A new arts festival is set to rise from the ashes of the defunct Big West Festival.
Maribyrnong council will spearhead an annual three-week arts festival, held each August, to step into the vacuum left after last year’s sudden decision by the Big West board to wind up the 20-year-old festival.
A report to Wednesday night’s council meeting suggested the new arts festival “will grow and attract significant support to the west” from government, philanthropic and corporate partners.
“The closure of Big West has left a gap in the festival calendar and in particular leaves the Festival City program without a dedicated arts festival produced in Maribyrnong.”
The report recommended the council allocate $85,000 to the festival, acknowledging it is significantly short of the Big West Festival’s operating budget of more than $700,000.
“For many reasons this level of funding is not immediately possible or available.”
Feedback on a new festival was sought from Festival City grant recipients, the Festival Advisory Panel, councillors and the arts and festivals community.
“Whilst some stakeholders suggested that any council funds available could be directed towards encouraging greater artistic content in existing festivals, generally it was considered that there was a need for a separate and significant arts focused festival.”
The new arts festival will focus on artists and creative industries based in the western suburbs and on works generated in and from the western suburbs.
The Arts West alliance of inner-west arts organisations was initially interested in creating a new festival, but pulled out due to the constrained timeframe.
Maribyrnong Council is now seeking a person or organisation to curate and deliver the Arts Festival.
