Media Release: Our Heart, Illuminated by Art

Alex Evans projection Journey into Inner Space

The 2019 Geelong After Dark programme has landed, filled with over 70 art-projects to engage and stimulate all your senses.

From 6pm, Friday 3 May, Central Geelong will be transformed by music; street performances; installations; exhibitions; dance; and projections.

Fancy hearing sounds from a 5 metre slide guitar constructed and played by local slide guitar virtuoso Tim Hulsman? Lend Wendy Grose your ears as she sings Opera from the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre: question is, will you see her as she does?

In a post-Christchurch world, the work of Rose Ertler and Complimentary Lane project located in the forecourt of Barwon Water, adds potency and spirit. It will have you sharing compliments of your own as you watch contributions from Matthew Flinders Girls High School and Diversitat English language students.

At Johnstone Park, immerse yourself in the worlds of the Sensory Portals; singular spaces designed for intimate experiences of art.

The OYSTER project invites you participate in the ritual of eating an oyster, cleansing the shell in water, then adding to the surrounding middens before they are sent back to the bay to create reefs for sea-life.

Connecting Song returns with the premier of three film clips – the culmination of the work of three local unsigned musicians mentored by Adalita (Magic Dirt); Mick Thomas (Weddings Parties Anything); and Mark Wilson (Jet). Chloe St Claire; Jack Meredith and band Alby Jay have each written, recorded and filmed clips of their songs that pay homage to the mountains, beaches and city they all call home. All three will play at The Workers Club Geelong on the night.

All of our cultural venues will be open with programmes to entice you to Heighten Your Senses.

“Geelong After Dark is one of the highlights of our cultural events calendar. Last year it attracted more than 20,000 attendees to central Geelong and contributed around $2.1 million to our local economy. It’s loved by our local community and draws visitors from Melbourne and beyond.

This year’s programme will be a fantastic showcase of our city’s clever and creative arts and culture scene. I’d encourage everyone, particularly if you’ve never experienced Geelong After Dark, to mark 3 May in your diary and make sure you’re in central Geelong for a great night out. ”

— Greater Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood:

“Geelong will come alive on 3 May with an incredible range of art, music and cultural displays. Our region is home to so many talented and creative people, and this event gives them a chance to showcase their work to a large audience. This year’s programme will entertain, amaze, and make us think. It’s a night not to be missed.”

— Cr Jim Mason, Chair, Arts, Culture and Heritage portfolio

Media inquiries: Sue Cartwright  Director Communication Tree 0402 210 484

Geelong After Dark; Immersive, Interactive, Engaging

View fullsize

Photographer: Reg Ryan

On Friday night, Geelong After Dark transformed the City from the ordinary into the extraordinary. Now in its fifth year, this multi-sensory event has evolved into a unique celebration of the arts, an experimental space in which artists converge to explore new technologies and ways of seeing.

Interactive experiences: projections on buildings and walls; installations and street art down laneways; theatre on street corners; music on steps and under balconies; costumed characters in buildings; illuminations in the park; music and dancing in public spaces – over 18,000 people of all ages converged and engaged with art in the heart of our City. 

Seventy percent of the immersive Geelong After Dark experience was presented by professional and emerging Geelong artists. Joining our local artists were a number of nationally and internationally renowned artists, including Baby Guerilla, contemporary artist Kathy Howloko (Spider-Goat and the Insect Electro) and John Fish, the Melbourne-based multidisciplinary creative studio.

Minister for Tourism and Events Hon John Eren launched Geelong After Dark in the forecourt of Barwon Water, the setting for stunning projections from local artist Joel Zika and Sydney-based collective Create or Die.

View fullsize

Photographer: Pam Hutchinson

A highlight of the night was the Gathering of the City in Johnstone Park, part of the biennial Mountain to Mouth (M~M), extreme arts walk. Choirs and lanterns led the procession of walkers and the ephemeral M~M sculpture Canoe along Gheringhap Street to the City. Audiences danced and sang in unison with the walkers and performers as Gathering of the City coincided with Geelong After Dark.

For the first time, After After Dark extended the Geelong After Dark experience from 10pm in the Lt Malop St precinct.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren

“Geelong After Dark is a wonderful opportunity to welcome more visitors to our region, support jobs and generate more business for our restaurants, bars and clubs.”
“Geelong has proved time and time again that it can put on a show, which is why we can’t wait to bring White Night here in October.”   

Quotes attributable to City of Greater Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood:

"Geelong’s reputation as a cultural destination continues to grow through events such as Geelong After Dark. This wonderful celebration gives our community an opportunity to experience its city in a new and exciting way."
"Central Geelong has truly come alive in a fantastic showcase of the depth and diversity of regional talent."
"It’s also been particularly pleasing to see the engagement and involvement of central Geelong’s cultural organisations and businesses."

Media inquiries: Desiree Jacobson Cultural Marketing and Communications Officer media@geelongcity.vic.gov.au