Over 93,000 people made their way to the centre of Geelong to join in the celebration of White Night on Saturday as the festival lit up the night sky.
From the heart of the city in Johnstone Park to the waterfront, Geelong was filled with light, sound and movement as locals and visitors alike experienced the exhibitions and performances of over 100 diverse artists.
White Night creative director Jospeh O’Farrell (JOF) said it was fantastic to see so many people come together “as a community to eat, drink, dance and celebrate” as White Night returned to Geelong after a three-year hiatus.
“I’m still buzzing from seeing all those smiling faces on the street and experiencing the feeling of culture, community and people coming together, it was really quite overwhelming,” JOF said.
“It’s been a while since Geelong has had a White Night, and it really felt like the people in the street were just so happy to see the event back and to take in the art and the culture once again.”
JOF’s own offering, the world premiere of Heavy Metal, was an “almost spiritual” celebration of Geelong’s automotive and musical history.
The performance, which took over Grace Church carpark, saw audiences head-banging to the riffs of two metal guitarists while gasping in awe as cars were flattened in front of their very eyes.
JOF said he couldn’t have been happier with the way it went.
“It was incredible to premiere that work as part of White Night,” he said.
“The crowd was literally screaming and roaring with the flames and the musicians. It was a really big team that brought that work together, from Infrabuild, who were the steel recyclers to Additive who were the production managers, to the band who performed.
“So it was a huge achievement and a really nice point of difference. I am really over the moon with how it was presented and how it looked as part of the night.”
