How do you deliver a major arts festival in a pandemic?

Immerse is the City of Knox’s signature arts festival, a biennial event encouraging brave new ideas across all art disciplines and mediums. In 2021 audiences were invited to encounter the unexpected, from a grand old mansion to majestic parks to beautiful green pockets nestled in the shadows of the Dandenong Ranges. With planning beginning in 2020, Immerse held its breath for September 2021. Sidestepping, leaping and eventually rising over an ever-changing set of pandemic restrictions and lockdowns, Immerse opened in Melbourne in November 2021. Featuring thirty three artists the festival was re-imagined for a hybrid digital and in-person program, focusing on self-guided, virtual and audio experiences. 

In 2021 with a model of passive delivery (due to restrictions), Immerse audience engagement grew by 55% to 280,000+ and was featured across media in print, radio, digital and social media with a reach of 1 million+.

All images: Samara Clifford & Kim de Kretser

Roles:

Artistic director