The Festival continues to build on its standing as a progressive, engaging, inclusive and exciting festival including over 30 Premier Events that encompass live performance, visual arts and film along with sporting, social and community events. The 2012 program further cements Midsumma as a highly anticipated annual feature on the Melbourne cultural landscape.
Carnival will once again be the opening event of the festival at Birrarung Marr on January 15 followed by T Dance, the ultimate out and proud party by the Yarra River as the sun sets over Melbourne’s cityscape. A highlight of Midsumma 2012 will be the strong Visual Arts program, which includes Cycles & Sequences, an exhibition marking 25 years as an artist for Ross Watson and showcasing works featuring Bel Ami stars and out-and-proud UK soldier, Lance Corporal James Wharton.
Midsumma favorites Queer City and Yarra Arts return in 2012 with an outstanding array of original local and interstate works. Queer City Premier artist K N Rodriguez heads up the exhibition Reveal, which discloses, divulges and displays the various stories that need to be told. It explores a number of topics from gender, stereotypes, body image, sexuality, identity and the real world.
Newport’s Substation will house Stories from the city, stories from the sea, queer urban tales, an exploration of urban myths and queer legends with series of performances created by Martha McDonald and site responsive exhibitions by artists including Andrew Browne, Lucas Grogan, Heather B Swann and Kate Just. Celebrating women, Rynelle Walker uses colour and intricate dot patterns to reveal the feminine power with the showing of The Decision is Yours. Art critics the world over acknowledged that 'modern' Aboriginal art is the last great art movement which came into being at the end of the 20th Century. Walker is an artist who is continuing the practise of the most ancient cultural tradition, but she is imbuing her work with a contemporary vibrancy.
ArtBoy Gallery will show Midsumma's Premier toon event, facebook phenomenon TOONARAMA - the exhibition!, a caricature collection of the famous and infamous, cool celebrities, sexy sports stars, community cuties and fabulous friends drawn by cartoonist, Brett Willis.
Once again performing arts feature prominently in the program for Midsumma for 2012. Chapel Off Chapel, Gasworks Arts Park, La Mama and Theatre Works will be hosting live performance based works as well as providing spaces for festivalgoers to meet and socialise. Chapef Off Chapel’s highlights include the critically-acclaimed Britney Spears: The Cabaret starring Christie Whelan and MIDSUMMA’S PLAYING-IN-THE-RAW @ THE CHAPEL, an in-your-face, mouth-watering series of provocative plays and playreadings by some of the best exponents of global queer writing for the theatre.
Gasworks Arts Park’s performance works include SPONTANEOUS BROADWAY, a comic musical improvisation experience in which the audience assists the cast to create a world premiere musical on the spot, complete with costume and character changes, dance sequences and much musical theatre mayhem and hilarity.
With many more performance, visual arts, community events and the always anticipated parties within the Midsumma Festival, 2012 is set to celebrate all things queer in the most exciting program to date, which culminates in the annual Pride March on February 5. Midsumma Chair, Lisa Watts said "There's a growing sense of excitement building within the community about Midsumma. It's a chance for us to celebrate living in one of the greatest cities in the world. Midsumma and the way it celebrates diversity makes our society stronger."
Full program details and tickets are now available at www.midsumma.org.au.