Late last year, the Sunshine Coast’s Horizon Festival called for submissions from established Sunshine Coast-based artists wanting to present new or existing works in the festival’s 2023 Homegrown programme, themed ‘The Forgotten Coast’.
The callout received a record number of responses from artists. Judges have selected three projects which they felt best embraced the theme: an interactive visual showcase of Kunda Park, a laundromat where you come away with a lot more than clean washing, and dance performances in some of the Coast’s most loved bookstores.
The successful artists will receive support to plan and deliver their project, mentorship from influential experts, and $12,000 for project development/presentation.
Artists behind one of the chosen three are interactive artmakers Nicole Veovodin-Cash and Teddy Horton. Their work examines the overlooked industrial estate of Kunda Park.
“During Horizon Festival our installations and collaborative evening event will provide an immersive experience for everyday audiences to enjoy — particularly those who wouldn’t often go to art exhibits,” Teddy Horton says.
“Our local industrial spaces, such as Kunda Park, provide the core of our manufacturing and provide jobs to the community but are so often overlooked.
“We’ll be telling the stories of the Kunda Park community through photography and projections, inviting audiences to feel as well as see the unique experience.”
‘Blak Laundry’ from Libby Howard and Dominique Chen in Maleny will “allow audiences to converse, celebrate and collaborate on all things Blak while doing a load of washing,” Libby says. “We’ll be looking at the unseen and invisible aspects of our lives and times, bringing Aboriginal stories into interactive view.”
Finally, LJ Projects will celebrate and dance through the region’s unique bookstores.
“‘Labyrinth’ promises an escape from the outside world into a place of solace and familiarity with a hint of otherworldly dimensions,” Chloe Keating says. “Across a number of Sunshine Coast bookstores, we’ll offer dance pieces created specifically for each unique bookstore, celebrating what makes them special.”
The Sunshine Coast’s Horizon Festival Director Hannah Clissold says Homegrown looked for projects which uncover forgotten or invisible places on the Coast, to make them memorable again.
“The three projects chosen will breathe new life into the forgotten places the artists have selected, creating a unique, diverse and exciting programme,” Hannah says.
Meanwhile, Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson says the programme is a wonderful way to support established artists.
“Horizon Festival audiences will also be the first to see these local works, which may well go on to be national or international shows – that’s a great trajectory to aim for,” he says. “The three selected projects examine a diverse range of spaces and themes and should provide something for all tastes when presented during the festival.”
Horizon Festival is on from 25 August-3 September.
