Melbourne’s new RISING festival has announced its inaugural program, comprising 133 events and projects, including 36 world premieres and over 750 Victorian artists. The festival, which replaces the long-running Melbourne Festival and the White Night festival, was due to kick off in 2020 under co-Artistic Directors Hannah Fox and Gideon Obarzanek, but will have its debut this year over 12 nights from 26 May to 6 June.

Wandering Stars at RISING festivalWandering Stars. Photo courtesy of RISING

“Gideon and I feel incredibly proud to be launching the inaugural RISING program, especially one that so strongly represents the collective creative energy of Melbourne and the culture and artists it’s famous for,” said Fox. “The vision for RISING is centred on the idea that culture is a human right. This means really embedding art, music and ceremony in public spaces and creating opportunities for participation. RISING is a festival of unrepeatable, site-specific performance and large-scale public art, new collaborations in theatre and dance, and novel line ups in live music all connected by food, wine and fun. With over 130 projects in the program from a naked disco for one to an installation floating on the...