Shut your laptops and ditch the to-do lists, the weekend is almost here. The good news is there's plenty to keep you occupied, if you so wish. Begin your weekend drinking in new work from Otis Hope Carey with his show Our Totem at China Heights Gallery or sink into your seats and catch Bodies Bodies Bodies at Melbourne International Film Festival. Hear from Isabel Allende, Andrew Quilty, Helen Garner and more, at Canberra Writer's Festival. Or why not camp out in the Katherine for Barunga Festival? If you're really keen, the annual City2Surf is kicking off this Sunday in Sydney, too. As for the rest of what's on this weekend across Australia? Read on to find out.
NSW
See Otis Hope Carey's show Our Totem at its opening night tonight at China Heights Gallery.
Do your stretches and register to join the annual City2Surf this Sunday.
Do your best to muster up a ticket to see Spacey Jane at Big Top, Luna Park this weekend.
Kip Williams is back, this time with an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at Roslyn Packer Theatre.
Manly Art Gallery & Museum opens its doors until 8pm tonight, inviting you to mingle and soak up the Environmental Art & Design Prize exhibition and celebrate the launch of Creative Open, where designers like Kit Willow of KITX will talk sustainable fashion and DJ Max Durham will be on the decks.
Settle in at Ensemble Theatre for playwright Vanessa Bates' play The One.
The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes are open for your viewing pleasure at the Art Gallery of NSW.
Victoria
Anna K, a play about how women in public roles are attacked by hostile voices intent on silencing them, is set to open at Malthouse Theatre tonight.
A night listening to Sigur Rós? Tell me more.
Lune Selects is open again this weekend in Carlton. Sort through racks of thoughtfully curated 90s and Y2K vintage.
If you digged Looking for Alibrandi, you'll want to get tickets to Laurinda. It's an adaptation of Alice Pung's novel of the same name, features Fiona Choi, Gemma Chua-Tran from Netflix's Heartbreak High reboot, and is set in the schoolyard as a study of culture and class.
Have you booked your tickets to Melbourne International Film Festival yet? Taking place across August 4 - 21 in cinemas across the city, it's a communal space to catch the most anticipated releases of the year and celebrate all our homegrown talent too.
QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection is on at the National Gallery of Victoria for its final weeks.
Queensland
Hayden James is playing the Fortitude Music Hall tonight. Find tickets here.
11 days of contemporary art, performances and live music are headed to the Gold Coast thanks to BLEACH* Festival. Explore the program here.
W Brisbane’s WET Deck has been transformed into a winter playground. Get amongst it.
Brisbane Music Festival is bringing the joy of sound to the city this weekend.
The Soul Trembles highlights twenty-five years of Chiharu Shiota’s artistic practice. Open at QAGOMA this weekend.
Brisbane's best local comedians come together for After Hours at Brisbane Powerhouse.
ACT
Canberra Writer's Festival is here. Hear from Isabel Allende, Andrew Quilty, Helen Garner, Mehreen Faruqi, and so many other prominent thinkers and writers.
Step into the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia to see Australians & Hollywood.
Spend your afternoon hanging out at Capital Brewing Co.
Hippo Co. are leading one of its famous whisky tastings on Saturday evening at 6pm.
South Australia
Bullying behaviour, tantrums and tough lessons are all part of a typical day at school – and that’s just in the staffroom! New play Chalkface is a scathing review of Australian schools, performing this weekend at State Theatre Company.
A surge of 90s alternative rock is headed Adelaide's way this weekend with Spring Loaded. Hear sets from Grinspoon, Killing Heidi, Frenzal Rhomb, You Am I, and more.
Explore the Fleurieu Peninsula, starting with these 5 beaches.
Western Australia
See Rhys Kosakowski and the rest of the Sydney Dance Company troupe perform Rafael Bonachela's Impermanence at State Theatre Centre of WA.
Step in to the newly opened AGWA Design Store, featuring wares from Haus of Dizzy, Broochella and more.
Freo.Social is your reliable source for a good time. Head down there on Sunday for its Front Yard Sessions with Michael Douglas.
Catch some live music this Sunday at Fremantle Arts Centre.
Northern Territory
The annual Barunga Festival is here. Celebrate sport, culture, country and music and camp out in Katherine this weekend.
Head over to Darwin Festival. Taking place across August 4-21, with performances from Ngaiire and Alex the Astronaut, as well as the annual Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. This is one not to be missed.
Explore a side of the Territory you haven't seen before with this guide.
Make your way over to Nightcliff Markets for Laksa, pastries, massages, and jewellery.
Tasmania
Beaker Street Festival is an annual celebration of science and art on for its final weekend across Tasmania. See the full program here.
Unyoked has added two new off-the-grid accommodation sites to its portfolio, this time in Hobart. Book your next weekend getaway now.
As always, Music at Mona is on this weekend. This time around Je Bahl and Emma Anglesey are just some of the acts set to perform.
Salamanca Market is open and calling your name this Saturday.
Road trip your way to any of these magical stays in Tasmania.
If art is on the menu this weekend then take this guide to Australian art in August.
