New Arts Festival Announced For Melbourne

A new arts festival was announced for Melbourne today. Featuring a 24-hour spectacle, live music, parties, street performances and film projections, the inaugural Festival Of Live Art (FOLA) features more than 30 events staged across various precincts including  Footscray Community Arts Centre, Theatre Works and Arts House between March 14 -30.

The 24 Hour Experience (March 29-30) is a festival highlight, with a variety of locations in the Melbourne CBD playing host to events every hour over a 24-hour period. Events range from film projections on city buildings to more interactive pieces including a Sunday morning confessional series and the opportunity for audience members to participate in a choir performance with the Random Choir Of Mutual Wonder. Other highlights include live music from  Massive HipHop Choir and other artists still to be confirmed, playing on different corners of Melbourne's Federation Square. There will also be a tour through the Victorian Institute Of Forensic Medicine with events to be located at other city landmarks including Old Magistrates Court, City Baths and the banks of the Yarra River.

The rest of the FOLA program features the likes of The Town Bikes, Stelarc, Robin Fox, Casey Jenkins, Nicola Gunn, Penelope Bartlau, Sisters Grimm, Anthony Hamilton and Suzie Dee. Performances include a 10-hour festival of 'the bloke' involving skateboarding and motorbikes used to make various 'prints'; an Eritrean coffee ceremony; and a live version of The Sims where participants can interact live with a miniature town and its residents by choosing an avatar and then pulling the strings.