Latest news with #Swingers
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Latex, Teletubbies and Miranda July: putting my way through feminist mini-golf course Swingers
When I was a child, my friend's dog had puppies and she invited us all over to meet them, then go for a round of mini-golf. She called it pat pat putt putt, and it was the most legendary game of mini-golf I'd ever played. Until now. Swingers, the interactive exhibition central to this year's Rising festival, brings a dash of whimsy and weirdness to the game. Each of the nine holes is designed by a different female artist in homage to the sport's little-known feminist history: created in 1867 when women were barred from playing the main game at St Andrews links in Scotland. As curator Grace Herbert says on the Swingers preview night: 'We think of [mini golf] as silly, childlike and infantilising – but it has a subversive history.' In the cavernous space of Flinders Street ballroom – a hidden section of the train station that lay dormant for decades and now Rising's go-to venue for quirky art events – this playful, and playable, exhibition comes to life. The ballroom's peeling walls and eerie hallways are a well suited match, with most of the courses accessed through doorways along the hall, like portals into different worlds. The rules: there's a 10-stroke limit, you can move your ball one club-length from the edge of the course without penalty, and an out-of-bounds ball can be placed at the point of exit with a one-stroke penalty. My friend and I decide we will approach it much like any game of mini-golf. There are no scorecards, so we make one in the Notes app then rapidly abandon it. In the first room, Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey has created a colourful and charming ode to her childhood and pop culture: Dolly Parton and Cathy Freeman stand alongside a Greyhound bus, which Whiskey travelled in to attend golf tournaments as a child. It's straightforward – I sink my ball in three putts. Still got it! But the first hole lulled me into a false sense of security. At the second hole, designed by Natasha Tontey, I place my ball through a Devo hat and try to hit it into an adjoining room. Other people's balls bounce off mine, moving it further away from the goal. I decide that I should keep my day job. I don't even sink the ball before I move on. From there, it only gets loopier, and the game becomes almost secondary to immersing yourself in each wild world. Australian artist Pat Brassington riffs on a carnival classic to create a creepy course that I can't get away from quickly enough (compliment). The old adage about trying to fit a square peg in a round hole is taken literally by British artist Delaine Le Bas (an extremely difficult and very funny hole). Experimental film duo Soda Jerk contributes one of the more disturbing works – you'll never look at Teletubbies in the same way again. And Singaporean-Australian sculptor Nabilah Nordin creates a beautiful house made of bread, but the slippery plywood floors make the game tricky. The signature latex of Tokyo artist Saeborg manifests in us donning wearable ears and tails, the latter of which becomes a makeshift golf club. Another friend there calls this hole the most stressful experience he's ever had, and gives us a hot tip about which tail to choose. We absolutely smash it, hitting the large foam balls into the goal twice in the 90-second allotted time period. Maybe there is a future for me in sport after all. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning But it's not really about winning. US rapper Bktherula's hole is easy to sink with a single stroke, but players are encouraged not to aim for that as hitting the ball against obstacles produces different sounds. The final hole is designed by US writer and film-maker Miranda July: you launch your ball through a large wave and it rolls to a maze of different paths, each of which has a flag with life advice on it. 'You are insulting yourself in ways you find insulting. Insult a hat like that and I promise the hat will cry. Today you stop,' reads one. It's a bit live, laugh, love for my liking, but they're sweet and earnest, and we could all probably use that at the moment. When we run around to see which words of wisdom we've received, it's too late – the balls have gone, and we don't know which holes they've sunk into. As we exit the ballroom, I think to myself that we've gained some wisdom regardless: art can and should be fun, weirdness is wonder, and the scenic route is always worth taking. Swingers: the Art of Mini-Golf is open in Melbourne's Flinders St Ballroom as part of Rising festival until 31 August
Sydney Morning Herald
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Join the club, ladies: In this mini-golf game, you'll come out swinging
