White Night Geelong Returns This Month
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2018, that was the last time we saw White Night Geelong, but thankfully after a 4 year hiatus, it’s back, and it’s going to be a big one. White Night Geelong will see Geelong’s streets taken over by projections, installations, live music, and food.
“We are thrilled to transform the heart of Geelong for one very special night through the cultural celebration that is White Night. Audiences can expect to be wowed by a world-class lineup of stunning light displays, celestial oddities, street eats and powerful, diverse voices.” said Joseph O’Farrell, White Night Geelong’s creative director.
This year’s theme is ‘Everything on the land is reflected in the sky’ and will kick off at Steampacket Gardens with a ceremony by the Traditional Owners of the Country which will involve a Welcome to Country. White Night Geelong will run for one night only, and is a free, all-ages event.
“White Night is one of the great spectacles that celebrates Victoria’s creativity, communities, and culture. Each event is set to bring thousands of visitors to Bendigo and Geelong, delivering a night of artistic celebration and supporting businesses across regions.” added Minister for Tourism, Sport, and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos.
Highlights of the 2022 edition of White Night Geelong include:
- The Electric Canvas again brings Johnstone Park to life with awe-inspiring projections from First Nations artists Kait James, Billy-Jay O’Toole and Jenna Oldaker, whilst Elements of Culture in partnership with Cultura Pako Festa celebrates the diversity of Geelong by projecting 40 portraits of community members, and Matt Bonner’s projection Alignment at City Hall explores First People’s connection to the land and night sky.
- Carla O’Brien brings two of her distinct neon creations to Geelong with Neon Play the Music, a set of glowing playable musical instruments, and Under the Neon Sea a magical marine experience with neon sharks, dolphins, crabs and octopi on the Geelong Foreshore. More underwater creatures can be found at the waterfront, including the Elvers – baby eels created by the UK’s Lantern Company – will glow brilliantly in the water.
- A magical, golden, lion-like creature shimmering in crystal shards, The Guardian from Melbourne-based A Blanck Canvas will roam the streets mesmerising audiences, as the giant ten-metre-long puppet safeguards its kingdom.
- Giving young people the opportunity to draw on the city they live in, Castlemaine-based Video Architecture uses vibrant digital colours in Colouring in Competition to project local kids’ art onto their biggest canvas yet.
- Heavy Metal by JOFMAKESART, is a high-octane, thrilling performance piece where across the night, a car is flattened by an industrial car crusher into a cube of twisted metal, accompanied by the guitar riffs of two heavy metal, head-banging rock musicians.
- Unplugged, a White Night commission for 2022 created by Airena, is a giant mind that pulsates with electric neurons, asking audiences to examine what it means to be connected. Unuscornu, sees a nine-metre-high unicorn head pulse with light. Created by Airena in solidarity with LGBTQI+ communities during the plebiscite on marriage equality, Unuscornu shines as a spectacular beacon of hope to all who see it.
- The Indirect Object’s inflatable gum nut flowers in Bloom create a still space in Johnstone Park to tune out of the city and into the meditative soundscape of native bush; and Susie Losch’s Waves sees giant tetrapods undulate like waves breaking on the coastline.
- Steampacket Gardens transforms into an escape from the hustle and bustle in Imaginary Botanicals by The Indirect Object and locals from Rosewall and Coverdale community centres, where visitors can sit amongst the handcrafted flowers and listen to them sigh, yawn and buzz. Elsewhere, it’s three of Geelong’s beloved icons that are doing the talking; a carousel pony; a twin lion at City Hall; and the grand bandstand in Johnstone Park all have a story to tell in The Object Monologues from Barking Spider Visual Theatre.
- Geelong Gallery will open its doors after hours as it comes alive with Barbara Brash’s Holding Form, Brook Andrew’s Hope, Peace, and Paradise, Rose Nolan’s It’s Hard To See What All This Means and the National Gallery Touring Exhibition Spowers and Syme. Meanwhile, The Project Space will host a diverse exhibition of local and interstate artists for On Screen featuring Some Days it Rains an animation by Leigh Hobba and artists from James Street Gallery.
- Also at Deakin University’s Waterfront façade The Project Space, will be two performances and an exhibition by Deakin alumni; the bodies of land-bound dancers are reflected in an imagined sky world in Virtual Now; lost, borrowed, stolen and copied texts are sung, pitch-shifted, blended and performed in Fugue State; and an exhibition of 20 works by artists and designers who have gone through Deakin University’s Geelong-based creative arts and design programs in Sky’s the Limit.
- The thriving local music scene is celebrated with Homegrown Stage and Steampacket Soundz where emerging and established artists from the Bellarine perform under the stars. Meanwhile, Pop up Performers will perform along Western Beach Road, with Funky Bunny, Darth Vader and DJ Dangerboots playing all night, and Drag City will feature some of Australia’s best drag artists in an unforgettable medley of entertainment and fun for everyone.
White Night (Nuit Blanche) was originally conceived in Paris in 2002 and celebrates its twentieth year this October. In 2013 White Night Melbourne was staged for the first time for Australian audiences, with 300,000 people enjoying the event. White Night Melbourne took place in 2019 for the last time and since then, it has been held in regional Victoria in Shepparton (2022,) Ballarat (2017 – 2019), Bendigo (2018), and Geelong (2018).
White Night Geelong is happening on Saturday 8 October from 7pm until 1am.