By Sonia Nair
This month Melbourne is bursting with festivals, exhibitions and performances that will entertain and challenge, but not blow the budget.
Blak Woman’s Healing. Yirramboi.Credit: Tiffany Garvie
YIRRAMBOI
Venues across Melbourne, May 1–11
Critically acclaimed First Nations arts festival Yirramboi returns to Melbourne, and there are plenty of ways of partaking for free. Explore the Wurundjeri tradition of possum skin drums and the creation of the water dance in Banj Ba Walert: Water and Possum at Fed Square. In We Are the Land We Walk Upon, a groundbreaking cross-cultural trio of Australian and Canadian First Nations artists will explore the histories and contemporary lives of First Nations peoples, creating a powerful dialogue at the Immigration Museum that surpasses borders. Arts House will transform into a space of healing and cultural sovereignty as part of Blak Women’s Healing, curated by Wemba-Wemba and Gunditjmara visual artist and academic Dr Paola Balla. Yirramboi’s free program encompasses dance, visual art, film, music, comedy and conversations.
STITCHIN’ STORIES: BLAK AND THREADLY
Birrarung Building, until May 18
This fourth iteration of the Koorie Heritage Trust’s Blak Design program has been running since March, but May is your last chance to see it. Eight boundary-pushing participants showcasing close to 30 pieces exemplify the creative and dynamic ways in which fashion and textiles reflect both cultural continuity and innovation. Sustainable and recycled materials have been incorporated into many of the works, from Tahnee Day’s denim ballgown which is a striking example of upcycling to Matty Chilly’s work, which merges cultural materials with contemporary fashion. The displays in this exhibition aren’t merely fashion, but a powerful medium through which First Peoples’ stories, experiences and worldviews are shared, preserved and transformed.
MELBOURNE OUT LOUD
State Library Victoria, until May 25
If there ever was a photographer to encapsulate Melbourne’s essence throughout the years, it’s social chronicler Rennie Ellis. Melbourne Out Loud is a collection of iconic, unseen and everyday photographs from one of our greatest observers. From St Kilda Beach and the MCG to Melbourne Cup and the AFL grand final, Melbourne in the ’70s, ‘80s and ’90s was captured through his adroit eye for detail and colour. Charting the evolution of queer culture in Melbourne from early gay liberation marches and joyous party scenes to arts balls and fashion parades, this exhibition also contains a snapshot of key moments for the local LGBTIQA+ community.
Paintings, drawings and sculptures by Hamish Tobias will be on show at fortyfivedownstairs.Credit: Image courtesy of the artist
FREE EXHIBITIONS AT FORTYFIVEDOWNSTAIRS
fortyfivedownstairs, all of May
Nestled in the lower floors of a 19th-century brick building in Flinders Lane, not-for-profit gallery and theatre fortyfivedownstairs is hosting several free exhibitions over the course of May. Analogue by Jamieson Miller is a riposte against the imposition of the digital world and highlights the idiosyncrasies and imperfections of being a carver. Out of the Orchard by Cecilia Cairns celebrates her 60 years as a teacher and artist who grew up on an apple orchard in Merricks on the Mornington Peninsula. Edward Coleridge’s oil paintings in Letterbox Landscapes capture the beauty of the Victorian countryside and cities, while multidisciplinary artist Hamish Tobias’ paintings, drawings and sculptures in I’ve Been Curious About Daffodils Lately explore the effects of warped self-perception on mental health, and challenges conventional beauty standards.
Serwah Attafuah, The Darkness Between the StarsCredit: Courtesy of the artist.
SERWAH ATTAFUAH: THE DARKNESS BETWEEN THE STARS
ACMI, all of May
May is your last opportunity to enjoy the work of multidisciplinary artist and musician Serwah Attafuah as she weaves past, present and future into an Afro futurist vision of resilience and reclamation in The Darkness Between the Stars at ACMI. Across five screens, female warriors rise from burning slave castles and shipwrecked colonial vessels, their glitch-patterned kente cloth celebrating Ghana’s matrilineal traditions. This visually sumptuous exhibition uses visual effects, animation and 3D modelling to critique the historical and modern exploitation of Ghana while envisioning a liberated future and highlighting the strength of West Africa’s Ashanti people.
