Fancy a night at the opera dahhling? Why the north shore is the culture capital of Sydney

FORGET plebeian pursuits like celebrity magazines and reality television — residents of suburbs like Mosman and North Sydney love art galleries, theatre and concerts.

Turandot being performed on Sydney Harbour. Picture: Prudence Upton

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IT’S official — people living on this side of the Harbour Bridge are the most cultured in NSW.

Forget celebrity magazines and reality television, residents of suburbs like Mosman and North Sydney love art galleries, theatre and concerts.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released new figures, commissioned by the Australian Council for the Arts, showing residents from Mosman to Hornsby are the most culturally engaged in NSW.

The figures reveal that 94 per cent had attended an arts or culture venue or event in a 12-month period. This compares to 75 per cent in areas like Sydney’s south west.

Big Dog outside Traffic Jam Galleries at Neutral Bay.

In the Mosman-Hornsby area, 39 per cent of people actively took part in a cultural event compared to 14 per cent in the south west or 17 per cent in Blacktown.

Rebecca Pierce of Traffic Jam Galleries at Neutral Bay said the figures reflected just how engaged lower north shore people were in art and culture.

“The figures may well dispel the long held assumption that the inner city and eastern suburbs are far more art centric than the northside of Sydney,” she said.

Mosman comedian Steve Lynch.

Soprano Amelia Farrugia.

Artist Rebecca Pierce.

Mosman opera soprano Amelia Farrugia said she wasn’t surprised.

“The residents of the lower north shore are certainly an affluent and well-educated bunch. I would personally like to see more people from all over Sydney engaged in cultural experiences.”

North Sydney comedian Steve Lynch said the north side loved its culture.

“We have so much culture it’s coming out of the exhaust pipes of our MX5s,” he said.

“We have concerts at Taronga Zoo, people!

“Anyone who questions our commitment to culture has clearly never been in the Pickled Possum at 1am.”