Tasmania’s Kentish district will host the World’s ‘Biggest’ Arts Festival

A Postcard From Tasmania: Winner Judges’ Award and Visitors’ Choice Award2012 International Mural Fest

International Mural Fest president Des Brown today announced the Kentish district in Tasmania’s picturesque north-west will host the world’s biggest arts festival commencing in 2013.

The new month-long Kentish Arts Festival will be held over March and April, culminating with Mural Fest in Sheffield, the Town of Murals.

And it’s staking its claim as the world’s ‘biggest’ arts festival.

This is what happens when a 1,187 square kilometre district becomes one bigpublic art canvas.

“With Mural Fest we have a unique, highly popular outdoor art event in a world-renowned public art town,” Mr Brown said.

“As we head into our eleventh year we want to expand on that andinvite the whole district.”

Now that’scapitalising on your assets; it’s already ‘big’, so why not super-size it?

The new and uber-enthusiastic Mural Fest committee might just be on to something.

Picture this.

The oversized artworks createdby the nine finalists in the public ‘paint-off’ atSheffield’s annual International Mural Fest measure an impressive 4.8m x 2.1 metres. When you times that by nine, the paint splashed around in this 7-day competitioncovers over 90 square metres.

That’s a lot of art for a voluntary gold coin donation.But in 2013 there’s going to be a whole lot more bang for your buck.

As part of the new Kentish Arts Festival, the nearby towns of Railton, the Town of Topiary, and Wilmot, Valley of Viewswith its noveltyLetterbox Trail,will host their own arts events – all in keeping with the public art theme the district is renowned for.

But perhaps the really big news is the inclusion of the public in the making of the art.

With the expansion to a district-wide arts festival, Kentish is taking public art to a whole new level. No longer contained to a group of elite artists interpreting the themed poem at Mural Fest, the new festival will be art ‘for the people by the people’.

During the festival the public will be invited to participate in events and create their own art. One activity is amobile phone photo competition, where visitors to Kentish can send in their photos capturing the 2013 theme, Wild and Free.

But wait, there’s more.

Thousands of metres in fact.

When you throw in the existing artwork adorning Sheffield’s quaint, historic buildings, along withthe many murals scattered across the scenicKentish district, you’re looking at around100 murals painted over the last25 years.

Big? Yes. But all of them painted with humble house paint. So how elite can this art thing be?

In the wind-up of the town’s silver jubilee, the game has changed.

In the words of Thomas Edison, “There ain’tno rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish somep’n!”

Could it be time torelease your Wild and Free instinct and join the Kentish crusade at the world’s biggest arts festival?

For details of specific activities and competitions join Mural Fest on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/InternationalMuralFestor check the website atwww.muralfest.com.au
Danielle Rodgers