International projects in the works for Clunes

24 September 2012 Books+Publishing

Creative Clunes, the organisation behind the annual Clunes Booktown Festival in regional Victoria, has announced that it is working on four cultural and arts programs with similar organisations in South Korea, Malaysia and the European Union.

The news follows a visit by three Creative Clunes representatives to South Korea this month. Tim Hayes, Tess Brady and Graeme Johnstone attended the Paju Booksori festival as well as a symposium for members of the International Orgnisation of Booktowns, where Brady delivered a presentation about Creative Clunes. As previously reported by Bookseller+Publisher, Clunes was named an international booktown earlier this year.

Hayes said that the four projects being developed include a photographic exhibition and a magazine display with South Korea, a children’s art project with Malaysia and a cultural project around the centenary of WWI with the European Union. ‘Not only do we have these projects which we are already actively working on, we have met with important embassy and trade staff and our international booktown colleagues, which raises the profile of what we are doing in Clunes, and adds significant weight to our efforts,’ Hayes added.

The 2013 Clunes Booktown Festival will also host the President of the International Organisation of Bookstowns Jan Kløvstad from Norway and the secretary general of Paju Booksori Lee Sang.

Hayes said approximately 18,000 people attended this year’s Booktown Festival in May, delivering an estimated $5.3 million to the region. ‘These are great figures which will only increase as Clunes builds its reputation for year-round visitation as an international booktown,’ he said.

Category: Local news