A wise guy once recommended golf as the number one way to relax, focus, and plot one's comeback. He ought to know. He made a very, very big comeback and owns an insurrection of golf courses. Very, very nice golf courses, in very, very nice spots, like Palm Beach, Los Angeles, Bali and Dubai, where he has miraculously turned the desert into lucrative valleys of green. Of course, not everyone can afford to buy innumerable hectares of prime real estate and turn them into playing fields for the ridiculously rich. For some people even a simple round of golf on someone else's nice green field may be prohibitive. This is where mini-golf comes in. It needs far less space, far less maintenance, and a good deal more humour. For almost 160 years, long before our wise guy was born, mini-golf has offered light relief and sweet comeuppance to those who, for reasons of gender or class, have been historically excluded from maxi-golf. There are various origin stories for mini-golf, and one of them takes us back to 1867 Scotland, the home of golf, where women, incensed at being denied the chance to swing a club alongside their menfolk, staged a mini uprising. Swinging a golf club was considered 'unladylike', as were many other sporting activities back then. But these 19th century Scottish ladies wanted to putt – lady-likeness be damned – and so they founded what is said to be the first mini-golf course, or at least its precursor, in St Andrews, Scotland. Their small nine-hole course, dubbed the 'The Himalayas' for its bumpy surface, still exists and stands as testament to the women's resolve. Drawing on this spirit of playful rebellion, Rising festival curator and mini-golf obsessive Grace Herbert has enlisted nine marvellously inventive artists, among them Miranda July, Kaylene Whiskey and Pat Brassington, to devise a nine-hole mini golf course upstairs at Flinders Street Station. Herbert has dubbed the project Swingers, a neat little pun that alludes to the invention of mini-golf, and the bizarre notion that swinging a club would somehow warp a woman's femininity, with the bonus of insinuating other types of non-conformity besides. As a title, Swingers is both political and tongue-in-cheek, a quality that carries through the exhibition. 'A lot of the conversations I've had with artists have been about joy and play and that while we kind of need that at the moment, that release can be a political act in and of itself,' Herbert says. 'We've been calling it a playable art exhibition.' It's not the first time mini-golf has been co-opted by artists – American Doug Fishbone brought mini-golf to the 2015 Venice Biennale – as Herbert discovered while researching her idea. Now Flinders Street Station, with its evocatively arched windows, pleasingly peeled walls, historic domed ballroom, and not a lawn in site, is poised for a mini-golf makeover. Rising's team of fabricators, working in collaboration with uber exhibition designer Peter King, whose past feats have included Pharaoh at the National Gallery of Victoria and Molto Bello at the Heide Museum of Modern Art, have been busily bringing artists' visions to life. Swinging a golf club was considered 'unladylike'. In keeping with mini-golf's dissident history, artists have come up with some curious obstacles: in Japanese artist Saeborg's installation, players will putt with inflatable animal tails attached to their own tail-ends; for British-Romani artist Delaine Le Bas' hole, they'll putt with square balls; in Australian duo Soda Jerk's course, players will swing the ball through a hole in a large video screen displaying a wacky psychedelic mash-up of golfing holes, doom scrolls, 'K-holes', and Teletubbies. The game begins in a tartan-themed clubroom – 'we're leaning into the Scottish origins of the game', says Herbert – where players will collect their clubs and balls before proceeding to the first hole. That honour goes to the fabulously flamboyant Kaylene Whiskey, whose par-three hole, in the colours of the Aboriginal flag, loosely represents the road trip from Narrm/Melbourne to her home town of Indulkana, an Aboriginal community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of South Australia, where she paints at the Iwantja Arts centre. Whiskey is known for her vibrant canvases combining Indigenous iconography with cartoon-like images of her favourite singers and comic-book characters. Her mini-golf course is similarly exuberant, peppered with her idols – Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Cher, Cat Woman – and not least her sporting hero, Cathy Freeman, sprinting to victory at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 'Like in a lot of my paintings, I wanted to make it feel like a party,' Whiskey tells me via email. 