Tidal Festival 2025: Art, Workshops, Music and Connection

Devonport City Council

The tidal.24 festival is back, and this year, it’s bigger than ever! From 6 December 2024 to 8 February 2025, Devonport and its surrounds will come alive with a vibrant mix of art, workshops, talks, and more.

A highlight of the festival is the biennial Tidal City of Devonport Tasmanian Art Award, hosted by the Devonport Regional Gallery. Both the award and the festival explore the theme of ‘tidal’ and its many contemporary interpretations, offering visitors a chance to engage with unique perspectives on our environment and community.

Here’s a taste of some of the exciting free events to take part in:

Lacunae: Tidal Monday, 6 January to Friday, 24 January

Experience being in multiple places at once with Lacunae: Tidal, a groundbreaking high-tech artwork by Tasmanian tech art collective Soma Lumia. This cutting-edge, interactive installation connects Tiagarra Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Devonport Regional Gallery, and Hive, allowing visitors to explore their digital reflections and interact across multiple locations.

Visitors to tidal.24 festival sites in Devonport and Ulverstone can interact with this experience in each location. Lacunae: Tidal will transmit your digital reflection to the other sites, enabling you to dance anonymously with a stranger. Like the rivers and lakes that feed the paranaple/Mersey River to the ocean that surrounds lutruwita/Tasmania, Lacunae: Tidal connects us in ways that might not be obvious.

Move as you like. Nobody will ever know

Soma Lumia is Darryl Rogers, James Riggall and Troy Merritt. Score by Frances Cameron and Ian Chia. Technology by Matt Daniels.

This project is supported by RANT Arts, Regional Arts Fund, Regional Arts Australia and Arts Tasmania.

Wave on Waves Saturday 18 January

Embark on a free sailing aboard the Tall Ship Julie Burgess, or connect from the shore via radio, as part of Waves on Waves. This live broadcast and sailing event navigate ideas and explore maritime communication techniques.

Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00pm
Location: Mersey River, Devonport

Bookings are essential for this extraordinary journey with radio queens Sisters Akousmatica, Pip Stafford and Julia Drouhin.  Sisters Akousmatica promote expanded radio projects that explore the radical possibilities of transmission since 2016. They’ll also appear in the Talking Tidal panel discussion.

Talking Tidal Saturday 18 January 3.30pm

This panel talk brings together artists from Tasmania/lutruwita who connect with the theme of tidal in their own ways.  The panel includes Artist is residence Cheryl Rose, Sisters Akousmatica Julia Drouhin and Phillipa Stafford, and Simon Spain.  Chaired by Dr Tim Butcher.  Free event, bookings are essential.

 

Find out more about these and many more free events at tidal.24 festival – paranaple arts centre