Wonderland will return with all-new projections from The Electric Canvas. Source: Supplied
IT was the big artistic gamble that paid off so handsomely it will be back next year bigger and bolder.
White Night Melbourne - the all-night arts party that drew a staggering 300,000 into the city in its first year - returns on February 22 with an expanded program of cultural events taking over a larger part of the city.
Eight blocks will be given over to the dusk-to-dawn festival, from the Melbourne City Baths in the north to the National Gallery of Victoria in the south, turning a large part of the city and the sky into an illuminated cultural wonderland.
The 12-hour program, kicking off at 7pm, allows punters to engage in free concerts, dance, exhibitions, street performances, film screenings and fashion, as well as events at all the major cultural institutions which will keep their doors open all night.
The city will again be awash with colour as landmark buildings become the canvas for giant lighting and projection installations and the footbridge over the Yarra River will be turned into a bright vortex tunnel.
Artistic director Andrew Walsh today revealed next year's line-up of more than 80 event involving about 500 artists.
"We're cognisant of the responsibility we have to deliver a program that's more exciting and more interesting than the previous one," he said.
"We're pretty confident that what we're announcing today meets that and what we have up our sleeves to announce along the journey will fulfil the promise that White Night Melbourne will again be a night like no other."
Highlights include:
* Tim Winton's The Turning: Each of the film's 18 chapters will be screened in a different city location.
* Tattooed City: A photographic and projection installation at the NGV that celebrates Melbourne's street art and increasing popularity of tattoos.
* Moonlight Synchro: The Melbourne City Baths will be bathed in light as The Victorian Synchronised Swimmers perform through the night.
* Crepuscular Beam: An illumination work that reaches kilometres into the city, but begins above the ground so audiences can stand beneath it and look up.
* I Could Have Danced All Night: A returning favourite from this year that turns Federation Square into a dance floor.
* Midden: A homage to Melbourne's traditional owners at Birrarung Marr, involving 360-degree projections on 150 cubic metres of rocks.
* Wonderland: A re-imagining of city landmarks with light projections and animations.
* Making Fashion Move: A series of images all over the city that pay a quirky tribute to Melbourne's fashion history and top labels.
A significant logistical change next year will be existence of two major hubs, instead of one, and the creation of 10 different precincts.
This will make it easier for people to find what they're looking for and to better distribute what is expected to be an even bigger crowd.
Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said the first White Night Melbourne had overwhelmingly proved the doubters wrong.
"There were many who suggested it was a high-risk venture, but in the arts there is often risk involved and the rewards are fantastic," he said.
"The first White Night was an absolutely huge success and what we saw was one of the most enthusiastic outpourings of support and mass involvement."
This year's event, the first of its kind in Australia, was so successful it was honoured with a Helpmann Award for Best Special Event.
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WHITE NIGHT MELBOURNE
Free dusk-to-dawn arts festival
February 22, 7pm - 7am
Website: whitenightmelbourne.com.au
Twitter: @WhiteNightMelb #whitenightmelb
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