'There's some of my favourite people there with you, and some of my favourite music to play and dance to as well. It's like a mini-golf party in the desert!' Loading I ask Whiskey what Freeman symbolises for her. 'Cathy Freeman is another kungka kunpu (strong woman) and she's done a lot of big things through her running and helping other people. She is a good role model for young girls and young people. I remember her Lycra bodysuit at the Olympic Games, she looked so good and was super-fast!' Whiskey also features in her mini-golf hole, watching from the windows of the red Greyhound bus that forms the backdrop to her course. The bus is a staple of life on the APY Lands, necessary for the long drive to urban centres – for Whiskey it was trips to Adelaide, to visit family, or the beach, and once even a golf course. 'When I first saw a golf course, I thought wow! I loved the nice, lovely green grass! I played golf with school. It wasn't a big competition, more relaxed,' Whiskey says. She's never played mini-golf though: 'But I've seen it in the movies and on The Simpsons once.' To complete the party feel, Whiskey has compiled a soundtrack featuring Aboriginal musicians including the Warumpi Band, Coloured Stone, and her cousin Jeremy Whiskey with the Iwantja Band. 'When we play this music at Iwantja Arts, it gets everyone smiling and singing along!' Whiskey writes. 'I made the soundtrack thinking about the long trips we would take on the bus – you needed to make sure you had some good tapes for your Walkman to keep you smiling all the way there.' Like Whiskey, Hobart artist Pat Brassington has never played a game of mini-golf in her life. She hasn't even seen a mini-golf course. And so, initially, she declined Grace Herbert's invitation to take part. 'And then I felt a bit mean,' Brassington tells me by phone from Hobart. 'And I read the premise again and decided that, look, even though it seemed to be outside my ball court, that I should have a little adventure.' The premise is not entirely outside her ball court – the acclaimed artist, now in her 80s, has long engaged with feminist themes in her surreal, digitally manipulated photographs and collages. The mood of her mini-golf course is quite a contrast to Whiskey's, and characteristically mysterious. Brassington has referenced her own work as well as that of fellow contemporary artist Mike Parr. She's given a nod to Parr's work The Tilted Stage, which was shown in the eerie Bond Store at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in 2008, and involved Parr standing for as long as possible beneath a wooden tilted stage, his head protruding through a hole in the platform. In Brassington's mini-golf hole, a head will similarly poke above a slanted timber stage – in this case, an artificial head, more akin to the laughing clowns of vintage fairgrounds, and to her own works that often feature suggestive voids. Brassington's lone head is female, boldly bald, with cavities for eyes and a wide, open, creepily receptive mouth. Players will roll the ball along a plank on the tilted timber stage that leads to the back of the head. The ball will enter, dribble out of the woman's mouth and down onto a carpeted area where players will then putt it into a central hole. Brassington says that she would like her mini-golf hole to engender a 'a bit of enjoyment, a bit of wonder, a bit of questioning'. American artist and author Miranda July, whose most recent book, the seditiously funny All Fours, about a perimenopausal narrator who ditches her dry domestic routine to live out her sexual fantasies in a motel room, leapt at the chance to design a hole for Swingers. 'I had just played mini-golf with my brother and nephews when this invitation came so the challenge was alive to me in a practical sense,' July says via email. 'I like the holes where you lose sight of the ball and then it reappears, but thought maybe for a change it would be nice to not have to try to get it in the little hole, but still with some kind of meaningful outcome. Sports test my patience, but I have an endless appetite for oracles.' July has designed the Wave of Fortune. It's a two-metre-tall, theme-park-style wave. Players will putt their ball into the crest of the wave, and it will disappear into a system of grooves that will channel the ball into a hole with a flag attached to it. Each of the flags has a fortune on it, written by July. Because she has the last hole, and the last word, she will send players off with a thought for the day. Her divinations are typically quirky and totally suited to the absurdity of the times. Here's one of my favourites: 'Don't worry my dear, it is OK to feel blurry. In fact today is the perfect day for it. Bring nothing into focus.' As a maniacal golfer pounds the world, for a day at least, you can stop worrying and drop the ball.
