Art

The Kentish region is “Tasmania’s Outdoor Art Gallery’’, featuring Sheffield: Town of Murals, Railton: Town of Topiary, the humorous sculpture of the Wilmot Novelty Letterbox Trail, nature’s art in the spectacular scenery, and a myriad working craft studios, galleries and events.

The Kentish Arts Festival (April-August) begins with International Mural Fest in the week after Easter each year http://muralfest.com.au/. Nine finalists from around the world converge on Mural Park in Sheffield for a week-long “paint off’’ to determine the winner, vying for $30,000 in prize money.

The Kentish Arts festival includes many other art performances, exhibitions and competitions including sculpture, visual art, poetry and song.

But you can engage with Tasmania’s Outdoor Art Gallery any time of the year, with the permanent murals, topiaries and letterbox sculptures, plus working art galleries at the Working Art Space in Albert St Sheffield, Galendor working art studio in Main St Sheffield, On TRAK gallery at the visitor centre in Pioneer Cres Sheffield, Gallery Tasmania in Main Street Sheffield; and the Railton art hub that includes Railton Art & Craft, Looking Glass Cottage fibre optic art and craft and Rachael’s Place working art gallery, all in Foster St Railton. Then there’s the huge art exhibition at the Wilderness Gallery at the Cradle Mountain Hotel, Cradle Mountain, and Roland Art Gallery at Roland, just south-west of Sheffield.

Mural Park, in Sheffield, hosts the nine finalist entries of the annual International Mural fest, for 12 months until the next event. The Park also hosts the International Wall of Fame, featuring the winning murals of past years, and even some murals painted by celebrities such as Aeson Chan, Viann Zhang Xin-yu and other Asian celebrities.