Footscray Community Arts Centre
We acknowledge that we are on traditional lands of the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation. We offer our respect to the Elders of these traditional lands and, through them, to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Event – Outdoor Event
The Gift of Light
Part of The Light in Winter festival
Presented by Footscray Community Arts Centre in partnership with Federation Square
TIME AND PLACE
- Saturday 20 June - Sunday 5 July
- The Gift of Light unveiling at 5pm on Saturday 20 June
- Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne
Cost
- FREE
Following the success of The Light in Winter festivals in 2007 and 2008, Footscray Community Arts Centre is again collaborating with Federation Square to produce the feature event of this illuminating project, The Gift of Light, which runs from 20 June to 5 July.
Throughout the year Footscray Arts has assisted some of Melbourne’s most innovative artists in working with 13 different cultural communities to create light-inspired artwork exploring the cultural meaning of light. These light installations will be ‘switched on’ at 5pm on Saturday 20 June, the longest night in winter to celebrate the beginning of The Gift of Light.
From 4 June to 5 July some of Melbourne’s most innovative artists and communities will come together to celebrate The Light in Winter. Experience Federation Square come alive with community-inspired light installations and performances from around the world all designed to warm the heart of the City in the chillier winter season. Audiences are encouraged to roam around Federation Square taking in the sights and sounds of a range of different cultures.
Footscray Community Arts Centre has again been a major partner organisation in this unique cultural event, having facilitated extensive community collaborations with artists throughout the year. For more than six months members of the Indigenous, Afghan, Japanese, Vietnamese, Turkish, Tuvalu and Kiribati, African, Latin American, Indian, Burmese, Greek and Italian communities and the Centre for Multicultural Youth have been working with local artists to create a series of visually stunning light installations. These works of art have been created following extensive consultation with each community involved in The Gift of Light project to establish how to best represent themselves at the event. And to ensure the communities involved are present to appreciate their hard work, Footscray Arts will organise transportation of the many community members to Federation Square for the unveiling ceremony.
Footscray Arts has also worked with Federation Square and a range of artists to create a program of live performances on the opening night of The Gift of Light. Guest artists will include the haBiBis, Shiamak Davar Bollywood Dancers, Fonda La Clinica from Chile, The Japanese School Happy Happi Dancers, Footscray hip-hop crew Nubian Knights along with countless others. Footscray Arts has also produced a series of interviews with community members about their thoughts on light, which has been filmed and edited by video artist Tamsin Sharp. These interviews will be shown on the FederationSquare big screen throughout The Gift of Light celebrations.
Communities will be offering special warm treats on the opening night of The Gift of Light to accompany the artistic displays and performances. So to get your fill of Turkish delight, hot chocolate, green tea, spicy mulligatawny soup or to experience a traditional Ethiopian coffee making ceremony you’ll need to be at Federation Square on Saturday 20 June.
Throughout history many cultures have traditions, ceremonies, rituals, and other linkages to special kinds of ‘light’. This ‘light’ might be fire, candles, a special candelabrum, lamp, or a history or belief symbolised by light of some kind. Myth, legends and cultural traditions abound with stories and fables about the creation of light, the importance of light and the symbolic and spiritual meaning light has for humanity. While these legends are as diverse as the cultures that nurture them, there is a common theme - the importance of enlightenment and hope and its symbols of light. This importance of light is the inspiration behind The Light in Winter festival and The Gift of Light.
Join us at Federation Square on Saturday 20 June to discover and celebrate the significance of light to different cultures across the globe.
leem peeyt weeyn’ Artist: Vikki Couzens. Photo by Tamara Watt
The Way We Look Artist: Tim Webster. Photo by David Simmonds
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