The Age
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Join the club, ladies: In this mini-golf game, you'll come out swinging
A wise guy once recommended golf as the number one way to relax, focus, and plot one's comeback. He ought to know. He made a very, very big comeback and owns an insurrection of golf courses. Very, very nice golf courses, in very, very nice spots, like Palm Beach, Los Angeles, Bali and Dubai, where he has miraculously turned the desert into lucrative valleys of green. Of course, not everyone can afford to buy innumerable hectares of prime real estate and turn them into playing fields for the ridiculously rich. For some people even a simple round of golf on someone else's nice green field may be prohibitive. This is where mini-golf comes in. It needs far less space, far less maintenance, and a good deal more humour. For almost 160 years, long before our wise guy was born, mini-golf has offered light relief and sweet comeuppance to those who, for reasons of gender or class, have been historically excluded from maxi-golf. There are various origin stories for mini-golf, and one of them takes us back to 1867 Scotland, the home of golf, where women, incensed at being denied the chance to swing a club alongside their menfolk, staged a mini uprising. Swinging a golf club was considered 'unladylike', as were many other sporting activities back then. But these 19th century Scottish ladies wanted to putt – lady-likeness be damned – and so they founded what is said to be the first mini-golf course, or at least its precursor, in St Andrews, Scotland. Their small nine-hole course, dubbed the 'The Himalayas' for its bumpy surface, still exists and stands as testament to the women's resolve. Drawing on this spirit of playful rebellion, Rising festival curator and mini-golf obsessive Grace Herbert has enlisted nine marvellously inventive artists, among them Miranda July, Kaylene Whiskey and Pat Brassington, to devise a nine-hole mini golf course upstairs at Flinders Street Station. Herbert has dubbed the project Swingers, a neat little pun that alludes to the invention of mini-golf, and the bizarre notion that swinging a club would somehow warp a woman's femininity, with the bonus of insinuating other types of non-conformity besides. As a title, Swingers is both political and tongue-in-cheek, a quality that carries through the exhibition. 'A lot of the conversations I've had with artists have been about joy and play and that while we kind of need that at the moment, that release can be a political act in and of itself,' Herbert says. 'We've been calling it a playable art exhibition.' It's not the first time mini-golf has been co-opted by artists – American Doug Fishbone brought mini-golf to the 2015 Venice Biennale – as Herbert discovered while researching her idea. Now Flinders Street Station, with its evocatively arched windows, pleasingly peeled walls, historic domed ballroom, and not a lawn in site, is poised for a mini-golf makeover. Rising's team of fabricators, working in collaboration with uber exhibition designer Peter King, whose past feats have included Pharaoh at the National Gallery of Victoria and Molto Bello at the Heide Museum of Modern Art, have been busily bringing artists' visions to life. Swinging a golf club was considered 'unladylike'. In keeping with mini-golf's dissident history, artists have come up with some curious obstacles: in Japanese artist Saeborg's installation, players will putt with inflatable animal tails attached to their own tail-ends; for British-Romani artist Delaine Le Bas' hole, they'll putt with square balls; in Australian duo Soda Jerk's course, players will swing the ball through a hole in a large video screen displaying a wacky psychedelic mash-up of golfing holes, doom scrolls, 'K-holes', and Teletubbies. The game begins in a tartan-themed clubroom – 'we're leaning into the Scottish origins of the game', says Herbert – where players will collect their clubs and balls before proceeding to the first hole. That honour goes to the fabulously flamboyant Kaylene Whiskey, whose par-three hole, in the colours of the Aboriginal flag, loosely represents the road trip from Narrm/Melbourne to her home town of Indulkana, an Aboriginal community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of South Australia, where she paints at the Iwantja Arts centre. Whiskey is known for her vibrant canvases combining Indigenous iconography with cartoon-like images of her favourite singers and comic-book characters. Her mini-golf course is similarly exuberant, peppered with her idols – Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Cher, Cat Woman – and not least her sporting hero, Cathy Freeman, sprinting to victory at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 'Like in a lot of my paintings, I wanted to make it feel like a party,' Whiskey tells me via email. 