Midsumma launches high-octane 2017 program
Image: Photo: Coal Photography.
THE program for next year鈥檚 Midsumma Festival was launched in Melbourne last night, amid speeches and a handful of preview performances.
For its 30th anniversary Midsumma will play host to more than 130 events, installed or performed by over 1,200 culture-makers, in more than 70 venues and outdoor spaces around the city.
Midsumma chief executive Karen Bryant said the upcoming festival will be about broadening the diversity and laying the foundation for what the team has planned for future years.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really looking to the future,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e want to be actively engaged and we want to proactively have a role to play in the cultural landscape of the city.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also going to announce talks and forums closer to the festival around communities we feel have been underrepresented in previous years 鈥� we鈥檒l do stuff on Indigenous issues, and arts and disability.鈥�
Bryant added that in light of the debates around marriage equality and Safe Schools, it鈥檚 important to celebrate our community more than ever.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 perfect timing for communities to come together and celebrate and talk and share, because it鈥檚 an important time for us to increase our visibility,鈥� she said.
The features high-octane theatre, burlesque to brusque cabaret, music, dance, film, talks, sports, hubs, and social events.
The three-week festival will be punctuated by three free signature events 鈥� Midsumma Carnival, the Midsumma Pride March, and the new art party Midsumma Horizon at the Testing Grounds.
State Labor MP Harriet Shing believes having a festival like this is important for everyone in the community.
鈥淗aving a festival that鈥檚 devoted to our communities and what we have to offer, and is truly representative of the amazing spectrum that is us is really super important,鈥� she said.
鈥淓specially when the world can seem like a hostile place鈥� when you鈥檙e exposed to the media on a daily basis that seems to not understand that people like us just want to be able to do our thing.
鈥淏eing as inclusive as possible through programs like this is such an important step forward, because we can always do better and be more inclusive.
鈥淭his is another amazing step towards the future of recognising everyone on the terms they want to be recognised.鈥�
