POP-UP STall FOR CREATIVES at the
Tamworth Country Music Festival
19 – 28 JANUARY 2024
The Tamworth Country Music Festival is recognised as the largest and longest-running country music festival in the Southern Hemisphere, drawing thousands of visitors to the New England North West region each year. As part of the 2024 festival, Arts North West successfully hosted a Pop Up Stall for Creatives, offering a free space for artists, musicians, makers, and industry professionals to showcase their creative products, perform, and conduct live demonstrations to the festival crowd.
The Pop Up Stall featured 12 talented artists, each bringing something unique to the event:
Buluuy Mirrii: A vibrant Indigenous artist known for her intricate designs, celebrating the cultural traditions of her heritage through modern artistic expressions.
Goldheist: An innovative artist who blends electronic sounds with live instruments, offering a fresh take on country and contemporary music.
Moods B: A local musician whose performances combined soulful melodies with heartfelt storytelling, engaging the crowd with his original compositions.
Artful Blended Treasures: A collection of handcrafted jewellery and art, blending textures and materials to create truly one-of-a-kind pieces.
Bibbi's Aboriginal Arts and Craft: Showcasing traditional and contemporary Aboriginal art and crafts, with a focus on storytelling through visual mediums.
Cat Long Art: A painter whose works captured the spirit of country life and nature, with a mix of bold colours and intricate details.
JAMB Hats & Millinery: Featuring beautifully crafted hats and headwear, blending traditional techniques with modern fashion.
Outback Arts: Representing the rich cultural diversity of the region, Outback Arts highlighted creative collaborations and local artistic initiatives.
Music With AIM: A music education initiative that provides tools and resources to aspiring musicians, sharing the joy of music with the wider community.
MusicNSW: Providing invaluable support and resources to local musicians, MusicNSW played a key role in fostering connections and networking within the music industry.
Stitched by Mary: Offering custom-made, hand-stitched clothing and accessories, each piece reflecting a passion for design and craftsmanship.
B & K Designs: Specialising in home décor and handcrafted gifts, B & K Designs offered a range of items that combined functionality and artistic flair.
The Pop Up Stall for Creatives ran from Friday, Jan 27 to Sunday, Jan 28, with the Arts North West tent operating daily from 10 AM – 4 PM. It was located on Peel Street, between the Tudor Hotel and Stashhouse, next to the bus ticket station.
This initiative was proudly supported by Create NSW and Tamworth Regional Council, contributing to the festival’s success and offering valuable exposure to local artists and creatives.
Arts North West also kept festival-goers up to date with real-time updates on their social media platforms, continuing to engage with the community throughout the event.
THE FEATURED ARTIST OF THE ARTS NORTH WEST
POP UP STALL FOR CREATIVES
Buluuy Mirrii - DAY 1 - Friday, Jan 19 from 10am – 4pm
Colleen Tighe-Johnson, originally from Moree and now residing in Tamworth, is an internationally renowned fashion designer known for her label Buluuy Mirrii (Black Star in the Gamilaraay language). Through her designs, Colleen revives Gomeroi Dreaming Stories, drawing inspiration from her ancestors, and has showcased her creations around the world, on runways in Melbourne, New Zealand, Canada, and New York. She has notably featured in events like Paris Fashion Week and Cannes Film Festival and had her vegan leather dress, Bully (black) Dreaming in Vogue Australia’s September 2021 edition.
Website: https://buluuymirrii.com.au/
Facebook: Buluuy Mirrii
Instagram: @buluuymirrii
GOLDHEIST - DAY 2 - Saturday, Jan 20 from from 10am – 4pm
Singer-songwriter GOLDHEIST, known for her flower-crowned aesthetic, has released three studio albums sharing heartfelt music of love, loss and life. She also creates bespoke handmade trinkets to sell alongside her CDs.
Website: https://www.goldheistmusic.com/
Facebook: GOLDHEIST
Instagram: @goldheist_music
Moods B - DAY 2 - Saturday, Jan 20 from from 10am – 4pm
Emerging Tamworth rapper Moods B shares his talent in a unique blend of hip hop, blues, and folk in live performances.
Facebook: Moods B
Instagram: @moodsb_music
Artful Blended Treasures - DAY 3 - Sunday, Jan 21 from 10am – 4pm
Leeanne Jerome is a Kamilaroi and Wakka Wakka woman, from Tenterfield who enjoys sharing her culture through her artisan items including clothing and homeware designs, handcrafted earrings and crochet items and homemade condiments and seasonings.
Bibbi's Aboriginal Arts and Craft - DAY 4 - Monday, Jan 22 from 10am – 4pm
Pauline Sampson is a Gomeroi woman from Breeza who creates Aboriginal art. She is known for hand-decorated Aboriginal dolls and her designs are painted on various homewares.
Facebook: Bibbi's Aboriginal Arts and Craft
Cat Long Art - DAY 5 - Tuesday, Jan 23 from 10am – 4pm
Cat Long is an artist and high school art teacher from Gunnedah. Inspired by the world around her, Cat paints live watercolour illustrations of people, capturing them in the moment, at events. She will also be selling her range of drawings, paintings, and mixed media pieces.
Website: https://www.catlongart.com/
Instagram: @catlongart
JAMB Hats and Millinery Designs - DAY 6 - Wednesday, Jan 24 from 10am – 4pm
Jo Barr is a felter, designer and textile artist from Currabubula. She has created a stunning array of felt hats using fine Australian merino wool and frequently offers wet felt hat making workshops and demonstrations. Jo sells her hats online and at local markets around the region.
