StoryLines is a four-week festival which celebrates the diversity that challenges Australian art and theatre by providing a powerful voice to minority cultures – whose stories often go unheard.  An electic mix of the arts, the festival will start off at NIDA Parade Theatres in Kensington from July 31 to August 5 before heading to Bondi Pavilion Theatre from August 8 to August 25.

Festival Launch- Kicks off with an art exhibition, short films, and performances featuring African drummers, Indigenous dance teams and traditional Sudanese dancers.

Theatre- Three powerful Australian plays by award-winning playwright Justin Fleming that challenge who we are and where we came from.

Art Exhibition- art installations featuring work from the Villawood Refugee Centre, inner city artists and original artworks developed in response to the plays.

Public Forum- A panel of guests drawn from both the art community and cultural communities share their throughts on 'The State of the Art- the place of the arts in the multicultural conversation in Australia'. FREE event on July 22 & August 26.

As the event organisers say on the website: "...the aim is simple... to open a dialogue, to learn, to listen to one another's stories... one story at a time... to follow the storylines to the place where they meet......."

We couldn't have put it better ourselves. Check out the festival calendar and how to buy tickets here.