WORLD OF THE BOOK
State Library Victoria, until May 18
What better place to chart the rise and restyling of the beloved book than in this one-of-a-kind exhibition on the history of book design, production and illustration from the Middle Ages to today? Among the 300 rare, remarkable and historic items are first editions by highly vaunted Japanese author Haruki Murakami and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison, signed first editions by fantasy behemoth Philip Pullman, and the world’s first novel – penned during the Edo Period. World of the Book is refreshed each year to showcase the extraordinary riches of the library’s collections, but you have until May 18 to see the current iteration, after which the 20-year-anniversary edition launches on May 31.
BUDDHA’S DAY AND MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL
Golden Square Car Park, May 2–4
Descending on to Chinatown’s famed multi-level carpark which has hosted many an arts activation is the annual three-day-long festival commemorating Buddha’s birthday. Choose from any number of activities at this free public event: Ba Duan Jin meditation, calligraphy workshops, tea ceremonies, dance classes, wellbeing lectures and cultural performances from several different faiths. Step into the Lotus Flower Sanctuary, filled with illuminated-four-metre-tall flora, or the Lumbini Garden, a peaceful haven inspired by Buddha’s birthplace where you can take part in the symbolic act of bathing an infant Buddha statue. The Children’s Wonderland offers engaging puppet shows and face painting, and be sure to stay until dusk to see the digitally animated five-storey-high Bodhi Tree Mural come alive through projections.
The DMusic Choir will perform at the Sri Lankan Festival at the Queen Victoria Market.Credit: Alisha Keyzer
SRI LANKAN FESTIVAL
Queen Victoria Market, May 4
Bringing to life the rich cultural traditions of Sri Lanka is a one-day festival celebrating the Tamil and Sinhalese New Year. Enjoy an assortment of Sri Lankan cuisine – sizzling kottu rotis, fragrant curries, crisp hoppers and deep-fried rice flour kokis – while enjoying the array of live dance performances, music and interactive workshops.
HAWKER 88 NIGHT MARKET
Queen Victoria Market, May 7
Wednesday, May 7 is the last time this season you’ll be able to enjoy the spoils of this recreated Asian hawker centre. Choose from over 20 food stalls – boasting the likes of popular Chinese sugar-coated fruit snack tanghulu, Nepalese momos, Korean gold coin pancakes, Filipino street food and Japanese rice burgers – or watch the finals of a beer pong competition. It’s all happening for one last time at the Hawker 88 Night Market before the Winter Night Market takes over.
MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK
Venues across Melbourne, May 15–25
Much of Melbourne Design Week is free to attend, though bookings are occasionally required. Transpiring over 11 days across more than 350 events, exhibitions, talks and installations, Australia’s premier design festival celebrates the depth and richness of talent in the region – from emerging talent to the industry’s renowned professionals. Wander through a 20-year retrospective exhibition honouring eminent lighting designer Volker Haug or immerse yourself in 100 Lights as it illuminates the Meat Market Stables in a visually spectacular display of 100 artists’ lighting designs. Visit Deep Calm, the culmination of a year-long research project into how architecture can cater to neurodivergent audiences, or Catch: Tales of First Nations Fishing, which highlights the design ingenuity and legacy of First Nations designers, among numerous other events such as the Melbourne Art Book Fair.
LOCAL LUNCH CLUB
Kathleen Syme Library, May 17
Join City of Melbourne Libraries’ Local Lunch Club and connect with like-minded people at this community gathering that fashions surplus food into a delicious free vegetarian lunch. Hosted by Open Table, the event features live music, board games and talks from community groups on how you can better enmesh yourself in your local neighbourhood. The event is part of a lunch program series that originated in 2023 and incorporates community information sharing and skill-building through workshops on nutrition, minimisation of food waste, sustainability, grocery budgeting, cooking with limited kitchen resources, and pickling vegetables.
Korea Festival at Fed Square.Credit:
KOREA FESTIVAL
Fed Square, May 24–25
The two-day, family-friendly Korea Festival celebrates all things synonymous with Korean culture. Popular Korean children’s games made internationally famous by Squid Game but without the violent repercussions? Tick. K-pop showdowns where high-energy performances and powerhouse vocals come head to head? Tick. Kimbap-making classes? Tick. Coinciding with the festival is the Korean Film Festival, taking place at ACMI over two consecutive weekends and shining a spotlight on world-leading Korean cinema. Shows by male breakdancing troupe Saengdonggam Crew, taekwondo demonstrations, Korean cosmetic booths and food stalls selling the full gamut of Korean food, from fried chicken to tteokbokki, round out the festivities.
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