ARTillery Festival huge success, qld, Amnesty International Australia

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ARTillery Festival huge success

Published on 23/01/2012

attendees enjoying the artwork at ARTillery © Lachlan Gardiner

The 2011 ARTillery Festival capped off a successful year of campaigning for Amnesty International Australia's Queensland/Northern New South Wales volunteers.

Originally created as a youth arts festival to help connect campaigns for human rights to a new generation of activists, ARTillery has grown to include music, art, poetry and performance, inspired by the human rights stories behind the petitions.

In only two months, the ARTillery coordinators brought together over twenty artists and musicians, appeared on ZZZ radio, and enjoyed a feature on page two of Brisbane’s mX. Graffiti artist Gus Eagleton set the stage for the ARTillery 2011 alternative look with his jaw-dropping mural in the rear yard of Jugglers Art Space. Eagleton was one of several artists who sold works during the three day exhibition. The festival highlight was opening night, Friday 9 December. Over 180 people streamed through the Jugglers doors to enjoy performances by local bands Mantist, Locus Wimple, The Royal Artillery, and The Secret Whisper. By Sunday afternoon, over 200 signatures had been gathered in support of the release of several prominent political prisoners from various nations.

ARTillery brought Brisbane creatives and art lovers of all ages together in the spirit of the 50th Anniversary of Amnesty International, fostering community partnerships and allowing young activists to see how Amnesty International’s mandate aligns with their own values and drive to change the world. Interactive events, such as the very popular badge making, gave attendees a chance to connect with volunteers and discuss the issues associated with some of Amnesty International Australia's key campaigns.

The coordinators wanted the atmosphere of the festival to be stimulating, alternative, and informal. Emphasising that making a difference was about more than a donation or a signature, it is as easy as sharing personal expertise or assisting volunteers with networking. The coordinators want to extend thanks to everyone who made ARTillery Brisbane a fantastic success, especially to all those volunteers behind the scenes. Though exhausted, the team have said that they’ve learned a lot. We can expect next year’s ARTillery Festival to be one of Amnesty International Australia’s most highly-anticipated 2012 events.