'There's some of my favourite people there with you, and some of my favourite music to play and dance to as well. It's like a mini-golf party in the desert!' Loading I ask Whiskey what Freeman symbolises for her. 'Cathy Freeman is another kungka kunpu (strong woman) and she's done a lot of big things through her running and helping other people. She is a good role model for young girls and young people. I remember her Lycra bodysuit at the Olympic Games, she looked so good and was super-fast!' Whiskey also features in her mini-golf hole, watching from the windows of the red Greyhound bus that forms the backdrop to her course. The bus is a staple of life on the APY Lands, necessary for the long drive to urban centres – for Whiskey it was trips to Adelaide, to visit family, or the beach, and once even a golf course. 'When I first saw a golf course, I thought wow! I loved the nice, lovely green grass! I played golf with school. It wasn't a big competition, more relaxed,' Whiskey says. She's never played mini-golf though: 'But I've seen it in the movies and on The Simpsons once.' To complete the party feel, Whiskey has compiled a soundtrack featuring Aboriginal musicians including the Warumpi Band, Coloured Stone, and her cousin Jeremy Whiskey with the Iwantja Band. 'When we play this music at Iwantja Arts, it gets everyone smiling and singing along!' Whiskey writes. 'I made the soundtrack thinking about the long trips we would take on the bus – you needed to make sure you had some good tapes for your Walkman to keep you smiling all the way there.' Like Whiskey, Hobart artist Pat Brassington has never played a game of mini-golf in her life. She hasn't even seen a mini-golf course. And so, initially, she declined Grace Herbert's invitation to take part. 'And then I felt a bit mean,' Brassington tells me by phone from Hobart. 'And I read the premise again and decided that, look, even though it seemed to be outside my ball court, that I should have a little adventure.' The premise is not entirely outside her ball court – the acclaimed artist, now in her 80s, has long engaged with feminist themes in her surreal, digitally manipulated photographs and collages. The mood of her mini-golf course is quite a contrast to Whiskey's, and characteristically mysterious. Brassington has referenced her own work as well as that of fellow contemporary artist Mike Parr. She's given a nod to Parr's work The Tilted Stage, which was shown in the eerie Bond Store at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in 2008, and involved Parr standing for as long as possible beneath a wooden tilted stage, his head protruding through a hole in the platform. In Brassington's mini-golf hole, a head will similarly poke above a slanted timber stage – in this case, an artificial head, more akin to the laughing clowns of vintage fairgrounds, and to her own works that often feature suggestive voids. Brassington's lone head is female, boldly bald, with cavities for eyes and a wide, open, creepily receptive mouth. Players will roll the ball along a plank on the tilted timber stage that leads to the back of the head. The ball will enter, dribble out of the woman's mouth and down onto a carpeted area where players will then putt it into a central hole. Brassington says that she would like her mini-golf hole to engender a 'a bit of enjoyment, a bit of wonder, a bit of questioning'. American artist and author Miranda July, whose most recent book, the seditiously funny All Fours, about a perimenopausal narrator who ditches her dry domestic routine to live out her sexual fantasies in a motel room, leapt at the chance to design a hole for Swingers. 'I had just played mini-golf with my brother and nephews when this invitation came so the challenge was alive to me in a practical sense,' July says via email. 'I like the holes where you lose sight of the ball and then it reappears, but thought maybe for a change it would be nice to not have to try to get it in the little hole, but still with some kind of meaningful outcome. Sports test my patience, but I have an endless appetite for oracles.' July has designed the Wave of Fortune. It's a two-metre-tall, theme-park-style wave. Players will putt their ball into the crest of the wave, and it will disappear into a system of grooves that will channel the ball into a hole with a flag attached to it. Each of the flags has a fortune on it, written by July. Because she has the last hole, and the last word, she will send players off with a thought for the day. Her divinations are typically quirky and totally suited to the absurdity of the times. Here's one of my favourites: 'Don't worry my dear, it is OK to feel blurry. In fact today is the perfect day for it. Bring nothing into focus.' As a maniacal golfer pounds the world, for a day at least, you can stop worrying and drop the ball.
