Call Out For Artists: Vision 20/50 (Im)possible Festival

Imagine: The year is 2050, and the NSW Central West is buzzing with anticipation for the inaugural VISION 20/50 Festival - a celebration of arts and culture unlike any other.

As regional development organisation Arts Outwest celebrates their own 50th anniversary in 2024, they invite artists from across the region to participate in this hypothetical festival.

They also invite the community to six creative workshops this March and April to help develop ideas for proposals. VISION 20/50 an (im)possible Festival asks the questions: What does the future hold for the NSW Central West, and how can art shape it?

“Arts OutWest calls on artists to imagine an artwork that could be made in the year 2050, in the Central West, that speaks to a radically aspirational vision for a possible future for our region,” explains Arts OutWest executive director Kylie Shead.

“We are looking for artists with the capacity to imagine big meaningful, impactful ideas for new art, people who can imagine an aspirational future for our region and the art in it,” Ms Shead said. Expressions of interest are now open for artists with a hypothetical work of art for this project.
Up to 8 artists will be selected to participate in a weekend residency alongside a leading Australian futurist where they will further develop their concept. They will then work with multi-media practitioners from the region to turn their concept into something that will be shared at a festival launch event at the end of this year.

“We want to hear from artists in our region - or with strong connections to the region - across all creative art forms, including visual arts, performance, music, literature, new media, screen, and other (im)possible artforms yet to emerge,” Ms Shead said.

Expressions of interest close Thursday 11 April 2024.

Workshops to help you brew ideas To aid artists in crafting their submissions, six free workshops will be held. These workshops will guide participants through exercises and tasks designed to stimulate their imagination and envision the endless possibilities for their future artwork.

Two workshops will be held online with others in Bathurst, Mudgee, Parkes and Condobolin from March 14 to April 8.

• Thursday 14 March 6pm-7.30pm - ONLINE - Introduction to VISION 20/50 and EOI Q&A
• Monday 18 March 6pm–8pm – Charles Sturt University Bathurst
• Tuesday 26 March 5.30-7.30pm – Mudgee Arts Precinct
• Wednesday 3 April, 5.30-7.30pm – Marramarra Makerspace Parkes
• Thursday 4 April 5.30-7.30pm – Condobolin Community Centre
• Monday 8 April 6pm–7.30pm – ONLINE

• Topics:
• Festivals
• Arts and Media