Local sculptor Joy Heylen has been selected as the new Creative Director for the 2018 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers – Grand Central Floral Parade on 20 to 30 September.
This year’s festival will embrace the theme of The Secret Garden – engaging the magical time of childhood.
Together with a team of artists, Joy will bring an innovative and creative twist to the iconic Darling Downs event.
Alongside Joy, the Grand Central Floral Parade creative team boasts a blockbuster movie prop and animatronic producer, a amateur photographer, an international playwright, and local visual artists.
“We plan to create a creative revolution with our Grand Central Floral Parade participants,” said Joy. “We have made every effort to impress our floral parade participants in introducing several new levels of entry categories, where a ‘float’ is not the only way you can be involved.”
The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers won the Gold Award for Major Festivals and Events earlier this year at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards for the second year in a row, with last year’s event attracting more than 100,000 flower lovers.
Last year Joy won the Neumann Family SWELL Sculpture Award at last year’s SWELL Sculpture Festival on the Gold Coast for her Crab Sculpture.
Joy and her family, originally from South Africa, moved to Toowoomba in 2007 after living in New Zealand for five years. It was during her time in Wellington that the sculptor discovered her passion for art and 3D design.With a background in hairdressing, fashion and photography, Joy is currently studying a degree in Visual Culture and Fine Arts at Curtin University.
Community members can take part in the Carnival of Flowers by visiting, adopting or constructing a float. Joy’s company, Urban Visuals Art and Sculpture will be hosting workshops, to give expert advice on float creation. Those interested taking part in the workshops can book by emailing Joy.
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