A highlight from Midsumma’s Brave(R) Space program is Midsummica. Presented by Midsumma Festival and La Mama Theatre and held on Monday 5 February at La Mama Courthouse. Midsummica is a celebration of LGBTQIA+ identities, disability, and neurodiversity through performance, presented by alumni from the Midsumma Pathways Program. This performance includes embedded self-descriptions, and describer guides will be available on the night to offer 1:1 descriptions to any audience members who would like to engage this service. Midsummica is also livestreamed.

There will be a relaxed performance of Creating Rainbow Families on 6th February at 6.30pm. This event is an information session for the LGBTIQA+ community.

Homophonic! An event with new music by queer composers, performed by the Homophonic! Chamber Ensemble and The Consort of Melbourne. Featuring the winner of the Midsumma Homophonic! Pride Prize for 2024, by Sophie Rose, performed by Judith Dodsworth. Homophonic is Audio Described on 9th February at 7.30pm.

An original theatre work, ALTAR. Presented by Midsumma Festival, Abbotsford Convent and Pathways alumni, Em Tambree at Abbotsford Convent – in the Rosina Courtyard. This outdoor performance will offer a tactile tour on Saturday 10 Feb at 4pm.

Finally, we will close out Midsumma Festival with 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 Midsumma website. You can also listen to the 3CR broadcast that will happen live from the event site.

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.

Overflow, playing at Arts Centre Melbourne is a hilarious and devastating tour of women’s bathrooms, who is allowed in and who is kept out. This performance will be Audio Described and offer a Tactile Tour on 1st February at 7.30pm.

On Saturday 3 February, Midsumma Matters will host 2 Panels at The Edge, Federation Square, as well as a range of activations in The Atrium. The first panel discussion about disabled joy and gathering has been co-designed with Midsumma Pathways alumni. The second panel is about using the arts to give LGBTQIA+ communities a voice in the global south. Both panels will have embedded self-descriptions. There will be a describer guide onsite all day to provide additional support for blind/low vision audience members.

Waves are Disturbances is a Queer experimental performance by Zoë Bastin. Where you can dive into an immersive realm where bodies become waves, soundscapes converge, and perception transcends reality. There is a relaxed performance and Audio Described Event on Saturday 3rd February at 1pm.

Also on 3 February at 7pm, the Divisi Chamber Singers will present a love is a love is a love. Front of House staff at Melbourne Recital Centre have been provided training to improve their understanding of the needs of blind/low vision audience members. This performance is not audio described, but has a low visual rating, meaning that this performance can be enjoyed by blind/low vision audiences.

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.

Kicking off with Midsumma Carnival on Sunday 21 January, this event draws a large crowd and is a great opportunity to connect with the diversity and playfulness of our LGBTQIA+ community.

Bent Burlesque 2024, is “an orgy of glamour and daring…”. The event will take place at The Motley Bauhaus and have a relaxed performance on 25th January at 9pm, and a Tactile Tour on 26th January at 9pm.

The visual arts exhibition, The Reclamation of Terra is a mixed media call-to-arms by Teague Leigh. All sessions from 26th January to 5th February are Relaxed Sessions, Audio Described and Captioned events. Teague Leigh is a Midsumma Pathways Alumni.

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.

Hello and welcome to the Midsumma Festival 2024 Program Overview

Midsumma 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