The Melbourne International Arts Festival is Australia's premier annual celebration of the arts. Filling the whole city for over two weeks, the event welcomes the world's best in theatre, dance, visual arts, opera, music and literature.
Melbourne city is renowned for its abundance of theatres, galleries and performance spaces, all of which take on an international aspect in October during the Arts Festival. Families are not forgotten, with a range of free events to keep the little ones entertained too.
Melbourne Arts festival started in 1986 as an Antipodean version of Gian Carlo Menotti's Spoletto Festival (following the Italian and American examples) but, in an enlightened procedure, invites artistic directors to programme two, three or four years only. Menotti oversaw the first three festivals, with five intervening directors until Jonathan Mills took over in 2000. Between 2002 and 2004 the director was Robyn Archer and her festivals had an ongoing thematic thread - "Text" (2002), "Body" (2003) and "Voice" (2004). The director for 2005 to 2008 is Kristy Edmunds, who is succeeded by Brett Sheehy in 2009 and 2010.
The 2008 festival featured both a photography exhibition and concert by American punk singer Patti Smith, performances from the Batsheva Dance Company, recitals from radical classical music group The Schönberg Ensemble and much more. Federation Square acts as the central point of festivities and is also the venue for the legendary opening and closing parties.
Please visit the Melbourne International Arts Festival website for the full low-down.
Melbourne Arts festival started in 1986 as an Antipodean version of Gian Carlo Menotti's Spoletto Festival (following the Italian and American examples) but, in an enlightened procedure, invites artistic directors to programme two, three or four years only. Menotti oversaw the first three festivals, with five intervening directors until Jonathan Mills took over in 2000. Between 2002 and 2004 the director was Robyn Archer and her festivals had an ongoing thematic thread - "Text" (2002), "Body" (2003) and "Voice" (2004). The director for 2005 to 2008 is Kristy Edmunds, who is succeeded by Brett Sheehy in 2009 and 2010.
The 2008 festival featured both a photography exhibition and concert by American punk singer Patti Smith, performances from the Batsheva Dance Company, recitals from radical classical music group The Schönberg Ensemble and much more. Federation Square acts as the central point of festivities and is also the venue for the legendary opening and closing parties.
Please visit the Melbourne International Arts Festival website for the full low-down.
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