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MELBOURNE
FESTIVAL
Melbourne Festival is one of Australia’s flagship international arts
festivals and one of the major multi-arts festivals of the world.
The 2015 Melbourne Festival ran from 08—25 October under the
artistic direction of Josephine Ridge.
In 2015 Melbourne Festival celebrated 30
years of presenting the world’s best arts
experiences to local audiences. Artistic
Director Josephine Ridge’s third and
final program revealed a strong focus on
writing, literary adaptations, collaborations,
opportunities for debate and discussion, and
a feast of world class performances from
local and international artists.
The 2015 festival brought to its conclusion
many initiatives and ideas Josephine
explored over three years at the helm. From
TANDERRUM: a powerful ceremony bringing
together Elders from the five clans of the
Eastern Kulin to celebrate their rich cultural
heritage and mark the Festival opening,
Hadyn for Everyone: a quest to perform all 68
of Haydn’s string quartets and pay homage to
the man who invented the genre, the Foxtel
Festival Hub as a go-to contemporary music
venue, and underlying themes such as the
creatively charged intersection of art and
politics.
OUR PURPOSE
Sharing extraordinary arts experiences
that stimulate and celebrate our
creativity, deepen our understanding of
the human spirit, and strengthen and
enrich our communities.
OUR AMBITION
Presenting an internationally acclaimed
arts festival that connects the highest
calibre of local, national and international
artists and audiences to experience the
best of the contemporary arts and to
make a unique contribution to the cultural
life of Melbourne.
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Josephine’s three festivals were
characterised by international cocommissions such as Hofesh Shechter’s
Sun and Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre’s
The Rite of Spring / Petrushka. Local and
international co-commissions included
Circa’s Opus, Complexity of Belonging with
Melbourne Theatre Company and Chunky
Move and Australian co-commissions
included Malthouse Theatre’s The Shadow
King, headed for a London season in 2016
and Opera Australia and Barking Gecko’s
The Rabbits. Support for the independent
sector included three commissions with
Theatre Works: Daniel Schlusser Ensemble’s
M+M, THE RABBLE’s Room of Regret, Fraught
Outfit/St Martins’ The Bacchae and with Arts
House Stephanie Lake and Robin Fox’s A
Small Prometheus.
The 30th edition of the Festival featured
closed to 80 events—almost half of which
were free—and achieved a box office of
around $3.3 million, the strongest result in
over a decade.