WELCOME
Our desire when conceiving, programming and
delivering this Melbourne Festival was threefold:
To remind ourselves of what is possible when brilliant people
do extraordinary things. We set out to create 19 days of the
most exciting collaborations, most fiercely burning talent, and
experiences to help us remember how amazing we can be
when we really put our minds to it. We wanted to walk with
courageous, visionary and ambitious artists.
To take a wider view of the world and see our stories with
fresh clarity. We wanted to pull back for a wide shot, see the
whole picture, tackling colossal and vital themes in order to
get new perspective on this most complex of times.
To show just what Melbourne Festival can be, when
approached with resources and ambition. In a city that
embraces bold art and big ideas we wanted to present a
Festival that stood tall, that gave the people of Melbourne a
whole head-full of new memories, different and unforgettable
experiences and one that presented a totally new 2017.
One of the jobs of the arts is to play a role in the health of our
communities: and it’s clear that this year’s Festival was heart
surgery, and at exactly the time it was needed.
It was overwhelming to see massive ideas transformed into
deeply personal experiences. Across dozens of experiences led
by artists, we saw the blossoming of communities and countless
moments of individuals gaining some small respite from the
world today.
The 2017 Melbourne Festival was made possible because over a
thousand skilled people from Melbourne and the rest of the world
said ‘Yes’. It was also made possible by the Festival financially
investing everything it could to go beyond what is normally
possible.
Reflecting back now, after the Festival, we can see just how
much people needed this.
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