Figment invitation: bring your art – and imagination

By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
BYO usually refers to food and drink but for the second annual Figment Festival Geelong it means bring your own art.
The festival also relies on patrons bringing open minds and a willingness to participate, says volunteer organiser Miriam Fathalla.
Figment, on 21 and 22 March, is a free-flowing inclusive festival without a program or fixed installations, encouraging the artistic to contribute their individual expression.
“This is art for art’s sake,” Ms Fathalla said.
“There’s no buying and selling of art, it’s not a commodity, but it’s in sharing art experiences that we realise the value of art is so much more that attributing a dollar value.”
Ms Fathalla hoped the timing of the festival would contribute to a positive state of mind in the region after recent jobs and economic shocks.
“Geelong’s going through a massive transition, we have a challenging economy, but through art Figment can bring a positive effect on Geelong,” she said.
“It is an opportunity to experience art as never before, to experience beyond the boundaries of what we thought was artistically possible, to think of what other boundaries can be broken.”
Geelong is the only non-North American city to host a Figment Festival, a collaborative and hands-on event. More information is at figment.org.au.