Colour New England Street Arts get a $20,000 festival splash

Northern Tableland MP and Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall today announced that one of the region’s newest events, Colour New England Street Arts Festival, in Armidale, has secured a $20,000 grant from the NSW Government’s 2019 Incubator Event Fund.

Mr Marshall said the fund assisted rural and regional events in their first or second year to grow attendance and boost the local visitor economy, and the Armidale Regional Council’s latest event would attract plenty of interest.

“Whether it’s food and wine events or music and sporting festivals, we know that events play an important role in driving additional overnight visitation to this entire, and help to create more jobs,” Mr Marshall said.

“The Colour New England Street Arts Festival is a fantastic concept and one which, I am confident, will draw plenty of attention and interest from far and wide.

“With the centerpiece of the festival being the large Cinders Lane mural, it will not only engage local interest, but also deliver a refreshed and brighter entrance into the mall area. 

“I commend council for putting forward this event and I am looking forward to enjoying some of the local colour and action in April.”

Armidale Regional Mayor Simon Murray said the funding was a fantastic boost to get the new festival off to an impressive start.

“The funds will greatly assist in engaging high-calibre artists for the inaugural Colours New England Street Arts Festival,” Cr Murray said.

“There will be a strong emphasis on involving talented visual artists, artisans and performers from our own region – including a number who are internationally acclaimed – to shine a spotlight on the local arts community as well as the themes they will explore.”

The Incubator Event Fund offers one-off grants of up to $20,000 to those staging an event for the first or second time to fund elements such as staging, venue hire, research, marketing and publicity activities.

Published on 23 Jan 2019