Rising, stylised as RISING, is a city-wide arts festival held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. It is supported by the

Victoria State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

History

Rising was announced in May 2020 as Melbourne’s new major arts and culture festival, taking the place of the

Melbourne International Arts Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

and White Night. RISING is led by co-artistic directors Hannah Fox and

Gideon Obarzanek Gideon Obarzanek (born 1966 in Melbourne) is an Australian choreographer, director and performing arts curator. He was Artistic Associate with the Melbourne Festival (2015–2017), co-curator and director of 'XO State' at the inaugural Asia-Pacif ...

. Rising’s inaugural festival, scheduled to take place in August 2020, was delayed by the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and postponed into 2021. Rising’s rescheduled program was announced in March 2021. For its headline event, Rising commissioned the new exhibition ''A Miracle Constantly Repeated'' by

Patricia Piccinini Patricia Piccinini (born 1965 in Freetown, Sierra Leone) is an Australian artist who works in a variety of media, including painting, video, sound, installation, digital prints, and sculpture. Her works focus on "unexpected consequences", conv ...

. The exhibition was the first large-scale opening of

Flinders Street Station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...

's ballroom to the public in decades. The program also included new commissions from Australian and International artists and companies including Reko Rennie,

Chunky Move Chunky Move is an Australian contemporary dance company from Southbank, Victoria It was founded in 1995 and debuted at the Melbourne International Arts Festival with artistic director Gideon Obarzanek. The company's work is diverse and has includ ...

Jenny Holzer Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950) is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick, New York. The main focus of her work is the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, ...

Maree Clarke Maree Clarke is a Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta, BoonWurrung/Wemba Wemba woman living in Melbourne, known for her work as a curator and artist. Clarke is a multidisciplinary artist renowned for her work in reviving South-eastern Aboriginal Australian ...

and Dancenorth, among others. Scheduled to run from 26 May—6 June 2021, Rising’s program was paused on 27 May as a result of Melbourne’s citywide lockdown in response to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. While there had been plans to revive the festival in June, as Melbourne's lockdown was extended the festival directors made the decision to cancel Rising. Public works such as ''The Rivers Sing'' by

Deborah Cheetham Deborah Joy Cheetham (born 24 November 1964), is an Aboriginal Australian soprano, actor, composer and playwright. Early life and education Cheetham is a member of the Stolen Generations; she was taken from her mother when she was three weeks o ...

, Byron J. Scullin and Thomas Supple, ''Ancestral Memory'' by

and Mitch Mahoney, and ''Wandering Stars'' by The Lantern Company remained available. Rising also commissioned the ongoing Melbourne Art Trams project, and engaged First Nations artists to design six trams which had been unveiled in May. In November 2021, Patricia Piccinini's exhibition in Flinders Street Station was reopened to the public and is scheduled to run until June 2022. The 2022 program, announced in March, will run from 1—12 June 2022, featuring a mixture of new work and others which had been previously postponed.

Awards and nominations

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. ! , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, Rising , Best Metro Festival , , , -

References

{{reflist Arts festivals in Australia Festivals established in 2021