Melbourne comes alive with RISING 2024

Melbourne’s premier celebration of cutting-edge music, art, and performance, RISING 2024, is set to captivate the city once again from June 1 to 16.

Over 16 nights and spanning three thrilling weekends, RISING will animate Swanston St and beyond with striking installations, free public events, and world-class contemporary entertainment.

Featuring an array of local and international talent, RISING invites locals to rediscover Melbourne through transformed landmarks and hidden gems, from its laneways to larger public spaces.

“RISING 2024 is a festival that belongs to Naarm, Melbourne. Some of the most exciting voices in art, music and performance offer moments of catharsis and reflection with mass music-making in a church, or summoning the cosmos in our town square,” RISING co-artistic directors Hannah Fox and Gideon Obarzanek said.

The most important part is coming together to be thrilled, bemused, shaken or delighted.

In collaboration with MAPCO, Fed Square will transform into a bustling hub celebrating First Peoples’ art, politics, and cosmic affinities with The Blak Infinite, curated by Kimberley Moulton and Kate ten Buuren.

This immersive exhibition and accompanying public events, nestled at the core of the festival, promise to offer a profound exploration of Indigenous culture and its intersection with contemporary society.

Complementing The Blak Infinite is Richard Bell’s installation, EMBASSY, which draws inspiration from the historic Aboriginal Tent Embassy established at the grounds of Canberra’s Parliament House in 1972.

In exclusive, Australian debut, global dance-floor sensation SHOUSE brings In Communitas to Melbourne, an electrifying event that will lead over a thousand participants to form a mass choir and sing, dance and create sonic vibrations.

Melbourne Town Hall will also be reimagined to host Day Tripper in collaboration with beloved community radio station Triple R, a day party event that will take over the hall and surrounding venues.

“A packed program of amazing cultural experiences will see RISING ignite Melbourne’s winter again in 2024, bringing visitors into the city to revel in this major event filled with art, music and performance,” Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said.

With the festival now in full swing, individual event details are now available. •