After four years away, Melbourne’s evening art festival, White Night, is coming back to Geelong, set to light up the streets of Victoria’s second largest city for one night only.
From 7pm to 1am on Saturday, October 8, Geelong – the first city in Australia to be awarded as an UNESCO City of Design – will come alive with immersive projections and interactive installations in a spectacular celebration of culture and community with bold, bright and neon artworks, live music from across the Bellarine Peninsula and tasty street food.
Trust us when we say White Night’s program is full to the brim. See The Electric Canvas at Johnstone Park, with projections from First Nations artists Kait James, Billy-Jay O’Toole and Jenna Oldaker, while Elements of Culture in partnership with Cultura Pako Festa champions the diversity of Geelong with 40 portraits of community members. Matt Bonner’s work Alignment at City Hall explores First People’s connection to the land and night sky.
Take a snap of Carla O’Brien’s colourful Under the Neon Sea with sharks, dolphins, crabs and octopus on the Geelong Foreshore, and be amazed by a Blanck Canvas’s The Guardian, a ten-metre-long golden lion-like creature that’ll roam the streets mesmerising audiences. Artist Video Architecture will use vibrant digital colours in Colouring in Competition to project local kids' art onto a large canvas, and don’t look away at Heavy Metal by JOFMAKESART as a car gets flattened by an industrial crusher into a cube of twisted metal, accompanied by the guitar riffs of rock musicians in a thrilling performance.
Steampacket Gardens will transform into an oasis in Imaginary Botanicals by the Indirect Object and locals, where visitors can sit amongst the flowers and listen to them sigh, yawn and buzz. Plus, Geelong Gallery will open its doors after hours with brilliant exhibitions, you can dance to tunes by local Melbourne DJs, and watch as some of the country’s star drag queens, Max the Drag Queen, Pashion Couture and Isis Avis Loren, bring the sass, the performances and of course, the looks to White Night.
The famed international festival was first held in Melbourne in 2013, when more than 300,000 people took part. Since then White Night has been held in Ballarat, Bendigo and for the first time this year, Shepparton. The last time White Night was held in Geelong was in 2018 and it attracted more than 60,000 culture-loving enthusiasts back then – so you can bet this year’s festival will be even bigger and better. Plus, White Night is free and an all-ages event, so bring the whole gang.
It’s about an hour and a half drive from Melbourne to Geelong, making it the perfect destination for a weekend getaway with friends this October. While there, see what else Geelong has to offer: explore Bellarine’s markets filled with fresh produce and vintage gems, admire the heritage roses at the botanic gardens, ride the Q train for sweeping views of Swan Bay, and take some time out at Lon Retreat & Spa which overlooks the sea.
More than just a light and art show, White Night breaks down barriers and brings together a whole community to encourage inclusivity, individuality and creativity. The only downfall is the festival is on for one night – though we guarantee its magic will stay with you long after the evening.
