Gain an insight into domestic life through an open lounge room window, enter Dante’s inferno in an upstairs storeroom, or hear strains of music as a fragmented choir serenades you throughout the city. BLINDSIDE presents the third iteration of the BLINDSIDE Festival, On The Verge – an experimental art festival of chance encounters, immersive soundscapes and intimate creative exchanges. For 11 days art will materialise in the alleyways and byways of Melbourne’s CBD. New works and site-responsive performances will disrupt, alter and transform the spaces we take for granted.

On The Verge showcases the talents of emerging and established artists including: Steve Aishman (USA), Buff Diss, Robert Curgenven (IRE/AUS), Louise Paramor, Sarah Rudledge, Billie Justice Thomson + more! BLINDSIDE Chair, Verity Hayward, explains “On The Verge differs from the larger Melbourne city festivals as it is aimed towards quieter, hidden and intimate spaces, where you wouldn’t expect to see art. You are encouraged to look, to wander, and to experience the city in different, more meaningful ways.

This event offers audiences the chance to view contemporary, innovative and high quality artwork from local and international practitioners in freely accessible public spaces.” One highlight of the festival is new work by Robert Curgenven, an Ireland-based Australian composer employing sound as a physical field of perception. His work challenges us to consider our physical experience of sound; how we inhabit space, both individually and collectively; and how the auditory shapes our perception of time and duration. Curgenven has performed and exhibited extensively across Australia and Europe.

Hayward says ‘the festival is a unique program amongst Melbourne’s artist run spaces. It’s a chance for artists to exhibit in new and unusual sites, ones that challenges and redefines the placement of artwork in the gallery, while allowing them to experience new territory and opportunities in their work. This festival also offers opportunities for audiences to see art where it’s most unexpected – in a domestic space, retailers, a window space, and even Melbourne’s legendary Kelvin Club.’

BLINDSIDE is an independent contemporary art space in the heart of Melbourne. Located in the historic Nicholas Building, the gallery encourages artistic experimentation and supports practices underrepresented in mainstream art spaces.

BLINDSIDE’s 11 day multi-platform festival is a FREE event.

Exhibition Dates | 24 August – 3 September 2020 Opening Night | Thursday 25 August, 6–8pm

Download your map and see the full artist line-up, talks, tours + performances at BLINDSIDE.org.au