GERTRUDE ST PROJECTION FESTIVAL

■ The iconic Gertrude Street Projection Festival returns for its 15th year in 2023, weaving together community, art, public spaces, night and sublime light installations for everyone to enjoy, free.

For 10 nights from July 27 – August 6, audiences will be invited to experience a confluence of projections by 11 of the Festival’s artistsin-residence, alongside community and collaborative projects, events, parties, talks and screenings.

Presented by The Centre for Projection Art, the Festival will again illuminate street facing windows and walls of public and private spaces in the inner-north.

The considered public artworks will showcase new works by some of the best emerging and established Australian artists including: Sarah Aiken, Tully Arnot, Chantal Bala, Lilah Benetti, Jamali Bowden and Leitu Bonnici, The ElectroPoetics (Bixiao Zhang), Alana Hunt, The Huxleys and Rose Chong, Tahlia Palmer, Juan Rodriguez Sandoval, Naina Sen, Melody Woodnutt and Henry Lai-Pyne.

The Centre for Projection Art’s CEO and Artistic Director, Priya Namana, said: “The 2023 Festival is a program that uses civic spaces to share the merging strands of history, technology, experience, materials, politics and emotions through the selected artworks.

“The Festival is a container that creates and holds space for our community and collaborators to share their individual visions in a hyperlocal landscape of collective gathering. GSPF 2023 is a space for audiences to project their subjectivity and reflect with us on our collective worlds, it is a confluence of interlacing sensations.”

GSPF kicks off with the Festival’s Opening Party at Collingwood Yards on Thursda, July 27, 5.30pm - 8.30pm.

The opening party is curated by the newly-formed E.merge Agency The young people that make up E.merge Agency exist within many intersections, learning and collaborating on a new culture born from their passions, knowledge and movement.

The founders of this new youth talent agency, E.merge, say they are thrilled to curate the music for the GSPF opening, featuring local artists and global sounds.

Open to all ages, free to attend, GSP F welcomes everyone to launch the flagship Festival celebrating its 15th year.

Expect music by E.merge Agency, food by Vola Foods, and a special wintery beverage by Long Prawn

Pumping music from the outdoor sound system, E.merge Agency will curate an incredible line-up of music. E.merge is trailblazing a new ‘Australian’ diaspora, coming together through a love of music and their communities to lift up young artists.

Though all different, when

E.merge come together, something beautiful happens, generating their own confluence.

Some of the artworks set to light up the GSPF are I myself ‘am the sun, 2023 by artist Lilah Benetti, who delves into the world of fiction to illuminate lost and obscured narratives, exploring contemporary forms of resistance in the pursuit of self-determination.

Benetti is an international award-winning and critically acclaimed artist and filmmaker. Lilah considers their work to be auto-ethnographic; an amalgamation of their personal experiences interwoven within broader social and cultural histories, foregrounding Black Queer identities.

Inspired by the powerful words of renowned Senegalese filmmaker, Ousmane Sembene, the title itself serves as a catalyst for introspection, an invitation on a journey of affirming brilliance and illuminating the inseparable intertwining of Blackness and Queerness. Lilah’s work will be on display at 54-62 Gertrude St.

Murnong 2023 will also light up the Festival, in collaboration with the City of Yarra's Peel Street Projection Program. Tahlia Palmer, an artist of Murri and European background born on Whudjuk Noongar Boodjar (Perth, WA), works in a variety of mediums to explore history, identity and perception. Descended from a paternal line who survived dispossession, forced as- similation and the Stolen Generations (NSW+QLD), and maternal Dutch grandparents who survived WWII, her art practice works on confronting the conditions that create and perpetuate inter-generational trauma, as well as finding pathways for healing.

Tahlia said: “Murnong is an ongoing audio-visual project, started in 2021 when I received a gift of yam daisy seeds. A plant of significance to my family and many others from the eastern side of this continent, it was a staple food crop for Aboriginal people before the European invasion. This plant represents sacredness, survival after colonial violence, and an ongoing connection to the women in my family and the lives and diets of our ancestors.”

