Yarra River set to shine as full White Night Melbourne program released

Added by on January 24, 2013

The Yarra River will play host to the largest laser, water and light show ever seen in Melbourne as part of the inaugural White Night Melbourne on February 23, creative director Andrew Walsh announced today.

Unveiling the full program for White Night Melbourne, Mr Walsh said the laser and light show titled, “From the Deep” would feature a 40 metre high water fountain, lasers tracing the lines of the Princes Bridge and surrounding buildings, all set to an evocative soundtrack.

Over 300 local and international artists performing in more than 80 free events across more than 40 CBD sites will transform Melbourne’s city streets, laneways and landmarks on Saturday February 23 from 7pm till 7am.

“White Night Melbourne will be a celebration of all things uniquely Melbourne. That’s why the Yarra River will be a central stage for the event – it represents the lifeblood of this city,” Mr Walsh said.

Mr Walsh said: “From The Deep will be taking place hourly so it will be a great attraction for families throughout the night. With its cross-shaped design, this laser and water spectacular can be seen from Princes Bridge and from both sides of the river.”

With just four weeks to go, Premier and Minister for the Arts Ted Baillieu said White Night Melbourne – the newest major event on Melbourne’s enviable calendar – would span from the National Gallery of Victoria to Melbourne Town Hall and the Melbourne Museum.

“From five floors under Arts Centre Melbourne to the heights of Eureka Skydeck, White Night Melbourne will transform our city into a cultural canvas, a performance stage and a creative playground,” he said.

Mr Baillieu said: “White Night Melbourne will be a celebration of this city’s culture and creativity, art and design, live music, theatre, food, fashion, film, and sport. There will be something to delight everyone.”

Melbourne’s internationally renowned cultural institutions – including the National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne Museum, the State Library and the Wheeler Centre – will all be staying open after dark simultaneously for the first time.

Mr Walsh said: “White Night Melbourne will offer people of all ages the chance to experience our famed institutions in a whole new light, with everything from ghost tours of the Arts Centre to torchlight tours of Melbourne Museum to free screenings at ACMI.”

White Night Melbourne will be the first ever event of its kind in Australia, inspired by the Nuit Blanche phenomenon that began in Paris in 2002.

“It is incredibly exciting for Melbourne to be the first city in Australia to join Paris, Toronto and 21 other cities around the world in becoming part of the Nuit Blanche phenomenon,” Mr Walsh said.

White Night Melbourne will also feature international artists directly from last year’s Paris and Toronto Nuit Blanche events, including French artist Michel Blazy and Canadian artist Christine Davis.

Mr Walsh said other key highlights of the full program would include:

* Theatre of Dreams: A free concert at Flinders Street Station featuring some of Melbourne’s best loved bands including The Cat Empire, Rockwiz Orchestra and guest singers, World’s End Press, The Eagle & The Worm.

* Wonderland: Flinders Street and iconic Melbourne public buildings including St Paul’s Cathedral will form the canvas for stunning light projections and a carnival of theatrical performers

* Particle Picnic: The Forum Theatre will be turned into a 3D spectacular of art synced with DJs.

* Musicians and performers will perform on stages set on rolling tram cars along St Kilda Road.

* An underground carpark will become The World Below, a gothic underworld art exhibition.

* Jazz Stage: the Bob Sedergreen Trio will headline an all-night line-up of live jazz in Degraves St

* Horror fans can see a free screening at ACMI of 101 Zombie Kills, direct from Toronto, which shows 101 memorable deaths of zombies through television and cinema.

* The Secret History of Everything: A pop-up cinema in the Federation Square loading bay will screen a short film of propaganda footage direct from ACMI’s archives.

* John Safran will host On Unrest, a free Melbourne Conversations event on philosophy and religion developed as part of Alain de Botton’s School of Life, at a secret location yet to be announced.

* The Emerging Writers’ Festival will present an all-night writer’s camp at The Wheeler Centre.

* State Library of Victoria will offer tours inside one of the oldest and grandest part of the library, Queen Hall, which is not usually open to the public.

* Seven thousand cyclists will kick off their MS Melbourne Cycle at 7am, as White Night Melbourne finishes.

Light projections will transform Melbourne’s iconic buildings and landmarks – including The State Library and NGV International – while Melbourne’s laneways will play host to live jazz, multimedia projections and pop-up performances.

For the full program, visit whitenightmelbourne.com.au.

The key locations for White Night Melbourne include:

  • National Gallery of Victoria
  • Arts Centre Melbourne
  • Australian Centre for the Moving Image
  • Melbourne Museum
  • The State Library of Victoria
  • Forum Theatre
  • Curtin House
  • Flinders Street Station
  • Federation Square
  • Birrarung Marr
  • Melbourne Town Hall
  • Flinders Street & Flinders Lane
  • Swanston Street, St Kilda Road & Princes Bridge
  • Southgate & the Yarra River
  • Eureka Skydeck
  • Collins Street
  • City Square

For further details on the lineup, or to register for regular updates, visit whitenightmelbourne.com.au