Junction Arts Festival to Launch its 2012 Festival Line-up

On Thursday June 7, Tasmania’s young and ambitious Junction Arts Festival (JAF) will launch its 2012 Festival and Program at an official event to be held in a vacant store in Launceston’s CBD. The annual five day contemporary arts festival will launch its second incarnation amongst government dignitaries, corporate partners and VIPs, and the local arts community. The Festival will launch its newly redesigned 2012 Festival website live to the public the following day on Friday, June 8 at junctionartsfestival.com.au.

State and Local Government representatives including Minister Michelle O’Byrne MP and Launceston Deputy Mayor Alderman Jeremy Ball will make official remarks at the event. Chair Ron Layne, Festival Director Natalie De Vito, and Artistic Director Ian Pidd will reveal their vision for this year’s Festival and announce the program of artistic works. The evening will be filled with a few surprises, including a performance by local band The Old Lyric Theatre that fuses indie rock, traditional music and folk. They form part of JAF’s 2012 line-up at the Festival’s Club, The Junc Room, a big-top circus tent and pop-up live music venue that transforms Launceston’s Civic Square.

The launch, to be held in the former Jessup’s RetraVision store, currently empty in the heart of Launceston’s CBD, exemplifies the Festival’s vision for reframing and reactivating Launceston’s public spaces and city streets. Works included in the 2012 Festival Program will explore often-overlooked and disused spaces and present performances and events that engage local residents and visitors alike.

The 2012 Junction Arts Festival Program is a diverse and carefully curated selection of participatory and site-specific works from local, national and international artists in the form of theatre, live performance, visual and media art, music, dance, and installation. This year’s Festival is held August 22-26, 2012 and is mostly free and suitable for all ages.
The 2012 Junction Arts Festival is supported by the Government of Tasmania through Events Tasmania and Arts Tasmania, the Office of the Arts through Festivals Australia, Launceston City Council and local partners and sponsors.
Junction Arts Festival