About DAE White Night
White Night (Nuit Blanche) was originally staged in Paris in 2002 as an all-night festival celebrating the French capital’s contemporary art scene. In 2013, Melbourne became the first Australian city to hold a White Night festival, embracing this unique opportunity. It was an instant success, with 300 000 people enjoying the all-night event.
In 2017 under the artistic direction of David Atkins OAM, White Night Melbourne welcomed audiences from across the city, state, nation and globe to see art take over the city’s buildings, streets, parks and laneways, every one a stage, every one a canvas, every one alight, alive and shining more brightly under the cover of darkness.
My Role
I joined DAE White Night in 2018 as a casual, brought on as Event Operations Centre (EOC) Manager for the Melbourne and Ballarat editions. The EOC was the nerve centre of the event — the room where risk and safety, infrastructure, and the strategic and operational decisions of the night were made and executed, keeping all-night operations flowing for audiences in the hundreds of thousands.
As trust built, I was given the opportunity to take on more. I moved into the Operations Coordinator role across White Night Bendigo, Geelong, the 2019 White Night Reimagined three-night winter spectacular, and Ballarat 2019. That side of the work focused on on-the-ground logistics — food truck vendor coordination, signage planning, parking allocations, and supporting Site Managers across multiple festival precincts.
Across those two seasons I worked on six White Night events spanning Melbourne, three regional cities, and the 2019 Reimagined inner-city edition. A foundational experience in large-scale public event operations — and one that’s shaped how I approach high-volume, high-stakes event delivery ever since.
Projects during my time at DAE White Night
- White Night Melbourne — 2018 — EOC Manager
- White Night Ballarat — 2018 — EOC Manager
- White Night Bendigo — 2018 — Operations Coordinator
- White Night Geelong — 2018 — Operations Coordinator
- White Night Reimagined — 2019 — Operations Coordinator
- White Night Ballarat — 2019 — Operations Coordinator
David Atkins Enterprises was the winner of the Australian Event Awards 2019 Best Achievement in Entertainment for White Night Bendigo 2018 and White Night Geelong 2018
David Atkins Enterprises was the state winner of the Australian Event Awards 2019 Best Cultural, Arts or Musical Event for White Night Bendigo 2018 and White Night Geelong 2018
David Atkins Enterprises was the winner of the Australian Event Awards 2019 Event Management Company of the Year