Footscray’s Sleepless Festival is returning for 2025 and is calling all artists, creatives and nightcrawlers to get involved in the non-profit community arts event.
The fourth annual festival will be held from Friday, May 2 until Sunday, May 18 and celebrate the community and culture of Melbourne’s inner west, particularly after dark.
Over its two week duration, Sleepless Festival will promote a diverse range of events, including art installations, film, performances, and immersive experiences, all set within under-utilised and unconventional Footscray CBD venues.
To do this though, the festival needs artists and performers and has put out a call for those interested in producing events or curating exhibitions in dormant shopfronts and forgotten indoor spaces.
More than 50 different artists featured in the 2024 festival and applications for this year’s event are open now.
The festival has a focus on artists based in Maribyrnong and the broader western suburbs, but applications are open to artists from any location.
Artists who are Indigenous, culturally and linguistically diverse, LGBTQI+ and-or who have a disability, are encouraged to apply.
Successful applicants having access to microgrants of up to $1500 and a number of venues to help bring their artistic vision to life.
Grants of $500 are on offer for installation artists.
Only a limited number of grants are available and will be administered at the festival’s discretion.
Applications close at midnight on February 16 and can be made via: sleeplessfestival.com
