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Fire-breathing musical instruments, psychedelic spiders, trippy underwater worlds and impromptu dance parties were just the beginning of White Night – a 12-hour festival of art and music that took over the city on Saturday night.
It is estimated that more than half a million punters came along for the all-night adventure. Despite these record numbers, logistically, the fifth iteration of White Night was the smoothest yet, with plenty of signage, food stalls and public toilets. And this year's layout – divided into segments and spread out from Carlton Gardens in the north to Alexandra Gardens in the south – meant that crowds moved easily between precincts.
But what about the art on offer? It's no secret that White Night is pretty much made for Instagram – and from 7pm onwards, feeds became flooded with mind-bending projection art, sculptures and the #nohomelessban protest and camp-out outside the State Library of Victoria that became impossible to ignore.
Even if you came along for the ride, it's unlikely you managed to discover everything. Relive the spectacle (or find out what all the fuss was about) with our favourite shots of White Night:
'Rhythms of the Night', Artists in Motion (Royal Exhibition Building)
'Pyrophone Juggernaut', Hubbub Music in association with Strut & Fret (Melbourne Museum Plaza)
'Nebulous', Alex Sanson (Melbourne Museum Plaza)
'What Big Teeth You Have', Jazmina Cininas (RMIT Gallery, Storey Hall)
'Seadragon's Lair', Sheree Marris, Lisa Greenaway, John Power (State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room)
'Fractured Fairytales', White Night with the Canvas Electric (Flinders Street)
'Spherophyte', Alex Sanson (Birrarung Marr)
'Purple Rain', Pierre Ardouvin (Little Lonsdale Street)
'Intrude', Amanda Parer (Alexandra Gardens)
'Viktor&Rolf - Inside Out', White Night with the Electric Canvas (NGV International)
#nohomelessban protest (read more about it here). Outside 'The Night Garden', Lisa Greenaway, Nick Azidis, Rose Staff (State Library of Victoria)