Blank surfaces on buildings and laneways throughout Canberra are to become canvases for colourful urban creations as the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate prepares to launch a new street art festival.
Minister for Transport and City Services, Chris Steel said the Surface Festival is to be held in the City and Braddon from 5 to 7 November.
“The Festival will help enliven the streets and laneways of our city, as well as seeing some feature pieces appear in Canberra’s suburbs,” Mr Steel said.
“Local and interstate artists will work across three days painting walls with colourful, textured and wild surfaces,” he said.
“The works will showcase a diversity of themes and subjects, including portraits.”
Mr Steel said the Festival would add exciting new pieces into the mix of artworks and murals painted across Canberra over the past 12 months and aimed to see at least 15 new works created.
He said the Festival would be designed for people to wander through Braddon and Civic to observe artworks being painted and get involved in public events across the weekend.
“This will help bring more foot traffic to some of Canberra’s key business precincts, helping support the ongoing COVID-19 economic recovery,” he said.
Mr Steel said mural locations and a program of events, including the artist line-up, would be announced in the lead-up to the Festival.
He said expressions of interest were targeted to relevant organisations to help shape the Festival, with opportunities available to host workshops, panel talks, exhibitions, and tours in a COVID-safe way.
Mr Steel said a broader expression of interest process for participation in the festival was open until tomorrow (18 June).
The Surface Festival Community Expression of Interest form can be accessed at this PS News link.
