From the 5 – 9 April, Canberra’s CBD and surrounds will be immersed in dance, poetry, music, theatre, visual art, and more as over 50 events take place in iconic venues and unexpected spaces, as the You are Here Festival is back for its seventh year in 2017.
“We’re bringing together an awesome collection of artists and arts projects – working across and in between artforms, platforms and locations exploring environment, gender, land, belonging and connectivity” Festival Manager Adelaide Rief commented.
Rief explained that the 2017 festival features local and national artists, with works ranging from provocative think-pieces to the unashamedly tongue in cheek. There will be events and displays never before seen, as well as the return of old favourites.
“We believe in participation; that the best art happens in the intersection between artist and audience. And so we invite you to draw with a blindfold on, join a treasure hunt, walk the streets, try on masks, ride your bike, have a conversation, dance, share a poem, make a film, bear witness, and to write a letter from the future.” Rief commented.
Rief pointed out that this year You Are Here is inspired by ideas of exploration – exploring new spaces, re-discovering familiar ones and unearthing the hidden stories that lie just beneath the surface. Continuing the tradition of presenting art in unexpected places, such as vacant shopfronts and cosy living rooms, the festival offers audiences new opportunities to engage with the city. Spaces encountered everyday become transformed, and new trajectories and experiences emerge.