Gertrude Street Projection Festival

Fitzroy gets lit as the Gertrude Street Projection festival celebrates its first double-digit anniversary.

Setting shopfronts, laneways and footpaths aglow, this community-driven event is worth the venture into the cold. ‘Unfurling Futures’ is the theme for 2017 and a diverse range of artists — young to old, local to international, emerging to established — tackle the social, political and environmental issues of our times. Curator Fiona Hillary says, ‘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’.

For ten years the festival has enchanted Melburnians with inspired works from formidable artists. Festival Director Nicky Pastore says, ‘As a non-for-profit organisation, the success of Gertrude Street Projection Festival and its 10th Anniversary is undeniably thanks to the ongoing support from the local traders and community organisations. 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’.

Beginning at Nicholson Street, scour the darkness to chance on illuminated wonders in every nook and cranny as you make your way down to Smith Street junction. This year, you can experience 30 artworks in the most spectacular way. For the dreamers amongst you, Prativa Tamang’s Fall Into The Skies will tickle your inner whimsy. If that’s not enough, Ash Coates, Mycolinguistics (Rubico-Sterolosis or Oneness) fluctuates between realism and fantasy. For the brave, there’s Omagatoki — the Hour of Meeting Monsters, by Kyoko Imazu. For those seeking a more hands-on experience, look no further than Telekinetik’s Luminance Laboratory, where your inner artist can play with light-emitting brushes, rollers, spray cans and stencils to create glowing masterpieces on a photoluminescence canvas.

The much-anticipated light spectacular kicks off from Friday, 21 July, so rug up and take a stroll down a psychedelic rabbit hole.

Gertrude Street Projection Festival 
Friday, 21 to Sunday, 30 July 2017, 6pm to midnight
gspf.com.au