More than 400 artists, including 50 artists from interstate and 5 artists from across the seas, have converged on Melbourne to grab the arts industry by the seat of its pants and thrust it into the public domain with startling public projects, unexpected performances and invigorating discourse. The Next Wave Festival Club at the Mercat Cross Hotel will be buzzing with ideas throughout the day during the Polyphonic workshops and forums, and sparkling at night as artists, audiences and passers by come together to exchange ideas, dance moves and phone numbers every night of the festival.

The 2008 Next Wave Festival will infiltrate the city with stunning visual art, surprising performances, dynamic dance, novel new media, bold literature, innovative hybrid projects and more. In addition to all these spectacular works are Next Wave’s Special Projects, which bring Next Wave’s fearless multi-faceted approach to making art to some of Melbourne’s most renowned institutions. Further projects will slip into bars and onto footpaths, over billboards, through laundromats, high up on rooftops, and everywhere in between.

The 2008 Next Wave Festival will explore new ideas and, for a couple of weeks in May, plunge Australian art and culture into the future, and beyond.

Check the website for bookings, show details and everything else!