Festivals and conferences - News and events

Events | Conferences | Call for entries | Announcements

The Festivals and Conferences news page covers events with a mixture of art forms. For music festivals, see the Performance news page. For writers festivals, see the Language and Literature news page. See also Film and Digital Media festivals.

Events

The 2008 Adelaide International Guitar Festival - Adelaide

29 November - 7 December 2008

The 2008 Adelaide International Guitar Festival will be held in and around the Adelaide Festival Centre precinct with household names headlining a multitude of genre-specific concerts which will appeal to music lovers of all ages and tastes. The festival kick-starts with a fun-filled night in Elder Park with organisers determined to secure the Guinness World Record for the Biggest Guitar Band, this time to the tune of AC/DC's seminal hit It's A Long Way To The Top. Elder Park, Adelaide.

High Tide Festival - Torquay, Victoria

5-7 December

This festival is held in the streets, public spaces and some indoor venues throughout Torquay. Regular features include: grand parade, community theatre, concerts, market, children's activities, community arts activities and workshops, Seaweed installation art exhibition and a film festival. Various locations.

Woodford Folk Festival - Woodford, Queensland

27 December 2008 - 1 January 2009

The Woodford Folk Festival is an event of international standing. Held over six days and six nights it presents more than 2000 performers and 400 events with concerts, dances, workshops, forums, street theatre, writers' panels, film festival, comedy sessions, acoustic jams, social dialogue and debate, a children's festival, art and craft workshops and late night cabarets. The festival features Australian performers and a gathering of international guests. Woodford.

Exodus Festival - Tenterfield, New South Wales

9-12 January 2009

The Exodus Festival is a community gathering for the alternative creative tribe of northern New South Wales, featuring creativity, art and music. Rover Park.

TROP JNR - Sydney

22 February 2009

TROP JNR is an exhibition opportunity for rising talent, giving filmmakers under the age of 15 a chance to screen their films in one of the most unique festival environments in the world. TROP JNR finalists will premiere their films to a live audience in Sydney's Domain, with additional national screenings to be confirmed. The Domain.

2009 SheppARTon Festival: New Horizons - Shepparton, Victoria

5-15 March 2009

The SheppARTon Festival, in partnership with the University of Melbourne, is now in its 12th year and has become an iconic event in the Greater Shepparton area. Planning is underway for the 2009 Festival which will be themed New Horizons, featuring a program of film, food, music, performance and art. The Shepparton community is renowned for coming together when times are tough and for welcoming people escaping oppression or conflict. This is reflected in 2008 SheppARTon Festival's New Horizons theme. Shepparton, Victoria

For more festivals see our Australian story on Festivals.

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Conferences

Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment - Brisbane

3-5 December 2008

The Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment, in its fifth year, is a cross-disciplinary conference that brings together researchers from artificial intelligence, audio, cognitive science, cultural studies, drama, HCI, interactive media, media studies, psychology, computer graphics, as well as researchers from other disciplines working on new interactive entertainment specific technologies or providing critical analysis of games and interactive environments. This year's theme is 'Resonating Experiences'. Various venues.

AAANZ: Alpha Alpha Alpha November Zulu - Brisbane

4-6 December 2008

The 2008 AAANZ conference will be held on Brisbane's South Bank and hosted by the Art Theory Department of the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University and the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. This year's conference aims to encourage papers from a broad disciplinary base and as part of this to recall the earlier involvement of the design professions in the Association and Journal of Art. This is particularly timely in the 30th year of the journal's publication, when the conference is hosted by QCA, a studio based institution teaching across art, design, photography, film and animation, and in light of the increasing attention paid to the role of design in the critical and theoretical debates surrounding art. Southbank.

14th Information Online Conference & Exhibition - Sydney

20-22 January 2009

Information Online is a leading conference and exhibition for the online information industry in the Asia Pacific region. Darling Harbour Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Call for entries

TROP JNR - Sydney

Entries by 8 January 2009

TROP JNR has been modelled after Sony Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival and one of Australia's most well-loved film and cultural events. TROP JNR is a filmmaking competition and free outdoor festival for kids 15 years and younger. The Domain.

Festivals Australia - National

Entries by 15 February 2009

Festivals Australia is an Australian Government program which funds Australian regional and community festivals to present quality cultural projects. Funding is available to add a new or special sort of cultural activity. To be eligible for funding, an activity must not have been previously presented and must be one that could not be afforded without the funding.

