Culture

Australia is slowly getting over its cultural cringe, and the white-bread Australia that Barry Humphries began railling against in the 50s has long gone. Experimental groups are pushing the boundaries of ideas (and taste) in all aspects of the arts and taking their efforts to the global stage. Australians are taking the leads in Hollywood, galleries of Australian art line the streets of London and New York and its musicians export new sounds across the oceans. Australia's image as a sports-mad nation still rings true, but you're likely to end up talking football during an interval at the theatre and diuscussing the latest gallery trends between innings at the cricket.

Aboriginal rock carvings and paintings date back at least 30,000 years. Modern Aboriginal art has undergone a revival in the last decade or two as Aboriginal artists have explored ways to both preserve their ancient values and share them with a wider community.

Australia's 20th-century artists include world figures such as Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Brett Whiteley and Fred Williams.

There is plenty of highly regarded Australian fiction, including the work of Nobel Prize winner Patrick White, and Booker Prize winners Peter Carey and Thomas Keneally. Other well known Australian writers include Thea Astley, Robert Drewe, Helen Garner, Rodney Hall, Christina Stead, Elizabeth Jolley, David Malouf, Frank Moorhouse and Tim Winton.

Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford, George Miller and Gillian Armstrong are all well-known Australian directors, while Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman are the country's best-known actors. The Aussie film industry is small but well-supported.

The Little River Band, The Bee Gees, Nick Cave, INXS, AC/DC, Midnight Oil, silverchair, and, yes, Kylie Minogue are Australia's most famous pop music exports. Live music is common in Australian pubs, with Melbourne now hosting the livliest scene.

Dame Joan Sutherland is Australia's best-known opera diva. Prominent in the 1960s, she was the undisputed coloratura soprano of her time. Nellie Melba - who took her name from her home town of Melbourne - was the world's biggest opera star at the beginning of the 20th century. She was prima donna at Covent Garden in the 1910s and 20s. These days, Australians know her best for foodstuffs named after her - Peach Melba and Melba Toast.