The fifth edition of Proximity Festival brings together nine artists from across the country to Perth’s new heritage precinct, Cathedral Square. Spanning twelve days from 26 September to 7 October, this year’s agenda promises to explore beyond the confines of the arts institution to activate intimate experiences in public and private spaces.
To gear up for this year’s wide and varied program, festival co-curators Sarah Rowbottam and Kelli McCluskey say, “Get ready to search for love in high places, celebrate black matriarchy through power-laden rap, pit yourself against a robotic tennis opponent, and ride back-seat on a motorcycle as you become an extra on a film set.”
Tyrone Robinson, 2017. Photograph: PAVLOVA
Audiences can expect three different programs of experimental performances embedded into the daily happenings of the Perth Town Hall, St Georges Cathedral, Burt Hall, The State Buildings, City of Perth Library and inner-city surrounds.
Highlights from this year’s A, B or C program include multidisciplinary artist Cigdem Aydemir’s The Ride, offering a chance for audiences to become an extra on a film set, Brisbane-based artist Hannah Brontë’s Tresse // Passing – Don’t Touch My Hair who will weave sonic interventions fusing hip-hop and power-laden rap, and video performance artist Nat Randall’s EXCLUSIVE that will take the form of an uninterrupted 4-hour uncensored live broadcast.
Rachel Arianne Ogle, Where You End and I Begin, 2013 Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts. Photograph: Fionn Mulholland
The full 2017 line-up of artists commissioned to create new works include Cigdem Aydemir (NSW), Hannah Brontë (QLD), Mike Bianco (USA/WA), Liam Colgan (WA), Martyn Coutts (VIC), Rachael Dease (WA), Jen Jamieson (WA), Nat Randall (NSW) and Tyrone Robinson (WA).
Teaming up with Proximity Festival is guest Provocateur Jeff Khan. Working as curator, writer and current Artistic Director of Performance Space, Sydney, Khan will invite Proximity artists and Cathedral Square locals to explore the notion of community in the 21st century and query how occupants can coexist within temporal boundaries that are often layered with complex histories.
In celebration of the festival’s fifth year, Proximity will unveil Proximity in Pictures, an archive of over 40 unique performances between 2012-2015 previously showcased at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, and The Blue Room Theatre. For audiences who have yet to attend Proximity Festival, this will offer a rare chance for a cosy viewing experience in Perth Town Hall. At the conclusion of the festival, the Proximity archives will be accessible through the Live Art Development Agency’s Study Room located in London. The international research facility is an open-access resource centre for artists, curators, academics, art professionals and students world-wide.
