The Rumble

The Rumble (2016) was the first in a trilogy of works created by Martyn Coutts and Ian Pidd for the Unconformity Festival’s Opening Night event. This work was supported by Festivals Australia. The brief for these works is that they needed to be free, accessible, draw deeply from the culture of the West Coast of Tasmania and include a spectacle. The Rumble celebrated the mining legacy of Queenstown unabashedly, whilst adding a contemporary art edge to the world. The work brought together large vehicles and objects used in mining operations from across the West Coast and paraded them down Orr Street (the Main Street in Queenstown) as a bombastic opening to the first ever Unconformity Festival. Professional sound and lighting artists worked with local truck drivers to create floats similar to what you might see in a Mardi Gras or religious procession. The reorientation of the festival from the Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival was a bold reinvention for the festival and brought about more contemporary arts programming, whilst also staying connected to the festival's local roots. Whilst controversial in the town, the festival was an artistic and financial success, beginning an extraordinary culture-led regeneration in the town.