Web Release
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Web Release
Tee Off and Turn Up: Swingers Dubai is bringing the Party to Bluewaters Island
Web Release Selection Entertainment By Editor_wr On Apr 17, 2025 The wait is officially over, and the party is in full swing with Swingers Dubai having recently opened its doors, shaking up Bluewaters Island with its electrifying vibe. Dubai's newest playground for music, cocktails, unforgettable nights out, and fun-fuelled brunches, Swingers is where crazy golf is just the beginning of the fun. Already a global sensation, this fully-fledged entertainment destination marks an exciting new chapter as it lands in the region in partnership with Rise Hospitality. A Multi-Sensory Playground Located on the vibrant Bluewaters Island at the foot of Ain Dubai, Swingers Dubai wows guests from the very first step inside. Spanning 22,000 square feet across a two-storey art deco clubhouse, the venue is a visual feast, brimming with lush greenery, playful English country club charm, plush seating, and, of course, cocktail bars around every corner. Adding to the spectacle is its Instagram-worthy crazy golf course, featuring three themed adventures — the Hot Air Balloon Course, the Waterwheel Course, and the Clocktower Course — each one more fun and frustrating than the last. At Swingers, crazy golf is just the beginning. As the night unfolds, this electric playground becomes the ultimate pre-party or all-night hangout, soundtracked by a resident DJ spinning non-stop feel-good beats. With vibrant lights, infectious energy, and plenty of spots to dance or vibe between rounds, it's impossible not to get swept up in the fun. Fuel for Fun Of course, dancing and competitive fun can work up an appetite, and Swingers Dubai has just the ticket, serving up a mouthwatering array of street food from top-tier vendors that will leave guests spoiled for choice. Try out Patty&Bun's juicy burgers — a fan favourite at Swingers London — for a proper bite, grab a slice (or three) of authentic New York-style pizza from Matteo's Pizzeria, or spice things up with Burro Blanco's burritos and bowls, packed to the brim with bold Mexican flavours. Whatever you're craving, there's plenty to keep you fuelled for another round. As for refreshing sips, the venue boasts an extensive cocktail menu featuring signature creations such as the Frozen Watermelon Margarita and Swinging Punch.?Alternatively, those looking to play it safe can enjoy classic cocktails alongside premium spirits, mocktails, hops, and grape. Best of all, there's no need to leave the course — the attentive team will deliver your drinks straight to the fairway, keeping the fun flowing. Level Up Your Night From breaking the ice with workmates to pulling out all the stops on a date, Swingers has packages to suit every vibe and occasion. Opt for The Competitive Set at AED 180 per person, including a round of crazy golf and two house drinks, or go big with The All Set, starting from AED 295, complete with unlimited drinks for two hours, AED 85 in street food credit, and your own reserved area. For those really looking to make it count, The Ultimate Set ups the ante with three hours of free-flow beverages, a feast of street food, and plenty of time to soak up the fun, all starting at AED 395. Secret Brunch Crazy Golf Get ready for the ultimate all-swinging, all-dancing Secret Brunch at Swingers Dubai, every Friday from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm. The perfect way to kickstart your weekend, gather your friends and dive into the three-course immersive mini golf experience. Complementing the experience, guests can also sway to the beats of a live DJ, sip on free-flowing beverages, and soak up the party atmosphere, with packages starting from AED 299. To keep you well-fuelled, indulge in a mouthwatering spread of street food, including juicy burgers, New York-style pizzas, and hearty burritos. Don't miss your shot — book now and experience the craze for yourself. When: Every Friday from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm Offer: Evening brunch featuring 1 round of crazy golf, street food, live DJ, and choice of free-flowing beverage package Packages: Soft Drinks Package: AED 299 inclusive of 3 hours of unlimited soft drinks, selected mocktails, and water House Package: AED 349 inclusive of 3 hours of unlimited house spirits, hops, and grape Premium Package: AED 449 inclusive of 3 hours of unlimited cocktails, house spirits, hops, premium grape, and sparkling *For more information on the Secret Brunch Crazy Golf, click here *For bookings and more information on Swingers Dubai, please visit Comments are closed.
