It may sound rather dark and grim, however the We’re All Going To Die Festival is far from it. In fact, the festival is a celebration of immersive art, music, films and talks that aims to inspire youngsters to fear less and live more. Kicking off on Friday 17th November from 6-10pm, over 100 artists, psychologists and producers are coming together to transform COMMUNE’s huge warehouse into an interactive festival.
The space will host art installations with artists including Otis Carey, Georgia Hill and Ozzie Wright, secret dance experiences run by Groove Therapy x Retrosweat, death meditations held by Indigo Project, panel discussions led by Triple J’s Tom Tilley, and a mini-film festival featuring nine award-winning international directors. It will be an amusement park for your soul.
Ditching the exhausted ‘YOLO’ phase, Festival founder Stefan Hunt thought it was time to offer an experience for young people that they can really relate to.
“That’s what I’m aiming for through this festival. To empower us all to fear less and live more, because we’re all going to die anyway, right?” Hunt said.
Once suffering from anxiety, Hunt penned a poem ‘We’re All Going To Die’, that shifted his perspective on his day-to-day fears. Fast forward two years and the poem has been published as a children’s book for adults, adapted into a short film and is now will premiere as a festival for us Sydney-siders.
Vanessa Marian has collaborated with Retrosweat founder, Shannon Dooley, for an interactive peice called Bedroom Grooves.
“Overcoming your fears and giving something a go?” Marian said.
“I mean this is the entire premise of both Groove Therapy and Retrosweat. It was such a perfect fit for us to do something together for this festival.”
Mary Hoang, founder and head psychologist at the Indigo Project has collaborated with the We’re All Going To Die team to create a thought-provoking festival immersion – The Death Meditation.
“What might it be like to be taken on a safe journey to explore your deepest fears and life without you in it? Facing fear and death doesn’t always have to be scary,” Hoang said.
“In fact, it can be illuminating, profound and a marvellous teacher to us.”
The We’re All Going To Die Festival kicks off on 17th November at COMMUNE in Waterloo NSW for one night only at 6pm.
If you’re keen to get behind these guys and throw some support their way, they are crowdfunding their way to Festival success via Kickstarter. Head here to give them a donation, and check out the inspiring video below.
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