Midsumma Festival 2024 Audio Guide

Hello and welcome to the Midsumma Festival 2024 Program OverviewMidsumma is Australia's premier queer arts and cultural organisation, bringing together a diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, communities and audiences.Midsumma Festival will be held from Sunday 21 Jan to Sunday 11 February, with an explosion of queer events that centre around hidden and mainstream queer culture, involving local, interstate, and international artists.The 2024 Midsumma Festival takes place in Melbourne and surrounding suburbs, and has over 200 events in the program.Many events are free entry, and some are Audio Described, Auslan interpreted, captioned, offer relaxed performances or tactile tours. You can check out the full program on the Midsumma website at midsumma.org.au and search for events by using the accessibility filter to find events by name, date and time, location or genre – you can also filter events by audio or visual rating.Midsumma has three major events, and entry to each of the following events is free.Midsumma Carnival on Sunday 21 Jan at Alexandra Gardens, a full day of performances and stalls in the park. Describer Guides will be present at this event from 12pm-6pm.Midsumma Pride March on Sunday 4 Feb in St Kilda and Catani Gardens. Melbourne’s largest Pride March. There will be a describer guide present with headsets at the accessible viewing area at tram stop 134 on Fitzroy Street in St Kilda. You can also tune into the Joy FM broadcast of the March. After the parade, there are performances and refreshments in Catani Gardens. Volunteers will be available to provide sighted guidance as needed.And Victoria’s Pride on Sunday 11 Feb, an all-day street party in Gertrude and Smith St in Collingwood and Fitzroy. There will be a Tactile Tour of this event that you can register for. Details will be available via our website.This year, Midsumma presents A Brave(R) Space, an artistic exploration of intersectional LGBTQIA+ identity(s) involving the creation of brave new contemporary works, across various art forms. A Brave(R) Space is a call to arms to be courageous in the development of new contemporary arts practises, pushing creative boundaries in the pursuit of a queer aesthetic unique to our region of the world. This program is commissioned, presented and curated by Midsumma, with over 12 events from a diverse group of artists across the LGBTQIA+ community.Let’s dive into the Midsumma Program week by week, and we will highlight particular events that are accessible to blind and low vision audiences.midsumma.org.au/access