Arts in the Valley Festival - Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Illawarra shires, New South Wales

Entries by 20 March 2009; event 1-3 May 2009

The second biennial Arts in the Valley Festival will be held in Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales. Artists from the Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Illawarra shires are invited to take part in the painting, drawing, indoor sculpture, garden sculpture and children's work exhibitions. The festival will combine classical and fine contemporary music with painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, poetry and drama. Kangaroo Valley.

Announcements

Minister Garrett announced funding for Australian festivals

3 November 2008

Thirty-seven festivals around Australia will share in more than $497,000 under the latest round of Festivals Australia funding announced today by Arts Minister, Peter Garrett. Festivals Australia is an Australian Government funding program which provides funding for arts-based projects that enhance the cultural program of regional and community festivals.

WOW announces competition winners

13 October 2008

The 15th World of Women Film Festival has announced the winners of its short film competition. The festival, with special guests actress Kerry Armstrong, the star and Aloura Charles, writer/director of Reservations, Tania Chambers, Chief Executive of the NSW Film & Television Office, as well as many other filmmakers was well attended and got off to a tremendous start at the Chauvel Cinema. The festival was a screen culture event which screened shorts and features in all genres from female filmmaking talents across the globe over five days, as well as forums and filmmaker talks.

For more information see our Australian story on Festivals.

Key online resources

Film festivals

• Flickerfest International Short Film Festival - Sydney (January)
• Short & Sweet - Sydney (January - February)
• Tropfest - National (February)
• Adelaide Film Festival - Adelaide (February - March)
• Sydney Film Festival - Sydney (June)
• Revelation Film Festival - Perth (July)
• Melbourne International Film Festival - Melbourne (July - August)

Digital media

• Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth - Perth (September - November)

Writers festivals

• Perth Writers' Week - (February)
• Sydney Writers' Festival - (May - June)
• Noosa Long Weekend 2007 - (June)
• Canberra Readers and Writers Festival - (June)
• Byron Bay Writers Festival - (July)
• The Age Melbourne Writers Festival - (August - September)
• Brisbane Writers Festival - (September)

Jazz festivals

• Eltham Jazz and Blues Heritage Festival - Victoria (January)
• Illawarra Annual Easterfest Jazz Festival - Wollongong (April)
• Valley Jazz Festival - Brisbane (April)
• Melbourne International Jazz Festival - Melbourne (May)
• Merimbula Jazz Festival - New South Wales (June)
• Dubbo Jazz Festival - New South Wales (August)
• Noosa Jazz Festival - Noosa (August - September)
• Big River Jazz Festival - Rockhampton (September)
• TAC Wangaratta Festival of Jazz - Victoria (November)

Folk festivals

• Cygnet Folk Festival - Tasmania (January)
• Illawarra Folk Festival - New South Wales (January)
• Cobargo Folk Festival - New South Wales (February)
• National Folk Festival - Canberra (Easter)
• Uranquinty Folk Festival - New South Wales (October)
• Yungaburra Folk Festival - Queensland (October)
• Woodford Folk Festival - Queensland (December)

Festivals - New South Wales

• Big Day Out - National (January - February)
• Flickerfest - Sydney (January)
• Sydney Film Festival - Sydney (June)
• Mardi Gras Film Festival - Sydney (March)
• Thirroul Seaside & Arts Festival - Thirroul (April)
• Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras - Sydney (March)
• Multicultural Sydney Festivals - Sydney (March - May)

Festivals - Victoria

• The Melbourne International Comedy Festival - Melbourne (February - April)
• Melbourne International Film Festival - Melbourne (July - August)
• Apollo Bay Music Festival - Apollo Bay (April)
• Tarra Easter Festival - Yarram (March)

Festivals - South Australia

• Adelaide Festival of the Arts - Adelaide (February - March)
• Adelaide International Film Festival - Adelaide (February - March)
• Adelaide Cabaret Festival - Adelaide (June)

Festivals - other states

• Ten Days on the Island - Tasmania (March - April)
• The Taste Festival - Hobart (December - January)
• Festival of Darwin - Darwin (August)
• National Multicultural Festival, Canberra - Canberra (February)
• National Folk Festival - Canberra (March)
• Perth International Arts Festival - Perth (February - March)