Ben Apfelbaum

SYDNEY MARDI GRAS 2020 MEDIA LAUNCH

 

t Sydney Town Hall it was revealed that Mardi Gras festivities would start on Friday 14th February 2020 and will run until the 1st March 2020 with the Grand Parade happening on 29th February 2020.

Interim CEO Grant Lowe announced that the 2020 theme is ‘What Matters’ which highlights the legacy of Mardi Gras as a  platform for activism and hopes to encourage the public  to build an even more inclusive future, especially after the marriage equality legislation,

Creative Director Kat Dopper announced that there would be over a 100 events crammed into the seventeen day duration. The Festival Hub as well as many of the forums and discussions will be at the Seymour Centre.

The headline Act for the Mardi Gras Party is Dua Lipa.

As well as the Parade, queer performances, a film festival and lecture and panel discussions, there are other events which are expected to  attract large crowds.

These signature events include Fair Day on 16th February, kaftan party on 19th February, Sissy Ball on 22nd February, Family Fun Day at Luna Park on 23rd February, Pool Party on 24th February, Mardi Gras party at the Hordern Pavilion on the 29th February and ‘Laneway’ which will be held on the Beresford and Hill streets Laneway on 1st March, 2020.

The media launch was hosted by Bob Downe and Karen From Finance and some of the featured artists came on stage to pose for group photos.

Tickets are now available. For further details go to www.mardigras.org.au.

Pics by Ben Apfelbaum 

 

 

 

 

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.