Since 2018 the Sydney Opera House has been presenting works under the UnWrapped banner. Somewhere between a season and a mini-festival, each iteration of UnWrapped gathers together some of the most exciting independent Australian artists and small-to-medium companies, and provides a platform for them to showcase new, risk-taking work spanning across dance, music, live art and theatre.

Fiona Winning, Sydney Opera House Director of Programming and the curator of UnWrapped, spoke to Hugh Robertson via Zoom about the importance of art to help us make sense of the world around us, and the power of the Sydney Opera House brand to entice audiences to try something a little out of the ordinary.

A promotional image for <i>RUNT</i> by Patricia Cornelius, Susie Dee and Nicci Wilks, playing at Sydney Opera House <i>UnWrapped 2022</i>.

A promotional image for RUNT, co-created by Patricia Cornelius, Susie Dee and Nicci Wilks, playing at Sydney Opera House UnWrapped 2022.

Tell me about UnWrapped – where does it sit amongst the Opera House’s slate of events?

It is a very important piece of programming for us, because it actually allows us to work with independent artists at creating new...