WHEN there are people travelling from interstate, visitors prolonging their stay in Bunbury and media interest from across the globe, it’s safe to call Re.Discover 2015 a spectacular success.
The street art festival returned to the city last week and whipped up a frenzy of excitement among visitors and residents as well as providing a string of events to keep crowds entertained.
At the heart of the event were 10 visually exciting and thought-provoking murals which have attracted thousands of feet to the CBD streets and will continue to do so across 2015.
While the debut Re.Discover was hailed a solid victory in January last year, event creator Andrew Frazer said last week’s response went “above and beyond” his expectations and was about five times the size.
“Our team spent all of last year planning, but to see the response was unreal – this is something I hope will just continue to grow from year to year,” Mr Frazer said.
As long as I am here Re.Discover will continue, but I want it to have a life beyond my involvement – because it belongs to Bunbury, to residents and visitors alike.
- Re.Discover creator Andrew Frazer
Visitors came from far and wide with at least one woman flying over from Melbourne to be a part of Re.Discover 2015, as well as plenty of guests from Perth, Busselton and Margaret River.
Mr Frazer said he had also heard of travellers who had originally planned to cruise straight through Bunbury but instead decided to stay two or three days to watch the street art come to life.
He said a major aim for this year was to make the event as accessible as possible to the entire community, which was achieved by introducing “parklets” so people could sit and watch artists in action.
A question and answer evening also allowed people to explore the minds of the artists to find out what inspired their works.
Increased support from local businesses and fringe events like the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre’s Art Party are prime examples of the organic growth Mr Frazer wants to see.
With his mind always on the future, plans for the 2016 event started forming about six months ago.
“As long as I am here Re.Discover will continue, but I want it to have a life beyond my involvement – because it belongs to Bunbury, to residents and visitors alike.”
Have your say. What did you think of Re.Discover 2015? Email editor.bunburymail@fairfaxmedia.com.au
