White Night Reimagined 2019

White Night Melbourne has gone through a few changes this year. Now called White Night Reimagined, it is being run over three nights during the winter on 22 - 24 August 2019 from 7pm to midnight (2am on Saturday) instead of over one whole night in the summer. The footprint is also smaller, with the program mainly contained to three park precincts: Birrarung Marr, Treasury Gardens and Carlton Gardens.

I started my White Night evening tonight in Treasury Gardens, which was themed the Sensory Realm. It was one of the few sites that had large scale light projections, which were done on the building facade of 2 Treasury Place by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas in a piece called Sensoria.

There were a few experiential pieces in the Gardens, but considering the time constraints of the night I wasn't willing to waste time waiting in line. The other pieces I liked were the audio-visual installation Cluster by Playmodes Studio and the human brain like Synapse by Jack Burton, Monica Lim, Josh McAuliffe and Patrick Telfer.

My next stop was Birrarung Marr, which was themed the Physical Realm. The absolute highlight was the Dutch street theatre company Close-Act, who had The Odd Platoon and Drummers roaming through the crowd strapped to bobbing cranes and the 40 minutes long acrobatic performance Globe, where they performed on a globe shaped scaffolding structure as well as in the crowd.

My last stop for the evening was up in Carlton Gardens, which was themed the Spiritual Realm. This precinct was pretty similar in scale and scope to last year. I really liked the Spirit Creatures by The Lanternist, which were similar to animals done at the Taronga Zoo for Vivid Sydney.

The Guardian by A Blanck Canvas was a giant roving puppet that looked like a lion. Awakened by Balooga Entertainment was another giant puppet, this time of a meditating spiritual being that had audio-visual components.

The big attraction though was the Mad Max Fury Road vehicles, light projections on the back of the Royal Exhibition Building and live performance in the Melbourne Museum forecourt. The vehicles were spread around so you could get an up close look at them, and the performance had people dressed as the characters get up onto the vehicles. However, because it was so spread out it was a bit hard to follow and see all of the performance.

My final stop on the way out was for the neon Love Triangle by Carla O'Brien and the aerial performance Loved by Acrobatica.

Overall the crowds weren't too big on the first night and I managed to cover pretty much everything in around four hours. This is not the White Night of old though, and with limited time you have to make choices about what you want to see and try to time things so you don't miss any performances. It felt more like Vivid Sydney than the all encompassing White Night experience, which I think is an unfortunate development. Who knows what will happen when it is merged with the Melbourne International Arts Festival in 2020.

White Night Melbourne 2018

It's one of my favorite events of the year - White Night Melbourne! This year the crowds seemed a bit smaller than in previous years (noting that I arrived around 1am). While there were some interesting works, I didn't feel this White Night was as strong as other ones I've been to. These were my highlights from the evening:

In the Queen Victoria Gardens was the whimsical Neon Dog Park installation by Carla O'Brien. People had lots of fun interacting with these glowing dogs.

There was a bit of a space theme in the Alexandra Gardens with the inflatable installations of the solar system La Terra Al Centro Dell' Universo by Namaste Europa and the spaceman coming out of the ground Calling Occupants by Felipe Reynolds.

Floating over the Yarra River were the illuminated birds of Le Bal des Lumineoles by Christophe Martine, which added some movement to the night skyline.

The Flinders Street light projections The Secret Life of Buildings by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas highlighted different eras of pop culture. These projections were more static than in previous years, with the ones on The Forum being the best of the three buildings.

In St Paul's Cathedral was a fantastic piece by Victoria University's Skunk Control with Altar to the Future. It appeared to change colors due to the large rotating circular portal that you viewed the work through. It was exciting to see them have a piece at White Night as I've been such a fan of their windows at the Gertrude Street Projection Festival.

At the Melbourne Town Hall were more beautiful light projections by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas to accompany the Guerrilla Opera performances by BK Opera on the verandah. It was a nice respite to stop and listen to them sing.

One of the most innovative pieces of the evening was PlusMinusZero by Alexander Mitchell. Incorporating projections onto a large paste-up mural in a car park off Lonsdale Street, you could download the EyeJack app to see the work come to life in augmented reality.

Inside the State Library Reading Room was another work by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas called The Secret Life of Books, which showed what might happen to the books after hours in the library.

The site at Carlton Gardens expanded to include even more works this year. Phantasmagoria by Christopher Langton was a fantasy land of giant inflatable toys and animals as you walked toward the Royal Exhibition Building.

The highlight of the light projections was What If... on the Royal Exhibition Building by Limelight Projection Mapping. The 3D video mapped projection made it look like the building was changing shape and it raised the bar from previous years.

Finally, on the Melbourne Museum Plaza were two interesting pieces. One was The Serpent Mother by Flaming Lotus Girls, which was a reptile with a moving head that had flames coming out of its spine. The other was Birdmen by Close-Act, where these Technosauruses roamed around the plaza as the puppeteers on stilts interacted with people and each other.

White Night Melbourne 2017

Last night through this morning was the fifth year of White Night Melbourne, which runs from 7pm to 7am around the CBD and surrounds. This year featured some interesting pieces and light projections spread across the various precincts in the city. I began my evening/early morning at the NGV where they had the special projections Viktor&Rolf - Inside Out by the Electric Canvas on the facade in honor of the current Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Artists exhibition.

