Entertainment Quarter, I wondered if anyone else was aware of the musical significance of what was going to happen inside Liberty Hall. Joy Orbison, the London-born and based DJ and producer, was about to play his first show in Australia. I reached Liberty Hall, pretty set in my conviction that there wasn’t a good chance many pickleball players knew about Joy Orbison. I was pleasantly and incredibly surprised

At the bottom line, salute rejected the pretension that seems to dominate much commercial dance music (read: the uninspired spoken word poetry of Fred Again). Eschewing these pseudo-philosophies of house heavy hitters, at the heart of TRUE MAGIC is a magical world of nostalgia, joy, and most of all, good old fun. Not only a testament to the varied influences upon salute’s signature sound, but the many influences that shape our first encounters with dance music.

Laneway 2025 was a refreshing return to normality for Australian music festivals. It featured a balanced and loveable lineup of fan favourites and internet sensations but was let down by its administration and infrastructure. Its artists provided fantastic and memorable performances that resonated but its vibes were either hamstrung by technical difficulties or over-police and surveillance