A Strange New Arts Festival Is Taking Over The CBD For 10 Nights This June

A celebration of the misfits and the misunderstood, Strange Festival is a mysterious and exciting new arts festival taking over some of the city’s most unique and unused spaces.

It runs over 10 days from June 17-26, and will culminate in a ceremonious burning (!) of “Cor Novis – The Feast” – a large scale sculpture collaboration with artist Hana Priest.

That burning in Forrest Place will provide an epic closure to what promises to be an intriguing new festival, with more than 20 spaces coming alive around the city, hosting 35 artists form around Australia.

The mediums will vary across the full arts spectrum, including visual, aural, experiential, sculpture, projections, video, performance art and more.

According to Festival Director, Jess Oakley, “Strange was born from an insatiable curiosity of how the human mind rationalises the indescribable and unexplained experiences of an individual, and how these experiences are communicated through art. We want to expose the strange and unusual to a wider audience and put a spotlight on the forgotten and discarded corners of the City.”

All installations will be free to experience, and along with the 20+ visual spaces there will also be a dedicated performance venue at Don Massimo Underground with new wonders take in every night.

Check out a few highlights below, and suss the full program at the Strange Festival Website.

– “Cor Novis – The Feast” – a collaboration between Hana Priest and Strange, a large sculpture housed in Forrest Place and then set alight on the final night of the festival;
– “Telepathy 101” by James Hollands – a hypnotic projection broadcasting cinematic video works exploring experimental literature;
– “Valley Girls” by Tania Ferrier – a reimagination of Tania’s 1980’s art installation ‘Angry Underwear’ which was briefly shut down for obscenity & inappropriate use of government funding;
– “Invisible Outfield” by Steve Berrick – a commentary on our digital selves and magnitude of data communication, triggered by placing your own phone into the installation;
– “Pavlova” by Doublethink Prism – an experiment in sound and food;
– “Strangers of Perth” – a wrestling match, painted on site, with the passing public inserted into the crowd by artist Sam Evans.

Keep up to date via the Strange Festival Website.