Fringe director backs Premier’s call for a winter festival to complement Mad March
Fringe director Heather Croall has backed the Premier’s call for a winter festival, like Tasmania’s Dark Mofo event, as a way of extending Mad March and injecting even more life into SA tourism.
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Fringe director Heather Croall has backed calls for Adelaide’s Mad March to be joined by a weird and wonderful winter festival to drive tourism to South Australia in the cooler months.
Ms Croall was reacting to Premier Steven Marshall’s comments to the state’s tourism industry to “watch that space” for another winter festival.
But others say the answer is to grow and promote the state’s existing roster of winter festivals.
“Adelaide is a great festival city and there’s room for activations all year,” Ms Croall said. “That’s been a long conversation – people often bring up (the question of) how can we activate Adelaide in winter more?
“A co-created event that builds on what we have with Cabaret, Umbrella, SALA and Guitar festival could be an amazing grassroots up, collaborative festival which would grow to have as big an impact as Fringe.”
Inspired by the success of Tasmania’s private museum MONA and its Dark Mofo festival, Mr Marshall has told the tourism industry he is keen to look at winter festival options for Adelaide.
Dark Mofo is Hobart’s winter iteration of the MONA FOMA (Museum of Old and New Art: Festival Of Music and Art) event in January, which was built around the success of MONA, Tasmania’s privately funded art museum.
It combines musical acts and light installations with a winter feast, drawing on pagan influences and darker themes.
“Adelaide is an innovative city that has new iterations of festivals all the time, and has done for many decades,” Ms Croall said.
Ms Croall is among directors and delegates from more than 100 international Fringe-style arts festivals taking part in the World Fringe Congress at Lot 14, on the former RAH site until Wednesday.
“People often say to us, ‘Why isn’t there a winter Fringe?’ So I think people do want more activity in Adelaide year-round.“ There’s lots already and there could be more.”
Mr Marshall said on Wednesday there was a lot of activity to draw tourist to SA in February.
“I think it would be great to have people in the middle of the year as well,” he said.
“If we look at the lessons … from Tasmania they created something special (with Dark Mofo) and they have been able to fill at time of the year that is traditionally slower and I think that is a great opportunity, so watch that space.”
Mr Marshall did not want to be drawn on any more details about his winter plans, but he drew comparisons between Hobart’s MONA and his plan for a $150 million Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre in Adelaide.
“You need to create attractions over and above the corporate, and the business and the conference sector,” he said,
“I genuinely believe there is an opportunity here to establish a globally significant gallery in the centre of our city is extraordinary.
“And just like MONA in Hobart that drove massive increased visitation to Hobart and Tasmania more broadly.
Isn't it too dreamy?#DarkMofo returns 10–22 June 2020. Subscribe for updates: https://t.co/QPlQgziMw9 pic.twitter.com/CO8jdDGAdz
— Dark Mofo (@Dark_Mofo) July 27, 2019
“Sophisticated consumers that are coming to South Australia are looking for something that is unique and special.”
However, the newly appointed chief executive of Festivals Adelaide, Justyna Jochym, would prefer to see SA’s existing winter festivals further developed and promoted.
“I absolutely embrace the Premier’s position that the winter season does need to be strengthened, in terms of attracting tourism and also expanding the cultural and arts offer for South Australians,” Ms Jochym said.
Festivals Adelaide represents 11 cultural events including the Festival, Fringe, Womadelaide, SALA, Feast, and the Cabaret, Film, OzAsia, Guitar, DreamBIG and History festivals.“ We have a beautiful intersection of music and visual arts between SALA and Umbrella (an August local music festival),” Ms Jochym said.
“They have the potential to be very significant regional events … and international markets.
“Further investment into these types of initiatives would be very welcome.”
Mr Marshall said he also wanted to have a strong focus on nature-based tourism.
“I think we have a very, very lazy balance sheet in South Australia at the moment,” Mr Marshall said.
“The taxpayers have incredible assets in our national parks and our conservation parks in facilities that we own as taxpayers.
“But we really need to make sure that we are getting the very best out of this and creating the most excellent opportunities in terms of employment that flows from them.
“This is a real focus for the government.”
The Marshall Government’s first major foray into private development in public spaces – huts and a walking trail in Kangaroo Island’s Flinders Chase National Park – has been subject to a Supreme Court challenge by environmental groups.
TICSA chief executive officer Shaun de Bruyn said a winter festival was a great opportunity to drive further business during traditionally a quieter period.
“There’s a lot of activity in South Australia between January and March, a winter event would be a great addition to our event calendar,” he said.
“Festivals like the Fringe are a huge drawcard for our state and this would be a unique opportunity to attract tourists during the winter season by creating a reason for people to visit. “We have seen this work extremely well in Tasmania with MONA.”
Mr de Bruyn said TICSA also supports the private development.
“Whether it’s private or public sector investment, product development creates exciting opportunities for our state,” he said.
“New tourism developments will ultimately increase South Australia’s visitor economy and help us to achieve the state tourism targets.”
Meanwhile, new tourism campaigns to promote how safe Australia is will be part of a push to attract travellers back in droves after the coronavirus outbreak and bushfires.
Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham will hold talks with peak tourism industry bodies on Monday as Australia’s travel ban on people coming from mainland China enters its third week.
Senator Birmingham said Australia would need “fresh messaging” to overcome the double blow of fires and coronavirus, with the outbreak impacting tourists’ confidence worldwide.
“All aspects of messaging have to be reconsidered,” he said. New campaigns focusing on how safe Australia is will be one measure considered.
Senator Birmingham said the economic impact of the ban weighed heavily on his and Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s minds but decisions on whether to extend the restrictions or partially lift them would be informed by advice from the nation’s top health experts.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry spokesman John Hart last week urged the Federal Government to partially lift the travel ban on mainland China so it only covered the worst-affected provinces.
He said that the Chinese tourist market, worth $711 million per week to Australia, had “come to a dead stop” since February 1, when the ban was imposed.
Meanwhile, the 200 Australians trapped on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan face another anxious wait as the Government decides whether to evacuate them from the coronavirus-ravaged ship.
Planning for a potential evacuation is under way but a decision will not be made until after an Australian public health expert sent to Japan boards the ship.
After 355 people tested positive to the virus – almost 10 per cent of those on board – Canada and Hong Kong have joined the US in preparing to evacuate hundreds of their citizens.