Larger-than-life projection art installation Captain Moonlite Rides Again – Visual Stories of Ballarat Pride kicks off this Friday with an online launch streamed live online.

Cafs CEO Wendy Sturgess said that as a proud ally, Cafs is thrilled to be presenting the projection art installation on the Market Street side of its historic two-storey building in Lydiard Street North.

Ms Sturgess said Cafs called for artistic submissions from the LGBTIQ+ community, for the projection, with local videographer and photographer Michelle Dunn curating the personal pieces into a moving eight-minute piece featuring poetry, paintings, dance and images.

Captain Moonlite Rides Again begins Friday March 5 from 8.30pm with an online launch streamed via Ballarat’s own LaNCE TV (online on Facebook and through free-to-air TV Channel 31) starting from 9pm. The projection will then take place every night from 8.30pm-10.30pm until March 25.

Ms Sturgess said the project steering group had used the bushranger Andrew George Scott – otherwise known as Captain Moonlite – as a creative catalyst for the project as he was arguably one of the region’s first documented LGBTIQ+ community members.

Captain Moonlite, who spent time in the Ballarat region in the 1870s, was said to have had a same-sex partner, James Nesbitt, with whom he formed a gang after they were released from prison.

“As a proud LGBTIQ+ ally, Cafs is hosting Captain Moonlite to facilitate inclusive conversations, encourage positive behaviour change and bring the community together,” she said.

“The video projection is a very moving collection of images, words and visuals from our local LGBTIQ+ community, who have created beautiful representations of their experiences and stories.

“We invite the wider Ballarat community to embrace the project, tune into the online launch next Friday, watch the projection on our website or visit the projection in person between 5 and 25 March.”

Captain Moonlite Rides Again has attracted funding from the Victorian Government’s Pride Events and Festivals Fund 2021 and the City of Ballarat’s Community Impact Fund.

To find out more about Captain Moonlite Rides Again, watch a teaser video, discover Scott’s history, and register your interest in the online event, visit cafs.org.au and click on the link on the home page. The projection video will also be available to view on the Cafs website at any time from March 5.

The projection can be viewed in person each night on the Market Street side of Cafs’ office at 115 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat. Covid Safe regulations will be in place – click here for all the details.