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Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) will present the 4th Piers Festival on Sunday 25th January 2015 from 12-9.30pm at Princes Pier, Port Melbourne. This free one-day festival will feature a huge line up of Melbourne’s diverse musicians, artists, dancers and culinary talent alongside cultural games, kids activities, forums, walking tours, exhibitions and more.
It is the only festival in Australia that celebrates and reflects on the nation’s collective migration stories at Princes Pier – the significant entry point for migrants post WWII to the 1970s and where almost half of the 180,000 post-WWII refugees arrived. The Piers Festival celebrates the pivotal role the Port Melbourne precinct played from 1915 to 1969 in Victoria’s growth and the diversity of cultures that enrich our community today.
The headline act will be a multicultural ensemble led by the legendary Painters and Dockers performing with an extraordinarily talented selection of artists including Rebecca Barnard, Flybz, the Mystic Trio and others from diverse cultural backgrounds including Timorese, Maltese, Sudanese, Burundian, and Irish. This is a sensational new collaboration forging fresh ties between musical styles and cultural backgrounds.
The 2015 Piers Festival will also feature two new programs:
The Landing will encompass a range of community association stalls including the Australian Turkish Cultural Platform, The Greek Australian Cultural League, The Sardinian Cultural Association, Societa Isole Eolie Melbourne, Cultural Historical Association of Rodriguans & Mauritians in Victoria and more. Each will be sharing their history and culture through video displays, artefacts, installations, performances as well as free cultural games and activities. The Landing promises to be an exciting space to explore and participate for people of all ages!
A new program of stories curated by Lella Carridi entitled What Happened at the Pier will present a range of discussions, poetry readings, spoken word, visual art installations and musical responses to the long history of arrivals and departures at the Pier.
Reaching 10,000 visitors from diverse cultural backgrounds, the Piers Festival has become an annual major event and a significant occasion for reflecting on the riches of our indigenous and cultural diversity over the Australia Day weekend.
Princes Pier, Port Melbourne
Sunday 25 January, 2015
12pm to 9.30pm
Melbourne
Top image: Asanti Dances balance act at Piers Festival 2014. Photo by DWV Photography
