ORGANISERS of Art, Not Apart expect more than 15,0000 festival-goers to descend on the NewActon precinct over the weekend for its 10th anniversary despite crowd warnings.

Today (March 13) Australia’s chief medical officer said mass gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled amid fears about the spread of coronavirus, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “non-essential” events with more than 500 people should not go ahead.

Following these warnings, festival spokesperson Michael Liu told “CityNews“ this afternoon: “Art Not Apart will be going ahead as planned, with bells on.”

“We will be observing everything that ACT health and the federal government put in place, so this may well be the last opportunity people have some time to have a healthy outdoor entertainment experience,” Liu said.

From humble beginnings in 2012, Art, Not Apart has grown to become one of Canberra’s liveliest cultural events, presenting hundreds of local and visiting artists in March every year. This year’s theme “Today I, Tomorrow You”.

In keeping with that, festival producer David Caffery asks rhetorically: “Where’s the humanity, today?”

“Artists use a human lens when they make art, one of the few groups who aren’t skewed by money,” he says.

The main event, a free contemporary arts festival featuring more than 200 artists from the Canberra region and beyond, takes place tomorrow, Saturday, March 14, with performance art, music, installations, visual art, street art, film and moving images around the NewActon precinct, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, and The Shine Dome.

The arts will be complemented by the popular “Suitcase Rummage”, featuring more than 70 stalls, street food, wine tasting and a festival bar.

A selection of ticketed events will also be held at Albert Hall, including an improvised jazz and projections concert tonight, Friday, March 13, a performance art party after the main festival on Saturday, March 14, and “Tech – yes”, a boutique electronic music event running from 2pm-10pm on Sunday, March 15.

Distinctive visual arts events include the “Today I, Tomorrow You” exhibition in Nishi Gallery until April 4, with more than 80 metres of street art in front of the Shine Dome.

The NFSA is a major venue, with The Old Media Orchestra (Tracey Benson, Louise Curham, Richard Johnson and Martyn Jolly) playing a 50-minute orchestral program, “Today I, Tomorrow You – A Living Mural Of 1970s Media”, at the NFSA Theatrette, 1.15pm-2pm on Saturday, and Richard James Allen and Marie-Stella McKinney’s live poetry performance and dance film screening, “Text Messages from the Universe”, to be seen at Arc Cinema, NFSA, 1.30pm and 4.30pm, Saturday, March 14. Free event.

Art Not Apart, 2020, all details and booking at artnotapart.com

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