What is Mural Fest?

The Wilderness Gallery International Mural Fest is a truly unique art competition that is held annually in Sheffield - Town of Murals, in Tasmania, Australia, commencing Easter Sunday every year. Mural Fest is so successful that similar events are now happening interstate and overseas.

Each year, nine artists compete in a public paint off from Easter Sunday to the following Saturday. Each artist must complete a 2100mm x 4800mm mural, using the same poem as their mural’s central theme and inspiration. Each year a new poem is selected, meaning no two Mural Fests are ever the same.

The competition is conducted in Mural Park – Sheffield’s very own outdoor art gallery in the heart of Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain touring region.

Mural Fest tests artistic skill, endurance and tenacity: artists are subjected to public scrutiny, time constraints and sometimes unpredictable Tasmanian weather!

At the end of the paint off week, a panel of qualified judges decides the winner of the event’s major prize, the $6,000 Mural Fest Judge’s Award.

During the paint off week, visitors and supporters who come to Mural Park to view the progress are encouraged to vote for their favourite artwork. At the end of the week, the artist whose painting receives the most votes is awarded the $1,000 Mural Fest Visitors Award. 

What happens after Mural Fest?

All murals remain on display in Mural Park until the next International Mural Fest, approximately 12 months later. People who visit Sheffield during this period delight in viewing the completed murals and learning about the unique competition.  These visitors can also vote for their favourite artwork, but this time the vote is conducted over the 12 month period. The artist whose painting receives the most votes over this extended period is awarded the $2,000 Mural Fest People’s Choice Award, which is awarded at the following year’s Wilderness Gallery International Mural Fest awards presentation ceremony.

With the exception of The Mural Fest Judge’s Award painting, all other murals are available for purchase via negotiation with the artist. The mural which wins The Mural Fest Judge’s Award is acquired by Tas Regional Arts - Kentish. It is placed on public display in Sheffield once the 12 month display period in Mural Park is complete.

In the months leading up to National Mural Fest, the Tasmanian Regional Arts - Kentish event committee calls for expressions of interest from artists.

To be considered for one of the nine ‘finalist’ positions, artists must complete a miniature of their proposed mural and submit it to the committee, which forwards all entries to the three arts professionals who have been selected to judge. Nine finalists are selected by the judges and those artists are invited to take part in the public paint off.

For more information about entering Mural Fest, see our COMPETE page.

Sheffield is internationally renowned as Australia’s Town of Murals. Sheffield is on a prime touring route to Tasmania’s iconic Cradle Mountain National Park. The Town of Murals has become an important attraction in its own right and earns high praises from visitors who pass through.

Since the first mural was started in 1986, more than 50 other permanent murals have followed, all with a common around the history of this beautiful, idyllic part of Tasmania. These murals are based on real characters – pioneers, farmers, community leaders – and real stories and events of the past.

International Mural Fest evolved to provide unique and contemporary public artworks that complement the Town of Mural’s colourful landscape and ensure that visitors have something new to see each year.