• PHOTO: Recently nominated for the Australian Street Art Awards, the “Pave the Way to Gular Festival” is drawing visitors from all over the country.
THE Pave the Way to Gular Festival, a celebration of visual arts, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2022 Australian Street Art Awards.
The fourth annual event took place last September, and Event Coordinator, Annie Haling said it was fantastic to see the efforts of the local community pay off.
“We started the Pave the Way to Gular Festival to beautify the main street. We are a small town and events like this attract people and are a lifeline for local communities,” she said.
The Australian Street Art Awards, established in 2018, recognise destinations that are using outdoor art to attract visitors, boost their economy and engage their community.
“The Awards provide a platform where trailblazing destinations – cities, regional towns and precincts – can be recognised for their contribution to both the world of street art and art tourism,” said Awards Director Liz Rivers.
“Each of the communities acknowledged through these Awards have made their mark as a must-see destination for art lovers.”
The Australian Street Art Awards were the tourism industry’s first, and remains the largest, recognition program for excellence and innovation in art tourism.
In last year’s Pave the Way to Gular Festival, the town hosted a range of artists from around Australia who painted double-sided billboards along the River Walk as well as buildings around town – adding to the artworks created in previous years. Sculptures are also part of the art experience.
The population of Gulargambone almost tripled over the event, with visitors coming from all around NSW and beyond. The strong community spirit of the town was evident, with the resulting artworks now accessible to visitors 365 days of the year.
There are 11 categories in the national street art awards and Gulgargambone is one of just nine finalists from New South Wales.
Along with the Banna Lane event from Griffith, they will be representing the state in the Best Street Art Festival or Event category.
Ms Haling generally has the task of applying for funding applications to keep the festival going so recognition in the Australian Street Art Awards is a bonus.
“I am so busy with grant applications and we really have to thank Sophie Callan at the Coonamble Shire Council for all the work she did on the submission to the judges,” Ms Haling said.
“We are thrilled to be up in the company of large festivals from places like Griffith and several places in Sydney.”
Ms Haling said getting artists to take part is always an interesting process.
“We generally reach out to artists that the committee member have seen during the year,” she said.
“We give them artists a brief and see what they come up with, then their ideas are vetted by the committee. All the artists are paid and their work is on display all year round.
“In the most recent event, we expanded on to the river walk,” Mrs Haling said.
“While there is always plenty of space in town to add more art, we had run out of larger spaces for murals.
“The brief to the artists was to be provocative and we love what we ended up with.”
One popular piece to come out of the “provocative” theme was a mural featuring dingos and their susceptibility to 1080 poison, a product which is banned in most countries.
With four successful visual art festivals under their belt, the committee are looking at a change this September with planning in progress for a music festival.
“We’re very excited to have some impressive acts coming along,” Ms Haley said. “Watch this space.”
Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in all 11 Australian Street Art Awards categories will be announced during an online celebration of creativity on Friday 10 February.
As well as the promise of the honour of a national award, recipients will win prizes designed to draw more visitors through promotional activities.
By KRISTIN MURDOCK
WESTERN PLAINS APP