Gertrude Street Projection Festival

It’s tough being the middle child in Melbourne’s northern street family. Gertrude Street in Fitzroy, forever stuck in between siblings Brunswick Street and Smith Street, will have its moment in the spotlight as the entire streetscape is illuminated by the phosphorescent visions of projection artists for the annual Gertrude Street Projection Festival.

The wide variety of street side canvases include windows, laneways, footpaths, shop interiors, tree-trunks, and entire buildings.

This year, the theme of festival is ‘Elements’, which has inspired works including political satire animations by award winning creative partners Too Busy To Be Beautiful. Artists Yandell Walton and Arika Walau will use the surface of a tree to exhibit Marach, an interactive projection installation with environmental themes.

A flagship of the program will be the sculptural works by the late Russell Gray Goodman. Murdered in 1988 at aged 27, Goodman’s brother Chris has spent the past four years restoring the works Daytona Dreamer and A Thirsty Child Doesn’t Read the Label, both pieces will feature at this year’s festival appearing to the public for the first time in over a decade.

A full program of the works, including detailed location notes, can be found online. BYO torch.

The Gertrude Street Projection Festival runs from July 20 – 29.
For more information visit thegertrudeassociation.com.