Art exhibition combines the Marrickville Open Studio Trail and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade

It’s a bumper weekend of activities with the Marrickville Open Studio Trail and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

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THIS weekend is shaping up to be the most colourful celebration of art and love.

The Marrickville Open Studio Trail (MOST) will showcase the area’s studios, galleries and artist-run initiatives, while the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade will pay homage to the love for the LGBTQI community.

A fusion of both events is the Sydney Art Map and Landscape exhibitionby international artists Benoit+Bo at Petersham’s Newsagency Gallery.

The exhibition incorporates bold, colourful artworks inspired by Western and Chinese love symbols, including butterflies.

The feature piece is a Love Map of Sydney, designed with Saturday’s Mardi Gras parade in mind, which replaces Oxford St with “Lovely Campy St” and adds “Glittery Gay St”, “Spank St”, and “Bears Rendezvous Cinema”, among others, to the city’s LGBTQI heartland.

The colourful ‘double happiness’ artwork is one of the pieces in the exhibition. Picture: Craig Wilson

A world map of love, beauty and happiness. Picture: Craig Wilson

Bo Guo, who married his husband Benoit in France on Valentine’s Day two years ago, told the Inner West Courier he hoped the audience would take away a message of love, joy and beauty from the exhibition.

There are also more than 50 other art establishments in the Marrickville Council area that have special offerings for MOST, an event which has cemented the area’s place as the arts capital of Sydney.

MOST also includes tours, children’s workshops and artist presentations.

To find out more, and to download a map of MOST locations, visit marrickville.nsw.gov.au/most