Homespun talent among Byron Bay rich pickings

Local artists Valley Lipcer and Andy Forbes bring works to life for Splendour Arts.
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The Valantines, presented by Roundabout Theatre. Image: Splendour Arts. 

Splendour Arts, the visual arts program at Byron Bay’s much-loved Splendour in the Grass festival, returns in July with a rich program that features local and international artists.

Splendour Arts curator Craig Walsh said this year’s program includes two local Byron Bay artists among the seven artists chosen to create a mix of installation, performance, sculpture and live art experiences – designed to engage festivalgoers over and above the music. 

‘Now there’s an expectation that festivals do a lot more than music, and art is one of the essential elements in that experience for the public attending that event.  

‘I try to create a program, which can integrate across the site itself and create different kinds of experiences for audiences,’ he said. 

‘It [Splendour Arts] is recognised as a program that does provide contemporary art in a different context. Over 80% of what we’ve done over the years is commission new work. We try to support new work, experimental work, and we see that as adding to the identity of the festival.

Against the rich backdrop of Byron’s thriving artistic community, local theatre maker Valley Lipcer, artistic director of Roundabout Theatre, has been commissioned to produce The Valantines as a live interactive theatre experience at Splendour Arts. Working with the public in the Festival space, Walsh said that the piece would explore notions of love.

Byron Bay artist Andy Forbes also returns to Splendour with The Rock n Roll Drive-In, a literal drive-in that follows on from his 2012 piece The Tent of Miracles. Walsh said the piece would explore the perverse side of big issues including religion and commercialism. ‘He’s very experienced in the ability to know how to work with those audiences. It’s funny, it’s quite confronting and challenging at times. They’re all the elements that make his work successful in that kind of environment.’ 

Additional highlights include renowned artist Patricia Piccinni’s Skywhale, a giant, inflatable sculpture celebrating nature. 
Piccinni was also commissioned by the Centenary of Canberra. ‘In our region, Skywhale hasn’t really appeared. The scale of the work to the event is really effective. I’m looking forward to seeing that,’ Walsh said.

International additions. including Bennett Miller and Barcelona-based Hungry Castle, are also testament to the growth of the Splendour Arts program. ‘When we commenced Splendour in the Grass it was a very small festival. It was important to link it to local artists, and local arts communities. Our entire program was based on local artists. As time has gone on, that’s spread into other regions and internationally,’ said Walsh.

‘I’m only really interested in really critical work, whether that’s about the audience, the subject matter. It’s generally about dealing with artists with concepts and ideas as opposed to decoration.’


For more information visit the Splendour Arts website for a detailed program of events. 

Visit the Legendary Byron website for further details about the Greater Byron Bay region. 


 
Troy Nankervis
About the Author
Troy Nankervis is an ArtsHub journalist from Melbourne. Follow him on twitter @troynankervis