Now in its 25th year, Australia’s largest and longest-running student arts festival, Mudfest is dedicated to showcasing the emerging talent of the independent arts scene. Featuring over 500 artists, the festival will premiere over 70 new works spanning theatre, music, visual art, experimental art, and everything in between.
Consistently attracting crowds of thousands, the festival is an ideal platform to engage with Melbourne’s emerging arts scene. Boasting a pop up bar, a circus tent, and 100% recycled materials, Mudfest promises to be an exciting look at where Victoria’s arts scene is heading.
“Mudfest is a celebration of community spirit, of coming together to embrace the University of Melbourne’s diverse and vibrant arts culture,” says Festival directors Bonnie Leigh-Dodds and Isabella Vadiveloo. “We have been reminded that people want to be challenged, want to use their imagination, be moved, be called out, be made to laugh, dance, cry, engage and be part of something bigger than themselves.”
Highlights of the 2015 Festival include:
A Night Under Bunjil
Presented by the UMSU Indigenous Department, film and sound combine to create an immersive experience.
Behind the Ping Pong
Two masked actors play table tennis while you control the sound and light generated directly from the energy produced by the flying ball.
Planning Atlantis
Ready for a new beginning? Grub Theatre have a plan for the future – one where the waterways are open to all… especially if you’re a fish. Join them, as they take you through the exciting possibilities Docklands holds as a new home for the entire fish community… where anything is possible!
Wash Your Hands
Theatre meets escape room in this interactive performance. Presented over three floors of a university building, you’re on the run from a deadly virus. Can you escape without being caught?
Mudfest is committed to celebrating diverse and original art, seeking to provide accessibility and welcome to artists and audience members alike. In 2015, the festival is offering another first: festival-funded Auslan interpreters, audio describers and captioners; a commitment to wheelchair accessible venues; and free access awareness training for all artists, volunteers and ushers.
Mudfest runs at a variety of venues throughout the University of Melbourne Parkville Campus: 20 – 29 August 2015. For more information, visit: www.mudfest2015.com for details.
Image: Planning Atlantis – courtesy of Grub Theatre