Calling all Artists: Expressions of Interest are open for the 2023 Public Art Cow Painting Competition
If you’ve ever had the urge to paint a life-sized fibreglass sculpture of a cow - well, you’re in luck! but hurry, because applications close soon.
15 February 2023
Written by Sam Kirby
We have a confession to make; we didn't know this was a thing until this week.
…despite the fact that as the name "2023 Public Art Cow Painting Competition" would suggest - this is certainly not Toowoomba's first Cow Painting Competition 'rodeo'.
…but we're fully on board with it.
In fact, there's something that feels so wholesomely quirky and kitsch about it - something that feels almost like a celebration of Australianism - like gargantuan roadside statues of fruit and four-story tall prawns, like The Wiggles winning the Hottest 100 or the resurgence of Darryl Braithwaite's The Horses as millennial culture seemingly adopts it as their unofficial anthem. What other national psyche would so wholeheartedly embrace a public art cow painting competition?
...perhaps we're overthinking it, but we love it.
The inaugural public art competition is an initiative by The Mulberry Project and is part of the Heritage Bank RASQ Toowoomba Royal Show, with the winner painting the life-sized cow in front of the public live at the show. There's a $500 commission on offer, as well as the sheer enjoyment of seeing your prized artwork displayed in all its glory at the show in the Founders Pavilion.
If you are interested in applying, you can do so here, but be quick because applications close 17/02/2023.
