It may be the most remote city in the world, with the Indian Ocean on one side and the vast desert of the Australian continent on the other, but Perth boasts the oldest annual international multi-arts festival in the southern hemisphere. With this year’s theme of transcendence and transformation, Perth shows once again that while it is deeply rooted in the physical environment of ocean and desert, it thrives because of the community’s ability to rise above the tangible world; to engage with ideas, emotions and sensations. According to the festival’s artistic director Lindy Hume, this year’s program is about “understanding that there is more to being human than our physical selves.” For 24 days, take the chance to “explore that part of the human experience that is intangible - not of the flesh, but of the mind and imagination, the spirit, the subconscious, the soul.”
This high point of Perth’s thriving arts calendar for the past 52 years gets the community in top gear, and artists and culture vultures from across Australia and around the world make a beeline for the city by the sea. Whether your passions are theatre, visual arts, dance, music, film or literature, the Perth International Arts Festival has something that will entertain, move or inspire you. Even if art and culture isn’t usually your bag, or you’ve got little ones to worry about, there are heaps of community events and accessible items on the program. The real challenge is trying to choose what to see!
Patricia Maunder, CitySearch, January 2005
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