THE 42nd Tyers Art Festival entries are now open.
The Tyers Art Festival has been running since 1979 and in 2023 will celebrate its 44th year of operation and its 42nd physical Tyers Art Festival Exhibition. This is an amazing achievement, having grown from a small exhibition of local artists taking place in a local residence to becoming one of the major regional arts events in Gippsland, attracting entries throughout Gippsland, Victoria, and beyond. Each year, the Tyers Art Festival delivers a vibrant and innovative arts event, providing Gippsland artists the ability to showcase their work and allow many supporters and patrons the opportunity to view and purchase artwork. As always, the Tyers Art Festival is held on the second weekend in November, this year being Friday, November 10 to Sunday, November 12. After having to conduct the Tyers Art Festival as an online exhibition in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, the group were very excited to announce the return to a physical exhibition in 2022 with the 41st Tyers Art Festival, held at the Tyers Hall. Awards for this year’s Tyers Art Festival Exhibition include the Tyers Award for Best Exhibit, Best Exhibit – Oil, Acrylic, Watercolour, Pastel, Mixed Medium, Drawing, Designer Craft (Textiles, Metalwork & Other) and Photography (landscape and portrait), Hangers Choice Award, Popular Choice Award and eight Young Artist Awards. Under 18 student artists are encouraged to enter the exhibition with several awards specific to them as well as being eligible for all other applicable awards. This year, Tyers Art Festival are excited to announce two new awards: the GLaWAC Art Award in the open section and the GLaWAC Art Award in the Young Artist Awards open to all First Nations artists in partnership with the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation. Tyers Arts Festival director Peter Harrison is looking forward to the event. “The Tyers Art Festival is pleased to continue to offer artists from across Gippsland and beyond the opportunity to showcase and receive recognition for their work and we encourage artists to enter this year’s exhibition,” he said. “We are particularly excited to introduce two new awards, the GLaWAC Art Awards in both the Open and Young Artist sections of the exhibition. “We look forward to seeing what amazing artworks our artists will produce this year and encourage art lovers to visit this year’s Tyers Art Festival Exhibition to view what I am sure will again be an amazing exhibition and support a Gippsland artist by voting for their favourite artwork for the ‘Most Popular Choice Award’ or perhaps purchasing an original artwork at the Tyers Hall.” Each year, the Tyers Art Festival is reliant on the support of Latrobe City Council, local businesses, community groups and individuals who, without their support, the festival would be unable to continue to facilitate such an exceptionally high-quality exhibition, recognised as one of the premier events on the Gippsland art calendar. The Tyers Art Festival is the medium in which much-needed money is raised for the local community, which includes the Tyers Primary School, Tyers CFA and youth initiatives undertaken by the Tyers & District Community Association. This year, the group is looking for a new naming sponsor and encourage interested parties to get in touch. Prospective entrants can enter this year’s exhibition by completing the online entry form at https://tyersartfestival.com.au/about/#online-submission-form and people interested in supporting this year’s Tyers Art Festival or become our naming sponsor can reach Peter Harrison at admin@tyersartfestival.com.au. Winners in each category will be announced on Friday, November 10 at the gala opening evening. Tickets for this event can be purchased by emailing admin@tyersartfestival.com.au