World’s first animal poo painting competition launches in Tasmania
Karin Koch, creator, and owner of the Pooseum in Tasmania, with a background in arts, tourism, and event management, was inspired to start the world’s first animal poo painting competition after purchasing a large, highly detailed painting created from cow dung by German artist Werner Härtl.
As explained here, Koch subsequently commissioned Tasmanian artist Mel Hills to create paintings of wombats using wombat droppings and a pademelon using pademelon poo—both collected from her own garden.
“All three paintings are now on display at the Pooseum, so holding a poo painting competition was simply the next logical step,” Koch explained.
The competition, which launched in 2024, is organized by Koch, who founded the Pooseum in 2018—a science museum dedicated to the fascinating world of animal droppings.
A personal mission
The idea for a museum about feces emerged after Koch, now in her 60s, lost a close friend to bowel cancer in 2016.
“He had noticed blood in his stool for two years but never told anyone,” she recalled. “In his generation, talking about such things was taboo, and that silence unfortunately cost him his life.”
Initially, Koch wanted to create an exhibition focused on human waste to break the taboo surrounding bowel health and raise cancer awareness. However, her focus shifted after relocating to Tasmania to enjoy the island’s pristine air and abundant bushwalking opportunities.
“Surrounded by nature with animal droppings everywhere, I realized that no one had ever dedicated an entire museum to animal feces despite it being such a fascinating scientific topic,” Koch said. “So I decided to go ahead and open the Pooseum.”
Competition details
The Poo-tastic Tasmania Paint Off welcomes both amateur and professional artists, though participants must be at least 16 years old due to the requirement to collect and handle animal droppings.
This year’s theme is “Expressive Portraits: Faces with Faeces.”
“When choosing a subject for their portrait painting, artists should select someone they know well or admire,” Koch advised.
Despite the unconventional medium, Koch emphasizes this is a serious art competition. Artists must submit their artwork alongside a written description, a brief biography, a high-resolution headshot, and a video documenting their creative process.
Participants may submit up to two artworks with no registration fee required.
Recognition and display
First, second-, and third-place winners will have their artworks displayed at the Pooseum in Richmond, a small town of approximately 900 residents just north of Hobart.