Free Neon Art Park
The free and family friendly installation taking place over 2 weekends, Thu 9 – Sun 12 December & Thu 16 – Sun 19 December is a unique celebration of diversity in Northcote through its people and trade.
Renowned Australian visual artist Carla O’Brien has been invited to install 4 large scale interactive neon installations at the Town Hall Civic Square and various locations along High Street Northcote this December.
Carla O’Brien’s inspired neon installations will feature on evenings across two weekends.
Thursday 9th -12th of December 2021 @ Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre – Civic Square
Thursday 16th – Sunday 19th December 2021 @ Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre – Civic Square
For one night only on Saturday 11 December, the installations will appear along the strip 176 – 409 High Street Northcote.
Tram 86 from Melbourne CBD will bring you straight up High Street.
“My work is always about engagement with people. While the bright lights and colour create a visual spectacle, it is how people interact with the pieces that brings them alive. My latest creation I AM HERE for example is a neon X marks the spot for people to celebrate they are right here, right now in Northcote Rise. The area is renowned for is great live music and the Neon Play the Music gives people the opportunity to be a neon rock star as they ‘play’ the life size neon instruments including a Neon Baby Grand piano, Guitar and Drum kit.” Carla O’Brien
Northcote Rise has a community feel like no other, and the association seeks to promote and support the diversity of trade and experience that High Street Northcote has to offer. Come for the day, stay for the night. Enjoy conversations, music, a strip of shops, cafes, bars, people, experiences and a community atmosphere like no other.
“People come from all over Melbourne to enjoy live music, cafés, restaurants and boutiques on High Street. Carla’s accessible, interactive, and fun pieces reflect the precinct as the authentic, friendly, and eclectic destination. We invite locals and Melbournians to explore and enjoy the installations and to discover the unique traders, services and community that make up Northcote Rise, as we call our end of High Street Northcote” Zowie Minchin, President Northcote Business Association.
Operated by the Not for Profit, volunteer run Northcote Business Association and supported by Darebin City Council, the mission is to attract people from far & wide to spend a day or a night, exploring High Street Northcote. In an effort to revitalise the area between 176 – 409 High Street, the strip has been rebranded, Northcote Rise, or what is referred to as more colloquially as ‘The Rise’.
The area has fast become a meeting place, where an electric strip of traders offers a unique blend of warmth, fantastic food, live music, entertainment, eclectic wares, community services, bars, grocers and more.
Carla O’Brien’s career as a visual artist began in 2009 after an inspired visit to the famous Burning Man festival in Nevada USA. Working in her primary medium LED Neon Flex, a revolutionary replacement of traditional Glass Neon, O’Brien’s work has featured at festivals and events across the country, and more recently around the world.
O’Brien’s fortunes came full circle when her signature art piece NEON ANGEL WINGS went globally viral after pop queen Katy Perry posted a pic of her ‘wearing’ the Wings at Burning Man in 2016. In January 2020 the Neon Angel Wings went global when three pairs were a feature installation at the Festival of Light in Birmingham and Southampton, UK.
