This school holidays young emerging artists will have the opportunity to design and paint a large-scale collaborative mural in Toowoomba, the street art capital of Queensland, at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba (USQ) as part of Flying Art’s Artiz Street Art program running 25 – 27 September, 2019.
Over three days in the September school holidays, emerging artists in years 9 – 12 will learn to refine their street art skills while creating their own collaborative mural at USQ’s vibrant campus.
Artiz Street Art offers young artists the opportunity to participate in an immersive arts experience to refine their knowledge and skills of public art, with residential options available for participants travelling to Toowoomba.
Teachers and educators will also have the opportunity to participate in the program with this year’s educator stream, focusing on the history and implementation of public arts projects in their own schools and communities.
Flying Arts Alliance Scheduled Program Lead Julie Robson says that the expertise and experience of this year’s program facilitators will leave participants with the confidence to create their own public art project.
“At Flying Arts we are lucky to have amazing practicing artists to facilitate our programs. First Coat Studios and artistsSimon Degroot and Katie Whyte each have a wealth of knowledge in the technical skills of mural painting and, collectively, many years experience working alongside councils, businesses, artists, school groups and communities,” said Julie.
Toowoomba locals First Coat Studios, the organisation behind Queensland’s premier regional street art festival First Coat Block Party, will be partnering with Flying Arts to deliver studios tours and artist talks for this year’s program.
This year’s program will also feature renowned artist and muralist Simon Degroot, who hopes to use the workshops as a platform to share the importance of street art as a vehicle for community engagement.
“As community interest in public murals and street art is increasing, it is important to meet this interest with education and an informed dialogue,” said Simon.
“Public murals and street art bring communities together and create a tangible sense of space. I’m looking forward to working with young artists and educators to share practical techniques and considerations for large-scale street art.”
Artiz Street Art will be open for registrations until 5 pm on Friday 30 August, 2019. Students travelling more than 300km in each direction to attend the program may receive a subsidy of up to $250 to cover travel costs. Subsidies are limited in number and are provided on a needs basis.
To register for the program or receive more information about travel subsidies please contact Flying Arts Alliance on 07 3216 1322 or visit https://flyingarts.org.au/artizstreetart/
– END –
Flying Arts is an arts and cultural development organisation which has been delivering visual arts projects and services to regional and remote Queensland since 1971. Flying Arts is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, the University of Southern Queensland and corporate partners and benefactors. Flying Arts is the administrator in Queensland of the Regional Arts Fund (RAF), an Australian Government program provided through Regional Arts Australia.
Flying Arts Alliance acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands and seas on which we work, live and create. We also pay our respects to Elders past and present.
First Coat Studios (FCS) is a vital training ground for emerging and established practitioners. Through inclusive and ambitious public programs, First Coat celebrates hybrid arts experiences and nurtures the role the arts play in our local community.
Images to accompany the release can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e6wn88u1kssxawt/AACD4B1rfZW-xWntEh6ptczka?dl=0
Artists Simon Degroot is available for interview on request.
For more information please contact:
Kat Johnston
Marketing and Communications Lead
Flying Arts Alliance
comms@flyingarts.org.au