By day, Melbourne’s Gertrude Street is lined with art, food and fashion; and if you stop to listen, full to the brim of yarns told by people who’ve walked the street for more than just a little while. Our favourite grand and gritty strip already has a lot to say but for 10 days from 18-27 July, the stakes will be upped another notch as this boulevard is blitzed by artists from far and wide for the Gertrude Street Projection Festival.
Bright lights and perfectly positioned colour-scapes will adorn 40 sites on and around Gertrude Street, illuminating everything from the trunks of trees to entire buildings. Shop fronts, laneways, windows and footpaths will come alive with bold visions of award-winning projection artists, all exhibited for free to the people of Melbourne.
“The theme of this year’s Festival is ‘Transience’”, says Kym Ortenburg, co-founder of the not-for-profit Gertrude Association.
“Local and international artists will present their artworks and installations in response to this, using the buildings and surfaces of Gertrude Street as their own unique canvas. What is usually seen by day will be completely transformed by the time darkness falls. We can’t wait to see how the artists respond to the theme and how art-lovers and families react when they see Gertrude Street anew”.
Projection artists whose work will be featured in this, the 7th Gertrude Street Projection Festival, include Andy Buchanan, Arika Waulu, Ian de Gruchy, Nick Azidis, Amanda Morgan and Lin Finch.
Some of the highlights this year include Wind Up Bird, a film installation created with found footage sourced from eBay comprising imagery spanning various decades; and Young Blood. Young Blood, is a projection and glass jar installation inspired by the story of an aboriginal resistance fighter Pemulwey. Killed in 1802, his preserved head was sent to the King of England.
The Festival Hub for this year is The Catfish, 30 Gertrude St which will be transformed into a late night space offering a range of free and ticketed events including live performances, workshops, panels, music and of course, projection artworks galore.
The Gertrude Street Projection Festival artworks will be projected from 6pm until midnight every evening during the Festival.
Gertrude Street Projection Festival
18- 27 July, each night 6pm - midnight
40 sites along Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (walk, ride or catch the tram)
FREE (excluding some special events - please see the website for details www.gspf.com.au
