2015 Melbourne Festival: Free events at the international arts festival from October 20 to 25

Melbourne Festival currently aims to engage with as many people as possible while showcasing the latest works and international collaborations of the finest artists in Melbourne, Australia from Oct. 20 to Oct. 25. The official Melbourne Festival website assures that the international arts festival will be offering the attendees with an unmatched feast of visual arts, multimedia, theatre, dance, music and outdoor events from the well-known and future Australian and international companies as well as artists to Melbourne.

Listed below are some of the free events at the Melbourne Festival:

1. The Secret Garden.

The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) will put on display the surreal and ultra-sensory work of Swedish artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg called “The Secret Garden.” ACCA’s exhibition of “The Secret Garden” will run until Sunday, Nov. 22, at 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays to Fridays and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

2. Canzone.
Multi-award-winning artist Angela Cavalieri will be presenting new works based on Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi’s final opera along with the monumental prints inspired through “Madrigals of War and Love.” The exhibition of Cavalieri’s exploration of music as storytelling will take place at 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday until Friday and it will conclude at 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, at fortyfivedownstairs in 45 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia.

3. Torrent.

Interested attendees can experience an audio-visual maelstrom of light and sound through the series of multi-screen animations dealing with water flow Martine called “Torrent.” With the use of simple black and white graphics, Torrent portrays the process of water trickling, pouring and cascading down the walls, swirling onto the floor as a stylised animated whirlpool before draining away to nothing.

The exhibition will run at the Centre for Contemporary Photography until Sunday, Nov. 15, at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays to Fridays and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reports that Melbourne Festival has already surpassed their $3 million target in ticket sales within the opening week of the international arts festival. “I feel like we're in a really positive place: it's the 30th anniversary and (it's) a really good place to leave the festival,” artistic director Josephine Ridge shared.

Ridge has also admitted that the festival’s organisers are pleased with the strong engagement of the public with the program this 2015. SMH further reports that 23 shows at the event have already sold out within a couple of hours of tickets going on sale.

One of the shows that sold out at the festival is the Flight Facilities concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. “We've seen that flowing over into the free events too and attendance in the Festival Hub. It's wonderful confirmation that people are really happy with the festival,” Ridge stated.

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