Brisbane gets a brand new arts festival called Darkworld

A brand new music and arts festival is coming to Brisbane in 2021.

Aptly named Darkworld, the new festival will be hosted by creators and Brisbane rock-jazz fusion band, Boss Moxi and aims to showcase local talent – from musicians to visual artists to theatre performers.

Marketed as a “festival of arts”, the event will be held at The Triffid, in Newstead, for one day only. On 23 January 2021, the venues large, warehouse space will be transformed into a microcosm of music, art installations and immersive theatre. Boss Moxi highlighted the uniqueness of the festival on their website, stating “We plan to showcase ‘art’ inside a liveable space of its own many sensory forms”.

Another unusual condition to the festival is its strict “no social media or photos” policy, in order to “respect the experience” provided. A nod to attendees darkening the outside world, upon entry audiences will receive a sticker to block their cameras.

Inspired by the city’s rich underground arts scene, Darkworld features notable bands including Young Lions, Feels Club and Great Sage, as well as many other local musicians and singers. Alongside such music acts will be installations and displays by multiple visual artists, including Madeline Holt, i.rok and MadButt.

Dance artists will also get a chance to shine from boundary blending collective Phluxus2, who recently collaborated with the Aha Ensemble on ‘Explain Normal’ at Metro Arts. Darkworld will also feature projection and light artists, including Brisbane local, Gilltron. Theatre and performance artists have yet to be announced.

Arthouse collective Boss Moxi has recorded a diverse range of sounds, with their most recent release being a multimedia concept album, Egotoxin, which combines a graphic novel narrative and musical stage show elements. The group is spearheaded by visual artist Brayden Doig and joined by eight other members, who together have organised the festival. “We believe that creative expression lives at the core of all artistic practice and we want to promote these origins, the thing that all forms share,” they say.

With a wild blend of music, art and projection artists, Darkworld Festival promises to be an eclectic and intoxicating experience.

The Darkworld Festival will be held at The Triffid, Newstead, on 23 Saturday 2021. For more information, visit Darkworld’s website.

Photos sourced via the Darkworld Website