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The 2023 Midwinter Festival will transform the Southern Highlands’ first regional art gallery, Ngununggula and its grounds with a program of art, music, food and wine, including a choreographed drone light show developed in partnership with the Fremantle Biennale that honours ancestral stories of the Gundungurra Country upon which Ngununggula is based.

Ngununggula has received funding from the NSW Government Regional Events Acceleration Fund for the second annual Midwinter Festival, to be presented over three days and nights from 23rd – 25th June 2023.

Director of Ngununggula Megan Monte notes “the funding of $162,950 for the Midwinter Festival provides critical financial support to celebrate the stories of our region through local voices. The rich and diverse arts and cultural fabric of the Southern Highlands lie at the heart of the Midwinter Festival, offering high-quality arts experiences to our national visitors. From art installations, live music, and children's activities to local offerings by local makers and producers, we aspire to showcase the best of the region.”

For the first time Ngununggula will partner with the Fremantle Biennale to deliver First Lights – Ngununggula, a place-responsive, choreographed drone light show that honours and celebrates the ancestral stories of the late Aunty Velma Mulcahy, a traditional owner of Gundungurra Country. The work will be created by a team of artists led by Aunty Velma’s great grand niece Kirli Saunders OAM as a tribute.

The festival will also see the return of Burning Man, a large-scale sculptural installation by celebrated Australian artist Ben Quilty and local collaborators. Sharing important stories and local offerings of the Southern Highlands, the Midwinter Festival supports the region's desire to boost economic and social recovery while enhancing the visitor experience by showcasing the best of the region's food and wine, live music, and artist-led activities created especially for kids, teens and their families.

Image: Ilona McGuire, First Lights — Moombaki (2021). Courtesy of the artist and Fremantle Biennale. Credit: Duncan Wright.

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