26/06/2024
Georges River Council’s enthralling Un[contained] Arts Festival is returning to Kogarah this winter from Friday 19 July to Sunday 21 July 2024.
Now in its fourth iteration, this year’s Festival is sponsored by VJB Group and Sydney Water. It will showcase art, installations, live performances and a range of food trucks with delectable options at Kogarah Town Square, along Belgrave Street, Kogarah.
Breaking free from a traditional gallery space and encouraging community participation, key themes to be explored include sustainability, environment, technology and AI. The festival welcomes people from all walks of life and abilities, encouraging them to immerse themselves in creativity and celebrate the liveliness of the Georges River area.
Georges River Council Mayor Sam Elmir said he was thrilled that the event was returning to the streets of Kogarah.
“Council is proud to be delivering the Un[contained] Arts Festival for 2024. We had 40,000 people attend last year – both locals and visitors – and I hope we can attract more people this year.
“It’s an exciting, free community event open for all ages, and what better way to end the school holidays enjoying art, roving performances and food?
“I look forward to attending the festival to enjoy the festivities, rub shoulders with our community and see them interact with the artworks.
“I’d also like to extend my thanks to VJB Group and Sydney Water for supporting this event,” added the Mayor.
Date: Friday 19 July – Sunday 21 July 2024.
Time: 4.30pm – 10.00pm.
Where: Kogarah Town Square, Belgrave Street, Kogarah.
Cost: Free.
For more information, visit Council’s Un[contained] webpage.
Please also find information about the artists and their works below.
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Artist & Artwork
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Artwork Details
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Amanda Parer
Fantastic Planet, What’s That
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The giant humanoid of Fantastic Planet has landed from afar and are quietly and gently exploring our ‘fantastic planet’. Inspiration for this artwork has been taken from the 1973 Czech/ French film Fantastic Planet (French: La Planète Sauvage). This stop-motion science fiction film directed by René Laloux, depicts a story set in an unimaginably distant future in a world inhabited with gargantuan humanoids where human beings exist but are considered feral, to be contained and kept for the amusement of the giants.
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Anna & Richard Savery
Harmony in Hive
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Harmony in Hive is an immersive art experience at the intersection of nature and technology. This interactive installation invites participants into a technology-driven beehive. Guests wield sensor-equipped flowers to influence virtual bees, crafting a captivating dance of shadows, light, and sound that reflects the beauty and complexity of pollination.
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Art Thinking
Shadowgram
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Inspired by 19th century Photogenic Drawings, Shadowgram brings this unique image making process to the digital age. Audiences generate their own shadowgram portraits and display them with an associated statement. Shadowgram asks audiences to respond to a provocation through image and text igniting ideas, discussion and new enquiry.
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Collide Public Art
Mapping Place
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James Voller and Dr Joel Zika create light-based installations that reveal hidden stories and histories in public space. Their practice involves digital screen-based media and illusion to showcase images and objects from archives which would otherwise go unnoticed.
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Damien Butler
In the Clouds Together
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Damien Butler’s practice of art is directed by his interests in the world around us, our perception, connection through movement and personified experiences. Butler’s works include sculpture, objects, photography, film, painting and installations.
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George Buchanan
MamMoth
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Step into a world where art meets play in a mesmerizing display of light and motion. The giant, glowing Emperor Gum Moth, is a stunning artwork that comes to life as multiple participants swing on the large, attached swing, causing the moth's wings to flap in response. The tactile and immersive enchantment of this installation is found in its magical blend of artistry and human interaction.
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Jennie Feyen
Incandescence
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Incandescence pays homage to the stars and the vibrancy of their life cycles. In the work, a contemporary dancer (the star child) experiences the life span of a star: as she gains momentum, the colourful imagery of space reflects her increasing energy and builds to a celestial crescendo.
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Laura Jade & Leslie Marsh
AI Tarot Reader
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AI Tarot Reader invites you to experience an interactive tarot reading with Mremlyn, a young AI forging her path as a fortune-teller. This immersive artwork playfully explores the fascinating bond between humanity and technology, blending AI innovation with the mystique of divination.
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McDermott Baxter
Monet’s Garden
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Monet’s Garden was inspired by the beautiful shape and foliage of the large tree on the upper plaza of Kogarah Town Square. The way the tree’s sweeping foliage creates an almost intimate sense of place with seated areas and planters reminded them of their visit to Monet’s Garden at Giverny. McDermott Baxter aim to create a feeling of wonder for the audience and to enhance the experience of the space and the adjacent laneway.
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Sam Absurd
Creativity Uncontained (mural)
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Imaginative characters and vibrant patterns burst forth in this colourful, illustrative mural. Designed for interactive photography, it invites viewers to stand before it, creating the illusion of their minds unleashing creative energy. This dynamic artwork captures the essence of imagination, celebrating the boundless potential within each individual - uncontained creativity.
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Sway
Bloom! (performance)
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Bloom! is a colourful and spirited aerial spectacle performed atop SWAY’s bespoke 14-foot sway poles. A 20-minute performance, Bloom! is a family-friendly, colourful, and spirited performance exploring themes of earth and nature, community, transformation, individuality, and diversity. Accompanied by an original soundtrack by Ania Reynolds, Bloom! celebrates the ephemeral and simultaneously beautiful nature of life.
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Roving performance details:
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LED Butterflies on Stilts
LED Ring Dress Dancers
Light-up Seahorses on Stilts
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Making their debut at this year’s event are the enchanting LED Butterfly Girls on stilts, adding a touch of ethereal grace to the winter night. Joining them are the mesmerising roaming LED Ring Dress robots, which will light up the night with their dynamic colours and robotic movements. A highlight of this year’s spectacle is the unveiling of the brand new large Inflatable light-up Seahorses on stilts, a whimsical addition sure to capture the imagination of all who attend. These larger-than-life creations promise to transport attendees into a realm where fantasy meets reality.
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