My next stop was the Alexandra Gardens, which had some fantastic installations, including Love This Way by Carla O'Brien, and the whimsical garden wonderland with giant white inflatable rabbits called Intrude by Amanda Parer, along with the plants Peony and Herbum Follus by Tilt.

Also located in the Alexandra Gardens and other locations around the CBD was a fantastic series called The Secret Life Of Statues by Mitch Gow and Eloise Kent, where Melbourne's famous statues such as the Pathfinder, Matthew Flinders, the Three Businessmen and Francis Ormond revealed different sides of their personalities.

This year saw the welcome return of the light projections along Flinders Street. More Than 1 Nation, a collaboration between The Electric Canvas and Pitcha Makin Fellas, had projections on Flinders Street Train Station about the many nations of Indigenous Australia and the impact of colonisation.

The buildings along Flinders Street across from Federation Square were lit up by projections by The Electric Canvas which told various Fractured Fairytales in a comic strip style.

Up at the State Library they once again had projections outside and inside the building. On the exterior was The Night Garden by Lisa Greenaway, Nick Azidis and Rose Staff, with projections inspired by the medieval poem "The Romance Of The Rose" by Guillaume de Loris.

Inside the dome of the La Trobe Reading Room was Seadragon's Lair by Sheree Marris, Lisa Greenway and John Power, which showcased what lives underwater in Port Phillip Bay.

The Carlton Gardens site was expanded this year and had quite a few interesting pieces. Pixel Fruit by Tim Newman had LED lanterns hanging from the branches of a large tree. The Sonic Light Bubble by Eness was an interactive piece that responded to touch. The mesmerising Nebulous by Alex Sanson was a kinetic sculpture that slowly expanded and contracted.

The large expanse of the Royal Exhibition Building was once again utilised to great effect with the projection Rhythms Of The Night by Artists in Motion, which explored the four stages of sleep.

The final piece I checked out was the 5:30 am performance of The Pyrophone Juggernaut by Hubbub Music in association with Strut and Fret. The ship-shaped structure is the largest hand-operated, multi-octive fire organ in the world and it was amazing to watch the group of musicians play the pipes by lighting the gas flowing through the pipes with blow torches. It was an unique way to end my White Night experience for 2017.

White Night Melbourne 2016

Support for White Night Melbourne 2016 was announced fairly late by the Victorian Government, which may have had an impact on the number of artists taking part this year at the all night arts festival. Compared to last year it didn't seem there was as much to see, and not having any projections on the Flinders Street buildings was a disappointment. However, there were some real gems that I discovered throughout the early morning hours as I wandered around the city.

The focus on Indigenous storytelling was the real highlight of White Night this year, and these artists had the best light projections of anyone. Federation Squared by Reko Rennie with the Electric Canvas lit up Federation Square with some bright colors and graphic designs on the facade of the building.

At the NGV was the very powerful Still Here by Josh Muir with Ample Projects. The illustrations, accompanied by music from Emma Donovan and James Henry, tell the story of Aboriginal people in Victoria before and after white settlement. It was a fast-paced visual narrative and the crowd applauded once it finished.

The best work though due to its sheer scale was Pitcha Makin' Fellas and OCUBO at the Royal Exhibition Building. Their piece told the story of the six Aboriginal seasons. It was stunning to watch and great to hear stories told using traditional language as well as English.

The State Library once again had light projections both outside and inside the building. Landscaping Architecture by Amanda Morgan and James HH Morgan had the front of the library bathed in a kaleidoscope of color. Inside the dome of the La Trobe Reading Room was Ideation by Nick Azidis, Lisa Greenaway, Adem Jaffers and Bentley Dean. Using soundscapes and light projections it celebrated the world's achievements in knowledge.

There were many music stages spread across the city that featured bands from different types of genres. With so many things to see throughout the night it's impossible to view everything. Of all the bands playing I didn't want to miss The Harpoons so I made sure to catch their 1:30 am set at the Live on Lonsdale stage. We were treated to a lot of new songs as well as old favorites "Falling For You," "Can We Work This Out," "Unforgettable" and "Ready For Your Love." The crowd was dancing and it was great to hear other people singing along to the lyrics.

Animals were a feature of some of the pieces at White Night this year. On the Melbourne Town Hall was Golden Monkey by Lisa Roet, which saw a giant gold inflatable monkey clinging to the building. At the Melbourne City Baths was Incubator by Craig Walsh with its 3D animations and projections of creatures swimming around in the pool.

My favorite interactive piece was Neon Laneway by Alana Hoggart and Michael Duncan in Rutledge Lane. This work brought together some of Melbourne's finest street artists with contemporary dancers under the neon glow from black lights. The neon street art, ominous music and dancers really made this the most creative thing I witnessed all evening.

Finally, the hills of the Queen Victoria Gardens were the perfect place to showcase The Dresses by Tae Gon Kim. These beautiful dresses were made of fibre-optic strands that changed color, symbolizing the dresses' history and transformation over time. These were amazing to see in person and another definite highlight of White Night.