Highpoint Shopping Centre has partnered with cultural enterprise, The School of Life, to launch a festival in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
With a program developed by The School of Life, Think West, will run in November and comprise over 40 workshops and classes on philosophy and culture.
Thematically curated around wisdom, resilience and social change, Think West will run in conjunction with local arts, cultural, education, sporting and commercial organisations and be held at various locations in the West.
The festival will feature across a variety of iconic and underground venues in Melbourne’s West, with a program encompassing major events and panels featuring headline speakers such as comedian Meshel Laurie and human rights advocate, Mariam Issa, intimate workshops and classes on topics as diverse as reading, dance, mindfulness and storytelling, cultural therapy sessions and walking tours.
Highpoint shopping centre, which recently underwent a $300 million redevelopment, will host a ‘taster’ series of events at the centre this week.
Ben Gill, Highpoint regional general manager, said the festival will allow the centre to engage with the community in a meaningful way – “both inside the centre with the festival taster program, and outside our walls in places that together, help make up the exciting social fabric of the West.”
“For a long time Highpoint has been the place where people connect from all across the West. Highpoint is thrilled to be powering Think West in partnership with The School of Life,” Gill said, adding that the concept of the festival resonates with their ongoing objective to support local community and culture.
“Wisdom, resilience and social change are evident in different forms all over the West and as a local resident myself, I see this every day,” said Kaj Löfgren, Think West festival director and founder of The School of Life in Australia.
“I am proud to bring Think West to the community and inspired to work with so many local community organisations and Highpoint Shopping Centre to deliver the festival,” said Löfgren.
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