Following its launch success, Outpost will return in April 2013 after attracting a record 86,000 people to Sydney’s Cockatoo Island during a five-week period last year,

The Outpost street art festival, staged by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust which manages Cockatoo island, said the initial event was the largest street art festival in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Considering the success of this first-time event, choosing to run Outpost again was an easy decision to make,” said executive director of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, Geoff Bailey.

Following last year’s success, Outpost, the largest street art festival in the Southern Hemisphere will return to Cockatoo island in 2013 showcasing artwork like that of Melbourne’s artist Adnate.

“But we know we can make it even bigger and better. We’re expanding the festival in 2013 to incorporate urban culture as well as street art and we’re also changing the time of year it’s on.”

The 2011 festival ran in November/ December. In 2013 Outpost will open on Good Friday (29 March) and run until Saturday May 5.

“Our new dates coincide with Easter and the April school holidays, which we hope will encourage even more families to visit,” Bailey said.

As in 2011, entry will remain free. Once again Outpost will celebrate the diverse nature of street art, but with an added focus on urban culture. The Harbour Trust will collaborate with a variety of national and international artists to bring the festival to life.

Last year’s event drew in over 86,000 people to Cockatoo Island.

Program details will be announced later in the year.

For the Harbour Trust, Outpost is an opportunity to work with brands wanting to engage with the 18-35 year old demographic as well as with visitors to Sydney. More than 11 per cent of 2011 Outpost visitors were from interstate and almost 13 per cent were from overseas.

Sydney Harbour Trust’s director of marketing and events and business development, Rubinee Hoyne said the event was “keen to talk about partnerships ranging from the more traditional lines of food and beverage and media/advertising to innovative brand activated art and live events.

“One of greatest partnerships in 2011 was with Microsoft, with the company activating its Kinect for xbox 360 product for the first time in a festival environment, which created an immersive experience for visitors and delivered strong metrics for the Microsoft brand,” said Hoyne.

“We also worked with broadcaster Triple J on a national competition where emerging street artists could become part of Outpost. That attracted more than 750 entries in five days and helped further develop the profile of our winner, Melbourne artist Adnate.

Last year Outpost event partner, Microsoft utilised the event to engage visitors with their Kinect for xbox 360 product.

“Basically the doors are open for partners who are excited about our vision of transforming this gritty industrial precinct into a dynamic explosion of street art and urban culture, making Cockatoo Island the stage for innovative cultural events in Sydney,” she said.

In 2013, Hoyne will again take the role of the event’s executive producer.

The 2011 Outpost was included in Sydney Magazine’s Top 100 Best Things to do in Sydney in 2011 and won Best Arts Event for 2011 in the FBi Radio Sydney Music Arts and Culture (SMAC) Awards.

For partnership enquiries, please contact Grant Dowling, the Harbour Trust’s business development and sponsorships manager by clicking here.