The Guardian
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
All fores! Miranda July among artists to create feminist mini-golf course in Melbourne
The acclaimed author and film-maker Miranda July is among a group of artists who are building a mini-golf course in Melbourne to celebrate the sport's little-known feminist history. Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf will take over the Flinders Street station ballroom, an abandoned space above the busy Melbourne railway station, as part of the city's annual Rising festival. July, whose latest novel All Fours became one of the most talked about novels of 2024, is one of nine artists selected by the festival to create a hole on the nine-hole golf course. Others include the Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey, whose colourful works celebrate female pop culture figures such as Dolly Parton and Tina Turner; and Tokyo's 'half human, half toy' artist Saeborg, who creates disconcerting, cartoonish latex sculptures. Swingers' curator, Grace Herbert, says she wants to celebrate the 'surprisingly subversive' history of mini-golf, which originated in 19th-century Scotland after a group of women endured antagonism from male players while playing at St Andrews Links, one of the oldest and famous golf courses in the world. The women decided they needed their own club and established the St Andrews Ladies Golf Club in 1867, with Mrs Robert Todd Boothby as president and Miss Ellen Boothby as vice-president. A nine-hole mini-golf course, called the Ladies' Putting Green, was laid out for them by the famed Scottish golfer Old Tom Morris. Herbert says Swingers will be family-friendly and will take roughly 45 minutes to an hour to complete. 'It's a nine-hole mini-golf course, except that each mini-golf hole is also an artwork,' Herbert says. 'Every hole will be playable, though they may not be exactly what you would think playing a mini-golf hole will be like.' While she wants to keep July's work a secret, Herbert reveals it would be the final hole. 'Usually on the last hole of mini-golf, it eats your ball so you don't get it back. When you play Miranda's golf hole, you'll be able to take some words from Miranda home with you. It is a really generous work.' Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Whiskey's work will be the first hole, Herbert says, and will draw on her childhood experiences travelling from her home in Indulkana, in the APY Lands, to play golf in Adelaide as a child. 'Being Kaylene, of course we'll have Dolly Parton there and you'll have to putt through Cathy Freeman's leg.' And Saeborg's work will involve her usual inflatable animal latex body suits and will require players to don a strap-on animal tail and use it to putt. 'I guess you'll become a human-animal hybrid to complete this course,' Herbert says. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Herbert says though she played mini-golf obsessively as a kid, she hadn't known its history as a women's sport: 'When we told the artists about the history, I think it excited them so much, because nobody knew about it either. And also because they'd be giving something a go that they wouldn't normally do.' The other artists creating holes are the Singaporean-Australian sculptural artist Nabilah Nordin, the Turner prize-nominated British Romany artist Delaine Le Bas; and the Minahasan artist Natasha Tontey, with three more names to be come. 'Each of the artists is responding to the history of mini-golf, and has been prompted to think about things like obstacles and their removal – in both a literal sense and a metaphorical sense, in response to that surprisingly subversive history that that mini-golf has,' Herbert says. 'Obviously people have fun but it is also political and I hope that people can also engage with those ideas and that history.' This is the third time the Flinders Street ballroom has been transformed into an exhibition by Rising, after a show dedicated to the Melbourne sculptor Patricia Piccinini in 2021 and the immersive Indigenous show Shadow Spirit in 2023. The rest of the Rising festival program will be announced in March. The annual winter festival will run from 4-15 June this year, with Swingers running for an extended season until 31 August.