Website: https://jambhats.com.au/
Facebook: JAMB Hats & Millinery
Instagram: @jambmillinerydesigns
Outback Arts - DAY 7 - Thursday, Jan 25 from 10am – 4pm
Outback Arts is bringing a collective of artists and their works from the far west region of NSW to the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2024. Outback Arts are Arts North West's neighbouring peak arts organisation and are partnering together to showcase artists from across our regions.
Website: https://www.outbackarts.com.au/
Facebook: Outback Arts
Instagram: @outbackarts
Outback Arts Gallery Shop: https://www.shopoutbackarts.com.au/
Outback Arts Galley Shop Instagram: @shop_outbackarts
Music With AIM - DAY 8 - Friday, 26 Jan from 5-6pm
Music With AIM provides music classes for young children aged 0-5, developed by Music Specialist Teacher Mrs. Amy Schultz. The program uses original children's music to help babies reach developmental milestones, nurture toddlers, and prepare preschoolers for school.
Facebook: Music With AIM
Instagram: @musicwithaim
Dave Burgener from Music NSW - DAY 8 - Friday, 26 Jan from 1pM - 4.30PM
Music NSW is the state’s music body, a not-for-profit organisation, funded by Create NSW. They aim to foster creative and sustainable culture for artists, performers, musicians, sound engineers and technical workers in NSW, connecting creatives and industry. Music NSW offers programs like Sound Advice, providing professional development opportunities, and access to industry knowledge and advice.
Dave Burgener, Music NSW's regional manager for the North West and the Northern Rivers, will be at the ANW tent to offer industry advice and support to any singers, artists, performers on behalf of Music NSW. This is a great networking opportunity for local and visiting artists.
Website: https://www.musicnsw.com/
Facebook: MusicNSW
Instagram: @musicnsw
Stitched by Mary - DAY 9 - Saturday Jan 27 from 10AM - 4PM
Maryanne McMillian is an embroidery and textile artist from Armidale. She puts a modern twist on the centuries-old artform by adding quirky motifs into her stitches to create unique art pieces. Stitched by Mary sells a range of hand-embroidered and wearable art pieces. Every piece is one of a kind.
Website: https://www.stitchedbymary.art/
Facebook: Stitched by Mary
Instagram: @stitched_by_mary
B & K Designs - DAY 10 - Sunday Jan 28 from 10AM - 4PM
B & K Designs is a collaborative mother-daughter duo who craft polymer clay creations. They make and sell earrings, bookmarks, fridge magnets, and small artworks all made from polymer clay.
Facebook: B & K Designs
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
WITH GLOW-IN-THE-DARK YARN AT TCMF’24
On Thursday, January 25 from 5 - 8 PM Arts North West will be holding a Yarn Bombing collective in Bicentennial Park as part of Country Fringe during the Tamworth Country Music Festival!
Pioneer Parade will come alive with a Silent Disco dance party, and include a glow stick art explosion, light-up angel wings, as well as the Empress Stilt Dance Walkers and Fairy Eyes Face Painting.
So bring your needles or hooks and have a yarn with us - we even have glow-in-the-dark yarn!
When: Thursday, Jan 25 from 5 PM until 8 PM
Where: Pioneer Parade, Bicentennial Park, Tamworth
BYO: Hooks and needles!
Cost: Free
get involved!
ROAMING MURALS
In addition to the Pop Up Stall for Creatives, Arts North West will be displaying the Roaming Murals of our Something To Talk About Project!
Arts North West has commissioned local mural artists from across the New England North West to develop a collection of portable mural artworks as part of the CBD activation component of the project.
Participating artists were provided with a 1.2m square plywood panel and asked to respond to the theme of change, vibrancy, and growth to inspire creativity and wonder, a sense of curiosity and exploration.
The Roaming Mural artists include:
Fiona McDonald | Jodie Herden | Tone Cotter | Amy Canfield
Audrey Fogg | Maisie Johnson | Fonda Shae | Karen Balsar
James O'Hanlon | David Allan | CRISP | Silly Pear | Moral Lackley
Want to find out more about the project? Click the link below!
JOIN THE TCMF PARADE
Registrations are now OPEN for Parade participants.
The Country Music Parade is a celebration of Australian country music, giving festival-goers the chance to see their favourite artists up close during the iconic street parade. The event also offers a great opportunity for local businesses and community groups to actively engage in the festival. The parade is set to begin at 9am on Saturday 27 January, 2024 with participants walking the 1.2km route along Peel Street, Fitzroy Street and Kable Avenue. The theme for the 2024 Tamworth Country Music Parade is Australian + Country + Music. Its free to enter, with prizes on offer for the best entries!
The Parade's vehicle restrictions and event criteria are available here.
Entries have been extended until 5 pm Monday 22 Janurary 2024.
Volunteer at the Festival
Becoming a volunteer can be a very rewarding experience. It is a great way to get involved in the local community, make new connections and celebrate our region.
If you are 16 years or above and interested, apply to meet new people, gain some volunteering experience and help festival goers find their way around Festival.
Registrations are closed for 2024.
Registrations closed Friday, 1st of December 2023.
Please check again after the festival to register for 2025.
Check out the Tamworth Country Music Festival Official Website for more information about the event, line-ups, accommodation and more!