Tassie Festival Adds Kirin J Callinan To Their Line-Up Because He’s “Provocative”
They called him a "bold and brilliant warrior for diversity".
Just two weeks after St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival dropped Kirin J Callinan from their line-up, Tasmanian festival Party in the Paddock has added the artist to their bill in a show of support for his “provocative and brilliant work”.
Laneway organisers never officially explained why Callinan was booted off the festival’s line-up, but Junkee understands that he was removed due to pressure from other artists on the bill after he flashed his genitals on the ARIA Awards red carpet. Miss Blanks, who performed at Laneway over the weekend, was one of the artists who publicly supported the festival’s decision to ditch Callinan.
“I applaud the organisers of Laneway’s decision to remove Kirin J Callinan from the festival line-up,” Miss Blanks told Junkee. “His reckless and insensitive actions reinforce entitled male behaviours which normalise sexual assault. Amidst the #metoo discussions, it’s important to see preventative actions as well as support systems. Sorry white cis men, the world is no longer your oyster.”
Callinan later made a statement where he expressed disappointment about Laneway’s decision, but refrained from apologising for the ARIAs incident.
Today the organisers behind Party in the Paddock, a festival being held just outside Launceston this weekend, announced they’ve added Callinan to the roster. In a statement released to the media, the organisers suggested that it was actually Callinan’s “provocative” behaviour that motivated their decision.
“PITP believes that a progressive society of equality and tolerance is in part shaped by the provocative artists who dance on its fringes,” the statement said. “We afford artists a license to challenge norms, express themselves freely and be agents of change. For that reason, PITP extends a special invitation for Kirin J Callinan to join us in The Paddock this year for his Tasmanian festival debut.”
Even though the statement doesn’t go into any specifics, it is a pretty clear reference to Callinan’s history of controversial behaviour in public.
“We judge Kirin not by a single, spontaneous moment of profanity but rather by a decade of provocative and brilliant work,” the organisers went on to say. “Kirin J Callinan is rightfully recognised internationally as a master musician as well as a bold and brilliant warrior for originality and diversity and we welcome him to The Paddock this Saturday night.”
This is really just completely pathetic. Giving a bloke a festival slot BECAUSE he exposed himself in public!? Read! the! room! https://t.co/TbRY60RIwu
— Eliza Barr (@ElizaJBarr) February 5, 2018
The festival also announced Thundamentals and Mallrat would be joining the line-up.
In addition to adding Callinan to the bill, Party in the Paddock has gone one step further and given him shared MC duties alongside local Greens politician Andrea Dawkins.
Dawkins, who is a state member of parliament for the electorate of Bass, told Junkee that she was informed of the decision to make Callinan an MC this morning and supported it.
“I think it’s a bold move,” she told Junkee. “I can understand why there would be consternation and some concern. But it’s played out largely in social media and from what I can see it’s resolved itself as well.”
Dawkins told Junkee that her involvement with the festival predated her election to parliament. The former small business owner ran a number of bars and cafes in Launceston and was a key figure in the local live music scene, which is how she met the organisers of the Party in the Paddock.
Dawkins was aware of the controversy around Callinan and the decision taken by Laneway, though she said “I’m not really engaged with the ARIAs or that kind of mainstream music media.”
She also said she wasn’t expecting any backlash to the decision, and said Party in the Paddock would be “a really happy festival”.
Junkee contacted the organisers of the festival for comment but we’re yet to receive a reply.