This famous free art festival is making its return to Geelong this October.
The overnight art party that is White Night is back in Victoria, making its colourful return to Geelong this year, transforming the city streets, parklands, laneways, public spaces and cultural institutions with spectacular illuminated art and colourful projections.
Supported through the Andrews Labor Government’s Major Events Fund, the city will come alive on Saturday, October 8 for an extra special event this year after the pandemic forced White Night Geelong to be postponed in 2021.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here.
This visual spectacular and cultural event debuted in this bayside town back in 2018 with over 70,000 attendees passing through the festival, injecting $6.1 million into the region. Geelong was the third regional Victorian town to host White Night after Ballarat and Bendigo. Melbourne’s version of White Night has since merged with Melbourne Festival to create a new winter festival called Rising, which this year comprise 225 events—including 22 commissions and 14 world premieres—featuring 801 local and international artists in June.
Returning in October, colourful projections and installations will again light up the city, transforming the streets, laneways, parks and the Geelong foreshore, providing a significant boost to tourism businesses. The festival also features a host of musical performances and interactive works that you can get amongst in the wee hours of the morning. More details will be announced closer to the event.
The program, directed by Joseph O’Farrell, will feature artists from the categories of installation, visual art, lighting, audio-visual, projection, film, music and performance. The theme will be ‘everything on the land is reflected in the sky’.
“White Night will draw tens of thousands of locals and visitors into Geelong to experience the city as an illuminated art exhibition, showcasing the region’s attractions and supporting local jobs,” says Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula.
Since the first White Night in Melbourne in 2013, the event has built a strong reputation as a vibrant and inclusive celebration of immersive art and community participation. This year, thousands of visitors are once again expected to visit Geelong to see the city transformed through illumination with a program that celebrates the city’s reputation for design and its rich music scene.
Pop the date in your diary now.
Read the announcement here. For more info, visit White Night’s website.
