“We’ve got the street sights, they’re kind of the base of the festival that everybody knows,” festival Director Nicky Pastoreexplains. “But now we’re extending off the beaten track and onto the Atherton Gardens. We did a little bit of it last year, but this year we have a full program of about six or so artworks that are sculptural, interactive and performance based in the gardens.”
She’s been helming the festival for a few years now, and in that time has made it her mission to see something new and exciting appear at each festival she produces. Pastoreworks with a committee of dedicated volunteers, who meet up monthly throughout the year and discuss the next big things they want to bring to the festival.
It’s been a big year of curating and planning for the team, who joined by one of the festival founders, Kym Ortenburg, are all proudly part of the local Melbourne arts scene themselves. They put out a call to artists early in the year, and since then it’s been all about getting the perfect array of pieces to feature in the festival.
“This year we actually got so many more applications than we ever have before, about three times as many, which was amazing, It just means that people are excited about projection art and have a lot of ideas,” explains Pastore. “We want to have a full program, so there was a selection process and we just talked through what we thought would be appropriate. It really does matter where it is and what it’s about, so we really try to make sure it’s diverse in practice but also in cultural connection and placement on buildings.”
While the name of the festival suggests it should only be found along the Gertrude strip, Nicky maintains that the festival as a whole is set to engage with the wider Fitzroy community. The inclusion of the Atherton Gardens in this years event, is just one way that they will achieve this.
“I guess it’s placed on Gertrude Street, but we’re in an ever-evolving area and demographic, so each year we try and present something new that works with the local community,” she says. “The idea behind that is to integrate our audience with the Atherton Gardens community and just welcome them into the festival, so it’s not just for the people that come for the bars and the shops, but it’s for the people who actually live there too.”
There will be 38 sights laid out across the precinct, ranging from major projections to smaller exhibits. Festival-goers can expect to see the grand old Gertrude Street Hotel beautifully lit up, as well as the iconic Builders Arms. But on top of the static projection exhibits, the 2016 Gertrude Street Projection Festival will feature a host of roving style projections, which are set to take punters on a wonderfully different kind of projection experience. Nicky is personally super excited about these additions to the event.
“There’s Walking 8 which starts at Radio Bar and is a guided projection tour, and there’s also the Detour which is a projection tour in a moving vehicle that starts at the Gertrude Hotel,” she explains. “Then there’s The Wheel of Fate which is a huge one on our final weekend. We presented the first stage of it last year where Uprising Theatre of Yarra Youth Services presented a roving theatre performance, like a choose-your-own adventure, and so they’ve been working on the project and will be presenting the final conclusion of that project as part of our festival.”
If that wasn’t enough, there’ll also be a chance for art makers and art lovers alike to get their hands dirty at the festival, with a range of master classes set to take place. In partnership with the Arts Centre Melbourne, the 2016 GSPF will play host to workshops on VJing and projection mapping with renowned projection artist, Kit Webster.
A record number of attendees are expected to take to this years GSPF, and it’s no surprise considering this event is simply a hub of diverse and mind blowing creativity. But what the team behind the festival really hope is that those who head down to see the art will make a night of it all.
“I think what I would really hope audiences do is explore,” says Pastore. “You know, not just see what’s on the buildings but maybe go in and have a drink, settle in for a little while and then come back out and explore again, because we have so many things happening throughout the night so it’s not about going for just an hour, it’s about spending a night down the street. I think the best part of it is people ending up in our hub where we have music and live visuals and just having a whole night out.”
BY ABBEY LEW-KEE
