OPENING SALON - Junction Arts Festival

OPENING SALON

Thu | 7:00pm - 11pm

Free

Step-Free Mobility-Access

Companion Card info available here

Fountain Pavilion

Prince's Square, Corner Elizabeth + St John Street

Launceston

All ages. Note: bar setting with live music, may include mature themes.

This event features loud music and may include flashing lighting.

salon/sa-LOHN/noun (GATHERING) a meeting of artists, performers and creative minds, gathered for a night of conversation, performance and company. Not to be confused with: beauty salon Our own bohemian gathering. Think Dada in Zurich, minus the manifestos (mostly). An evening curated in the spirit of an artist’s salon, where creative minds come together to swap ideas, provoke, and delight: intimate, eclectic, and unmistakably showstopping. Live painting, music played on harp and eel, cabaret, circus, social dance, the premiere of COIL, and sets from King Cake and Jay Jarome. Grab a drink from the bar and join us as we bring together artists from across this year’s program, curated top to tail by Junction. Expect to be delighted, enlightened, and interrupted in the best possible way.

Joanna Pinkiewicz paints live through the evening, roving performers move through the room, and Pen Licence will be testing your handwriting whether you like it or not. DANCEWEEKENDER takes the floor. Short surprises will land in front of the stage between sets, including previews from Zoe’s Killer Instinct, The Secret Life of Eels and NOOK, all playing later in the festival. 7:00pm – Emily Sanzaro 7:30pm – COIL 7:50pm – King Cake 8:40pm – Salon 8:55pm – Jay Jarome

FEATURING

Jay Jarome

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jay Jarome channels a unique blend of R&B, folk and funk. Originally from Bribie Island, Queensland, he made his way to lutruwita/Tasmania, where his angelic, soulful vocals now glide over deep grooves and lush harmonies, brought to life by his tight, island-grown live band.

King Cake

King Cake, a Hammond organ powered trio, blends jazz with blues and soul to cook up a lush groove based sound in the tradition of the 60’s soul jazz movement. The trio features guitar powerhouse Pete Cornelius, Randal Muir on organ and Henry Nichols on drums.

Emily Sanzaro

Emily is a contemporary harpist, vocalist, violinist and electronic loop artist based in Launceston, Tasmania. Drawn to the edges of genre, she lets jazz, folk, classical and modern influences collide into a sound distinctly her own, built on storytelling, layered loops, improvisation and an instinct for emotional detail.

ZOE'S KILLER INSTINCT

Yes. It’s her. Zoe. The multi-award winning actress and beloved cultural icon. Here for a bougie evening amongst you, her adoring public, so that you may bask in the reflected light of her divine, twinkling star. And to show you devils how much you mean to her, Zoe’s going to tell you the secret to her success. She’s going to tell you how to take a life.

Emily Sheppard and Yyan Ng stand poetically in white as a slightly transparent image of blue-toned eels overlays them.

Where Water Meets

Where Water Meets is an intercultural chamber ensemble led by Emily Sheppard (violin, viola, vocals) and Yyan Ng (guitar, vocals, shakuhachi), working with scientist Dr Malcolm Johnson to blend Western classical, folk and global traditions into immersive performances exploring ecology, biodiversity and our relationship with place. Their innovations include the world’s first eel-skin instrume...

Joanna Pinkiewicz

Joanna Pinkiewicz is a Polish-born artist who migrated to Tasmania in 1993. Her practice explores the relationship between spirituality and materiality across watercolour, oil paint and installation, drawing inspiration from the Pipers River Estuary/Ripula Mangina and her Hindu spiritual practice.

A performer wearing a horse head mask spinning hula hoops

Amy Stone

Artist. Acrobat. Mover and groover. Goof. Amy has never been satisfied sitting inside the box. Growing up on a farm on the outskirts of western Sydney, she spent her afternoons swinging around the bars of the cattle yard and trying to stand on horses. 11 years on, Amy has grown to become a richly multidisciplinary artist that refuses to be confined by genre or convention. Her work spans the full breadth...

A performer lies on their back on a black floor against a black backdrop, wearing a sheer mesh garment with iridescent panels and dark floral embroidery. Their arm reaches upward, hand clasped wrist to wrist with another person's arm that extends out of frame above. Their head is turned toward the camera, mouth open mid cry, with dark smudged eye makeup and curly hair.

Sammy G

Sammy is a circus artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), a graduate of the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA), specialising in Rope Skipping, duo hoop diving, trio acrobatics, and teeterboard. Sammy has represented Australia four times in international rope skipping, winning two gold medals in 2023. His performance background spans contemporary dance and physical theatre, including many SLIDE Youth...

Byron Hutton

Byron Hutton is a relentless juggling powerhouse from Melbourne, Australia. His combination of high skill, broad vocabulary of technique and strong stage presence makes him one of Australia’s most coveted performers. Byron co-founded the Throw Catch Collective, Australia’s leading performance juggling company, who premiered their new show ESCALATE at Arts Centre Melbourne and took home the best circus...

A performer photographed from below with a pair of binoculars held to their stomach.

Howie Doin

Howie Doin is a Boorloo based artist with a penchant for birds, beige and being on stage. With circus, burlesque and general tomfoolery at her core, Howie enjoys nothing more than helping everyone have a bit of fun, and feel a little bit confused.

Izzy Lockett swiftly leans back as her arms wrap with a rainbow slinky - lush green trees in the background.

COIL

COIL is an inclusive, intergenerational collision of community, artists, and the joy of collective movement.

Fédération Internationale de Pen Licence Licensing (FIPPL)

“Our core mission remains pen licence regulation, and we acknowledge the alarming rise, globally, of unlicensed pen use and the corresponding growth in the illegal pen licence market. We remain committed to a world of compliant, legal, licence-carrying users of pens (inc. all ink delivery modalities),” Secretary-General (elect), FIPLL.

A sri lankan dancer smiles in her red and golden dress dancing with smiling audience members

DANCEWEEKENDER

DANCEWEEKENDER is a vibrant celebration of community dance across Lutruwita/Tasmania, presented by Tasdance. Since its inception in 2024, DANCEWEEKENDER has brought local dance groups together for afternoons of performing, teaching, and sharing. Events across the state invite social dance groups to perform a short piece and then teach their style to the audience, allowing anyone to join in, whether...

In the ripples, a long paper snake with hand-painted rainbow scales cheekily pokes his tongue out.

SNAKE HANDLING

THU 17 + FRI 18 + SAT 19 + SUN 20

Australia is home to over 210 snake species, three of which live right here in Tasmania. Be part of Thrive Group's paper sculpture project by decorating...

A couple in a darkly lit room watch a small projection of a 19th-century America comedy.

BLIND PIG STABLES | A LATE NIGHT LOUNGE

FRI 18 + SAT 19

A “Blind Pig” was an unlicensed bar in 19th-century America, its name born from the trick: charge admission to see a curious attraction, while the real...

WONDERGROUND

THU 17 + FRI 18 + SAT 19 + SUN 20

WONDERGROUND is a dedicated space for families and children, designed and brought to life by local visual artist and educator Laura Watts. The space has...

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