They were joined by gallery director Bryony Naimby, Mayor Scott Upston and Benalla Rural City councillors Barbara Alexander, Danny Claridge and Bernie Hearn.
Mr Fifield’s department oversees a funding stream, which has assisted Wall to Wall in recent years.
‘‘The Commonwealth festival fund has put some money towards Wall to Wall, which is great,’’ Mr Fifield said.
‘‘But this festival is another example of a local community coming up with a good artistic idea that’s also great for tourism.
‘‘When people live in regional areas or relocate to regional areas they rightly expect that they can have the full range of experiences that people in the capital cities do.’’
And when it comes to Wall to Wall many would argue that Benalla outdos metropolitan areas.
Ms Demasson said the core funding that Wall to Wall got from the Commonwealth went directly towards the artists.
‘‘We had Federal funding in 2016, which went a long way to cementing the beginning of the event,’’ Ms Demasson said.
‘‘It has helped support the artists, as that is the core of the event.
‘‘Our focus is always to put the money towards the artists.
‘‘And since we started we have managed to secure local, state and federal funding, which is great.
‘‘Applying for grants from a number of different areas can be the most difficult task in the project because each funding body has different criteria.
‘‘So we also have to be inventive each year to attract the grants we need to run the event.
‘‘But we have been extremely lucky to be so well supported.’’
Mr Fifield said he hoped the festival would continue to receive support into the future.
‘‘The festival will make application year by year and those applications will be considered, but they have a great track record,’’ Mr Fifield said.
‘‘Benalla is one of the significant art centres in Victoria and I take every opportunity I can to promote the arts in the regions, because sometimes there’s a view that the arts only live in capital cities.
‘‘Whereas, that is not the case, they are alive and well and part of the beating heart of regional centres.
‘‘I hope to have the opportunity to come down to the Wall to Wall festival.’’
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