news
wednesday, MARCH 13
An extraordinary celebration of artistic expression
words gretel mead
Irrespective of whether you are an art aficionado or not, the Barossa Arts Festival is an event worth planning a weekend for in 2024.
A month-long celebration, taking place from March 30 to April 30, the festival encapsulates the spirit of the Barossa – showcasing all things colour, creativity and culture through events held across the region.
With artist exhibitions, workshops, makers markets, music events, interactive art experiences and an impressive arts trail, volunteers, including Festival Director, Karen Nickels are eagerly anticipating another successful event.
“We’re really excited about the event program and how jampacked it is, full of really diverse experiences to engage the public, get people involved and attract people from far and wide,” Karen said.
Exploring various art mediums, there are more than 45 different workshops scheduled throughout the month – suited to all ages, abilities and skill levels, as well as other interactive experiences such as the arts trail which spans from Mount Pleasant, all the way to Kapunda.
“We have over 75 artists exhibiting along the trail, with 11 towns and villages, 45 or so different venues involved – so, it’s definitely bigger and better than last year,”
- Karen Nickels
“We have over 75 artists exhibiting along the trail, with 11 towns and villages, 45 or so different venues involved – so, it’s definitely bigger and better than last year,” Karen said.
“What we’ve also done differently this year is our event at Chateau Yaldara ‘Best of the Fest’ which features one piece of artwork from each artist on the trail.
“It enables people to go to the venue and see the cross-sections of work available and from that, plot their journey to various venues across the region.
“Our reach spans all the way from Gawler, with its community gallery, out to Stockwell, Kapunda, Mount Pleasant and everything in between.
“So, it’s a massive region that’s covered and we’re so excited to have all of those artists featured, as well as those from places further (afield) such as the Yorke Peninsula.”
Supporting regional artists, makers, musicians and performers, the event has continued to garner support since the success of the inaugural festival in 2022 – with Karen crediting the success of this year’s planning to fellow volunteers and their collaborative approach.
“We really are a bit of a think-tank more than anything,” Karen said.
“Often, we just sit and throw ideas around in a very casual setup for our meetings to try and bring together a whole pool of ideas.
“I certainly didn’t want it to be my ideas and my festival, I wanted it to be a community festival with input from anyone who is interested in being involved.
“We’ve thrown that net out far and wide trying to get to various people with certain interest areas that we can explore within the festival.”
With the countdown on until launch, the Barossa Arts Festival committee is encouraging the community to explore what is on offer.
“We would love to see the Barossa and wider community really get behind this event, not just to support the festival but the artists too,” Karen said.
