Aussies Abroad - Netherlands Here We Come!

Well, it's time to wave the Aussie flag again. It’s almost 3 years since we caught up with our overseas counterparts in Europe and the USA. In lieu of holding Chalk Urban Art Festival this year Australia’s most highly awarded pavement artist, Jenny McCracken and I are heading to the Netherlands.  Our first stop is Utrecht to work on a project with Dutch artist Leon Keer for the UK's Chester Zoo and then on to Arnhem for the World Street Painting Festival.On our last visit to Europe we filmed the documentary ‘Chalk: An Australian Perspective’ which has since screened on SBS1 in Australia, Sky Arts in UK and NZ, as well as the Pacific Islands. 'Chalk' explores the history of pavement art, its origins in Italy in the 16th Century and how this once dying art form has evolved and exploded in popularity around the world. We travelled to Grazie di Curtatone in Lombardy to compete at the world’s most influential yet gruelling pavement art competition, 'Incontro Nazionale dei Madonnari' and Jenny McCracken won a gold medal for Australia.  In Sydney in 2014 we showed the world what we could do by creating Australia’s largest 3D Street Painting at Customs House in Sydney, the media reach was over 44 million – you can view time-lapse footage here.Australia's most highly awarded pavement artist Jenny McCracken Our journey this year is about reconnecting with our international counterparts, as it is with most of you, we too have our industry conferences where we research and share techniques and collaborate on ideas. Jenny McCracken will be representing Australia at the Festival in Arnhem while I’ll be working behind the scenes with the organisers (local Council) and international artists. I’ll also be speaking with the public and seeing how they engage with the various artists. After all, that’s why we do this – its art for the people by the people in a public space. Festivals like this bring people from all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds together to inspire, evoke and share ideas.Stay tuned for updates!You can reach Andi Mether through our contact page.