IN a way of bringing and celebrated art in regions, the Go North Arts Festival will held in Swan Hill this September.
Funded in collaboration with Creative Victoria and Swan Hill Rural City Council, Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery director Ian Tully believes now is the perfect time for an event like the festival to take place in Swan Hill, and will offer something for everyone.
“Now there is a lot more activity (after COVID), people are free and happy to go out and do things, and people are looking for it,” Mr Tully said.
“This is a really exciting event for our region, putting the arts firmly back on our map.”
The Go North Arts Festival will kick off on Friday September 2, with the official opening and announcement of the Swan Hill National Print and Drawing Awards, complimented by music from River Boat Quintet. Then on the Saturday there will be art workshops throughout the day followed by the main concert event.
The line-up for the main concert, which will be held at Riverside Park from 4pm, includes Freya Josephine Hollick, Benny Walker and the Northern Folk, as well as headline performer Clare Bowditch.
“It is a real privilege for Swan Hill to have someone of Clare’s calibre performing at this event,” Mr Tully said of the musician, broadcaster, actor and entrepreneur.
Musician Benny Walker from Echuca Moama, who gave a preview performance at the Go North Art Festival launch held last week, said he is very excited to be a part of the festival.
“Being a regional Victorian myself, I have got a real passion for drawing people to our region and to showcase things, especially the river, in our small towns,” Mr Walker said.
“I’m a big advocate for that, so I’m very excited to be a part of it.”
Mr Walker said it is important for regional areas to have arts festivals like this, believing they sometimes a bit neglected.
“I’ve seen through the last sort of decade or so of me doing this the strength in that,” he said.
“Not only for artists to be able to tour and how excited they are to be able to get out there, but also the way it is embraced by the communities, as well as people coming from other regions or metropolitan areas to get out and make a weekend of it and use it as a reason to go on a holiday and support these small communities. “
Mr Tully is keen to see the festival become an annual event.
“It has the potential to really grow and cement itself in to the future as an event for the region,” Mr Tully said.
“It obviously invigorates the economy through people coming and staying and spending money, but it also something that people can look forward to.
“It’s a morale booster – that’s what the arts is all about.”
For more information please visit https://gonorthartsfestival.com, call the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery on 5036 2430, or visit the Go North Festival Instagram page @gonorthartsfestival.
