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Since its launch at Casula Powerhouse in 2017, Soft Centre has cemented its reputation as one of Australia’s most avant garde events, consistently delivering an epicly obscure program featuring commissions from the likes of MONA, the Sydney Opera House, and CTM Berlin. Last year, the event received a Green Room Award from Australia’s peer-to-peer arts industry body and was twice named FBi Radio’s Best Music Event. And it’s not just good by Aussie standards – in 2023, Soft Centre earned a place on Resident Advisor’s list of the Top Ten Festivals worldwide. All that’s to say: this is an event worth locking into your diary – and this year’s edition is set to be its biggest yet.
Running from Thursday, August 28 to Sunday, August 31, this year’s festival will take over some of the city’s most iconic and beloved buildings – with the main event unfolding inside the historic, heritage-listed White Bay Power Station.
The four-day program includes a series of interactive workshops and insightful talks; a night of experimental cinema and audiovisual performance (Para.Cine); a closing concert featuring Aarti Jadu, beloved NTS resident Malibu, and more; plus the flagship multi-stage event, which will transform White Bay Power Station with radical performance art, bold site-specific installations, mesmerising light shows, and a soundtrack the organisers describe as “adventurous club sounds,” on Saturday, August 30.
Part of Soft Centre’s experimental, boundary-pushing appeal is that you never quite know what to expect — just arrive with an open mind and enjoy. You can learn more and book tickets over here.
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