Melbourne International Arts Festival
Encyclopedia
Melbourne Festival is a celebration of dance
, theatre
, music
, visual arts
, multimedia
, outdoor and free events held for 17 days each October in a number of venues across Melbourne
, Australia
.
It was first established in 1986 by the Cain
Government as a sister festival of the Festival dei Due Mondi
in Spoleto
and the Spoleto Festival USA
held in Charleston, South Carolina
. http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/index.aspx?id=211. The Festival changed its name from the Spoleto Festival Melbourne to the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts in 1990, and then became known as Melbourne International Arts Festival from 2003. It is now simply referred to as Melbourne Festival.
It has had a number of high profile Artistic Directors including Clifford Hocking, Leo Schofield
, Robyn Archer
[1] and Richard Wherrett
. http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/index.aspx?id=211. Kristy Edmunds was the previous Artistic Director, curating from 2005-2008.
The Artistic Director for the 2009 - 2012 Festivals is Brett Sheehy. Brett is one of Australia’s most accomplished and acclaimed artistic directors, and is the first person ever to be appointed to direct three of the five international arts festivals of Australia’s State capital cities. Previously, Brett has been Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival of Arts (2006–2008), and Festival Director & Chief Executive of Sydney Festival (2002–2005).
Melbourne Festival is one of the most significant festivals in Australia together with the Sydney Festival
and the Adelaide Festival of Arts
. As such, it hosts performances by established artistic companies as well as more independent acts. The 2006 Melbourne Festival hosted a production of Ngapartji Ngapartji with much of the dialogue in the Pitjantjatjara aboriginal language.
Melbourne Festival also premiered the universally critically acclaimed productions from The Black Arm Band
, murundak in 2006, Hidden Republic in 2008 and dirtsong in 2009.
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
, outdoor and free events held for 17 days each October in a number of venues across Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
History
Melbourne Festival is an important event on the Australian cultural calendar. Each Festival brings a range of dance, theatre, music, visual arts, multimedia and outdoor events from renowned and upcoming Australian and International companies and artists to Melbourne. It also offers a wide variety of free family-friendly events.It was first established in 1986 by the Cain
John Cain II
John Cain , Australian Labor Party politician, was the 41st Premier of Victoria, holding office from 1982 to 1990.-Biography:...
Government as a sister festival of the Festival dei Due Mondi
Festival dei Due Mondi
The Festival dei Due Mondi ' is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958...
in Spoleto
Spoleto
Spoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.-History:...
and the Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
held in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/index.aspx?id=211. The Festival changed its name from the Spoleto Festival Melbourne to the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts in 1990, and then became known as Melbourne International Arts Festival from 2003. It is now simply referred to as Melbourne Festival.
It has had a number of high profile Artistic Directors including Clifford Hocking, Leo Schofield
Leo Schofield
Leo Schofield AM is an Australian restaurant critic, advertising professional and arts festival director....
, Robyn Archer
Robyn Archer
Robyn Archer AO CdOAL is an Australian singer, writer, stage and director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally.-Life:Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australia...
[1] and Richard Wherrett
Richard Wherrett
Richard Bruce Wherrett AM was an influential and successful Australian theatrical director, whose career spanned 40 years.Richard Wherrett was born in 1940...
. http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/index.aspx?id=211. Kristy Edmunds was the previous Artistic Director, curating from 2005-2008.
The Artistic Director for the 2009 - 2012 Festivals is Brett Sheehy. Brett is one of Australia’s most accomplished and acclaimed artistic directors, and is the first person ever to be appointed to direct three of the five international arts festivals of Australia’s State capital cities. Previously, Brett has been Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival of Arts (2006–2008), and Festival Director & Chief Executive of Sydney Festival (2002–2005).
Melbourne Festival is one of the most significant festivals in Australia together with the Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival is Australia's largest and most attended annual cultural event running every January since it was first held in 1977. Its program features around 80 events including contemporary and classical music, dance, circus, drama, visual arts and artist talks...
and the Adelaide Festival of Arts
Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
. As such, it hosts performances by established artistic companies as well as more independent acts. The 2006 Melbourne Festival hosted a production of Ngapartji Ngapartji with much of the dialogue in the Pitjantjatjara aboriginal language.
Melbourne Festival also premiered the universally critically acclaimed productions from The Black Arm Band
The Black Arm Band
The Black Arm Band is a collection of some of Australia's premier Indigeous musicians. The band, conceived by Artistic Director Steven Richardson, was brought together "to perform, promote and celebrate contempary Australian Indigenous music". Members come from all over the country and have diverse...
, murundak in 2006, Hidden Republic in 2008 and dirtsong in 2009.
Melbourne Festival dates
- 7–23 October 2004
- 6–22 October 2005
- 12–28 October 2006
- 11–27 October 2007
- 9–25 October 2008
- 9–24 October 2009
- 8–23 October 2010
- 6–22 October 2011
Artistic Directors
| Year | Artistic Director |
|---|---|
| 1986-88 | Gian Carlo Menotti |
| 1989-91 | John Truscott |
| 1992-93 | Richard Wherrett AM |
| 1994-96 | Leo Schofield AM |
| 1997 | Clifford Hocking |
| 1998-99 | Sue Nattrass |
| 2000-01 | Jonathan Mills |
| 2002-04 | Robyn Archer AO |
| 2005-08 | Kristy Edmunds |
| 2009-12 | Brett Sheehy |
Footnotes
- [1] Melbourne Festival offers free events 7 August 2003 ABC MacquarieNet 2003 (online edition) Accessed 28 June 2006
- [2] PR Newswire, "Kristy Edmunds Joins Melbourne International Arts Festival As Artistic Director for 2005 and 2006" February 9, 2004
See also
- Melbourne International Comedy FestivalMelbourne International Comedy FestivalThe Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
- Melbourne Fringe FestivalMelbourne Fringe FestivalThe Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual independent arts festival held in Melbourne, Australia. The Festival runs for three weeks from late September to early October, usually overlapping with the beginning of the Melbourne International Arts Festival...