Keep the culture flowing, friends. Here are our picks for what to see during April.

Big list, small preamble. Off we go. 

Visual art

Plenty to stare at; plenty closing soon. To the gallery!  

The Art Gallery of New South Wales is hosting the vast Louise Bourgeois collection (which featured in Sydney Festival 2024) until 28 April, and the beloved annual display of HSC students’ excellence, ARTEXPRESS, until 21 April. White Rabbit Gallery’s atmospheric exhibition A Blueprint for Ruins has only one more month to go, whilst the Banksy display at Sydney Town Hall has just extended its visit.  

Finally, the 24th Biennale of Sydney is going strong across six locations, including the newly opened, heritage-listed White Bay Power Station. The annual Biennale features the work of artists from across the world, and every exhibition is free.  

Music

We're not going to dangle what you can’t have (SZA) so here are some top-drawer music gigs happening in April you can still grab tickets to.  

The ineffable Nick Cave hits the State Theatre for a series of intimate shows at the end of the month, whilst equally revered UK artist Beth Orton will play City Recital Hall. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra explores the magical music of Sibelius under the stewardship of conductor Osmo Vänskä at Sydney Opera House, and for something completely different to that, UK rock outfit Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes play Leichardt’s Crowbar with local legends These New South Whales on support.  

Finally, the annual Reggae Carnival is going down this Saturday 13 April at Fraser Park in Marrickville, with a long line up of reggae and dub artists topped out by Mungo’s Hi Fi, and featuring plenty of custom sound systems. This one’s family-friendly.  

Theatre and music theatre

The musketeers, the Holy Trinity, the Hemsworth brothers... good things come in threes, including Griffin Theatre’s epic send-off to the Stables Theatre before renovations, The Lewis Trilogy. Sydney Theatre Company’s and Dublin’s Gate Theatre co-produce The President, opening next week starring Hugo Weaving Olwen Fouéré, and Belvoir hosts acclaimed queer love story, Holding the Man, closing this weekend.  

For spectacle and song under the stars, a great evening awaits with the 1950s classic, West Side Story, held in the open air at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. 

Event fruit salad

It’s the category that isn’t a category, but nevertheless full of creative flavour.  

In your event fruit salad bowl this month you can enjoy stitch-inducing laughs at Sydney Comedy Festival, held in locations across Sydney so there’s bound to be something near you; captivating magic tricks (and drinks, always drinks) at Maho Magic Bar, which you may remember from such festivals as ours, two years ago; and a celebration of the creativity of games and their creators in Young Gamers Take Customs House, a free event for gamers aged 16-24 and their supporters.  

En avant! Your city awaits.