By Goya Dmytryshchak
An industrial revelation will take place in Hobsons Bay on Thursday.
The Art & Industry Festival program – two years in the pipeline – will be launched at a former glass factory in Spotswood.
The 10-day festival held from November 16-25 celebrates the western suburbs’ industrial heritage.
Highlights include the return of IF: Industrial Fashion, featuring performances and costumes inspired by local industries such as train manufacturing, shipping, petrochemical plants and the iconic Newport Power Station.
A series of ‘secret bars’ will be unveiled across Hobsons Bay from Newport to Laverton, and the area’s boutique brewers have also provided fashion inspiration in the form of a bottle-top dress.
Films celebrating the lives of working men and women in Hobsons Bay will be screened in shipping containers at Newport, Altona and Laverton.
The West Gate Bridge will be lit up nightly from dusk to view from Douglas Parade in Spotswood. It’s history and importance will also feature in an outdoor gallery at Paine Reserve and an exhibition at The Substation in Newport.
There’ll also be a photographic exhibition about night-shift workers displayed at two outdoor evening exhibitions in Newport and Altona.
Festival director Donna Jackson, of Hubcap Productions, said the theme was celebrating the past and designing the future.
“I’m really enjoying collaborating with local artists and industry to tell stories from our past and explore new ideas,” she said. “It promises to be 10 days of industrial-strength art.”
The Art & Industry Festival program will be launched on Thursday, October 25 from 6-8pm at 1 Hudsons Road, Spotswood.
The festival opens with IF: Industrial Fashion on November 16 at Williamstown Town Hall.
Details: www.artandindustryfestival.com.au
