World Bodypainting Festival
Encyclopedia
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
. From 1998 to 2010 the Festival was held in Seeboden
Seeboden
Seeboden is a village and municipality in the Spittal an der Drau district in Carinthia, Austria, EU.-Geography:-Location:Seeboden is located at the western end of the Millstätter See immediately next to the district capital Spittal an der Drau....
, Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, near the Millstätter See
Millstätter See
-General facts:Lake Millstatt is situated in the Central Eastern Alps, near the town of Spittal an der Drau. With a surface area of it is the second largest lake of Carinthia , though with by far the deepest and most voluminous. Its steep shore gives the lake a fjord-like character...
, on the third week of July every year. The new venue is Pörtschach at lake Wörthersee
Wörthersee
The Wörthersee is an alpine lake in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia.-General facts:The lake is elongated, about 20 km long and 1–2 km wide. It stretches from the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt in the east to Velden in the west...
.
History
The World Bodypainting Festival was created in 1998 by Alex Barendregt. At the time, Barendregt was working in a local travel agency and was given the task of organising a new summer event in Seeboden. He chose body painting on a whim after seeing a photograph about it. Although the festival wasn't very popular at first, today it is the biggest annual event of the body paintingBody painting
Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting...
culture and community. The festival is the first of its kind in the world and has become the Mecca of Bodypainting. It draws the best two hundred body painting artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
teams and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
s, as well as tens of thousands of visitors, from all over the world every year.
Festival overview
The festival lasts a week, of which the first four days consist of over thirty special workshopWorkshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s and lessons run by the WBF Academy, and the last three days consist of the actual festival event in the body paint city, which is open to the public without prior reservation. The festival event is open for both adults and children, and many families come there together.
Sponge (tool)
A sponge is a tool, implement, utensil or cleaning aid consisting of porous material. Sponges are used for cleaning impervious surfaces. They are especially good absorbers of water and water-based solutions....
, airbrush
Airbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
, and special effects are World Champion titles. At night time there is also a special UV effects contest giving the title for World Champion in UV bodypainting effects. There is a World Facepainting Award and a special award for special effects face make up. There are also semi professional student awards. All categories have separate prize
Prize
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. Official prizes often involve monetary rewards as well as the fame that comes with them...
s and trophies
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
. Artists can use either male or female models as they wish. All models must be wearing underpants
Underpants
-Boxer shorts:Boxer shorts, or simply boxers, have an elasticated waistband that is at or near the wearer's waist, while the leg sections are fairly loose and extend to the mid-thigh. There is usually a fly, either with or without buttons...
while painted, but female models can go topless if they want. Many body painting models are unpaid and volunteer for the unique experience of transformation by the body painting artists.
Body painting is not simply painting a body, body painting is to replant the body into an entire scenery, to create a body scene with choreography and music. The WBF Institute of Sound is the community music project that developed through the World Bodypainting Festival. Every year the festival brings together international musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s, specialists in electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and technicians from many different countries and cultures. It is the festival's goal to develop the music scene like the community of body painters, photographers and models that has already existed for years. The creative thoughts of both groups can develop many new ideas.
The WBF Fashion Department focuses on body painting for fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
with many artists working alongside designers and with stylists around the world in the fashion industry.
Also the BodyCircus is one of the biggest event highlights in the festival week. Music, shows and costumes in the unique location of the medieval castle Sommeregg.
After the 13th year of the event in Seeboden, the local politicians decided not to host the event there any more. Alex Barendregt had to move on and chose another beautiful and charming town for the future to recreate and develop the next generation of the World Bodypainting Festival.
Asia Awards
In 2008, the festival expanded for the first time into AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. A secondary festival, called the World Bodypainting Festival with the Asia Awards, was held in Daegu
Daegu
Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.