Forget surf's up, hang ten and all the gnarly things you learnt at the beach, today, the 2010 Next Wave Festival takes over Melbourne- and it has nothing to do with the sun-bleached, costal colloquialism addled cultural cringe you might have first imagined. Running until the end of May, the festival encompasses 53 projects by over 300 artists from around Victoria and aims to push perceptions of art into unchartered territory. With the theme ‘No Risk Too Great’ the festival challenges young and aspiring artists to take risks, while canvasing the public to open their minds to new possibilities and experimentation in art. Next Wave’s Artistic Director, Jeff Khan, articulated the festival’s credo at its launch, “Next Wave is upping the ante with this Festival by encouraging ambitious art projects that push against stagnation, open up new spaces, and dare to take new risks. More than ever, we are willing to step outside our comfort zones, to consider those outside our immediate experience, and to engage with ideas that are bigger than our lives. This Festival offers a chance to leap into the unknown and for everyone to expose themselves to strange and wonderful experiences.”

With keynote projects including ‘The Ultimate Time Lapse Megamix’, an all night video art marathon in Federation Square that will see guests reclining on bean bags and munching on popcorn, and the ‘Great Heights’ campaign that will invite the public to book in for private mud-baths on the roof of Melbourne Central, the Next Wave Festival is set to take Melbourne by storm in the coming weeks. We here at (small)Lust will be stalking about the festival to bring you coverage from some of the best events- I, for one, cannot wait to get a glimpse of the ‘Dachshund UN’, a performance that will see a squadron of sausage dogs representing the UN in a mini set created by artist Bennett Miller.