This iteration of Murnong 2023 has been created especially for GSPF and has a soundtrack and video that is 32 minutes and 32 seconds in length that speaks to the presence of the past in our present and in our future, the connection of all life and the effects of colonisation.

Debuting at GSPF are two new works by Melody Woodnutt, on display at 110 Gertrude St, alongside an installation work of expanded cinema within the Mission to Seafarers Norla Dome called Fata Morgana and Death Shroud for a Ship , respectively. These works sit within a new series called Celestial Bodies

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■ The Golden Slipper winner Shinzo is now favourite for the Golden Rose, after his win in the classic, and is a stablemate of Militarize, and from his four starts has won two and two placings, and is a nice type.

The James Cummings-prepared Cylinder was second to Shinzo, and it was quite a good run, and was sent out favourite in the Slipper, so there is big wraps on him.

The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained youngster Don Corleone failed to run on in the Champagne Stakes.

Prior to that was a good second behind Militarise in the Sires, and a good fourth in the Slipper. Goes alright on his day, and could be right in this.

Next is King’s Gambit n the Snowden camp, and is a real trier, having run third in the Golden Slipper, and is consistent.

Back on March 4, another handy type, Red Resistance, ran a creditable second behind Cylinder in the Todman Stakes at Randwick. That was his first defeat of his three starts.

Red Resistance is prepared by Gai Waterhouse and Andrew Bott at Randwick, and goes all right.

An interesting possible is Kandinsky Abstract with Chris Waller, up until May 3 ad only one start winning that day at Canterbury. He is by Zoustar from Solar Charged.

One that was most impressive winning the coveted J.J.Atkins Classic was King Colorado, with the powerful team of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

Having only his third run he was most impressive in beating a good field of young ones over 1600 metres.

Leading Queensland trainer, Annabel Neasham, produced a smart one in, Libertad, having only its second start, made it two from two, with a big win in the Kindergarten Stakes over 1100 metres at Randwick back on April 1.

Among the unplaced was the smart Barber, who could only run third.

The Hayes combination trained-Little Brose, won the Blue Diamond Stakes in fine style, but failed to show up in the Golden Slipper back in March.

Prior to his win in the Blue Diamond he ran second to Barber in the Blue Diamond Prelude. However, at big odds he failed to fire in the Golden Slipper, but is better than that.

Then you have the Ciaron Maher-David Eustace trained filly, Steel City, who has ability.

Finally, Tannhauser, who ran a good third in the J.J.Atkins Classic at Eagle Farm.

There are many chances for one of the real classic races for the younger horses.

With big races like the Everest, the Caulfield Guineas, the Caulfield Cup, the Cox Plate, then the Derby, the Melbourne Cup, the Oaks and the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

There is a lot of action to come for the Sport of Kings. Connections of brilliant Kiwi youngster, Kovalica, who is the early favourite for the Caulfield Cup to be run on Saturday October 28, could miss the big day.

A brilliant winner of the Queensland Derby over 2400 metres at Eagle Farm back on May 27, he is certainly the one to beat not only that events. Neville Morgan, said his opinion of the horse is that he would rather him be a genuine weight-for-age horse than a handicapper.

To the rescue

■ Racing Victoria has launched a Retirement Farm Program to support retired racehorses. This will ensure that every thoroughbred racehorse in Victoria has an appropriate retirement option.

Racing Victoria has launched a new progam to formally acknowledge retirement farms across the state, to assist owners and trainers in locating a suitable home for racehorses that may not be suited to an active post-racing career.

In the same way that RV operates a network of Acknowledged Retrainers, who prepare retired thoroughbreds for their new careers away from the racetrack.

Acknowledged Farm providers will receive official acknowledgement from RV provided they meet the criteria, which has been developed to promote good health and happiness for thoroughbred racehorses during their retirement.

the Cup at Randwick. But things could be up in the air at the moment.