Set to celebrate its 10th birthday, the festival will kick off this Friday and run across ten nights until Sunday, July 30.
A free community event, the festival will showcase more than 30 stellar works in the form of large-scale illuminated projections and more intimate video artworks.
Multimedia masterpieces will shed light on every corner of one of Melbourne’s most popular hot-spots and will illuminate some of the festival’s first ever sites, starting at the end of Nicholson Street with the return of the Festival Hub at Catfish, down to Atherton Towers, The Gertrude Hotel and all the way to the Smith Street junction.
Festival director Nicky Pastore is certain that this year will be the festival’s most memorable yet.
“As a not-for-profit organisation, the success of the Gertrude Street Projection Festival and its 10th Anniversary is undeniably thanks to the ongoing support from the local traders and community organisations,” she said.
“Each year we are amazed by the enthusiasm and willingness of our artists and supporters to turn the street into a living artwork, encouraging audiences to explore and celebrate the diversity of the neighbourhood.”
Across ten years, the Gertrude Street Projection Festival has seen hundreds of talented artists participate in the event.
An array of artists of all ages and from all over the world are lured in by the excitement of seeing their works projected on sky-high buildings and playing their part in transforming one of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs into a spectacular outdoor museum.
Curated by RMIT lecturer Fiona Hillary, this year’s artists responded to the theme of Unfurling Futures: the social, political and environmental concerns of our times, and what ignites our collective social imagination.
“Unfurling Futures is an invitation to artists and audiences to explore notions of the past and present and how they shape the possibility of multiple futures,” she said.
Four Australian artists will take part in the milestone event, including Yandell Walton, Ray Thomas, Susan Forrester and Jody Haines.
They will join an illustrious group of Gertrude Street Projection Festival alumni including Ian de Gruchy, Nick Azidis, Lauren Dunn, Jacob Tolo, Luzena Adams, Rose Staff, Amanda Morgan and Skunk Control.
In addition to the major light installations, the Gertrude Street Projection Festival will feature an exciting program of dance, food, and live music performances from local DJs and musicians.
The Gertrude Street Projection Festival runs from 6:00 pm to midnight from Friday, July 21 – Sunday, July 30. For more information, visit the festival’s website.
