Thursday 24 September - Sunday 11 October 9am-5pm Tues-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat-Sun

A Radical Art History

Artists, Ideas, and Cultural Exchange Across Forty Years

Through artists, ideas and cultural exchange, A Radical Art History explores forty years of contemporary arts practice in North Queensland and beyond. Rather than presenting a conventional institutional history, an interactive digital archive and exhibition document Umbrella’s contribution to contemporary art. Through a thematic and relational approach, the archive foregrounds artists, ideas, cultural exchange, critical discourse, experimentation and advocacy, recognising that Umbrella’s history is not a single narrative but a network of interconnected stories.

Organised through four interconnected themes: Lines of Inquiry, Sovereign Presence, The Constellation and No Fixed Centre, visitors are invited to navigate exhibitions, performances, commissions, publications and partnerships across time, uncovering unexpected connections between people, places and ideas. The exhibition outcome will feature objects from the physical archive, including photographic slides and conference papers, alongside a re-staged ephemeral artwork from Umbrella’s early exhibition program. 

More than a historical record, the archives are a living resource that reflects the complexity of regional practice and the enduring influence of artists in shaping cultural life. They invite audiences to revisit familiar histories, discover overlooked stories and explore the relationships that continue to inform contemporary practice today. The archives reveals how an artist-led initiative evolved into an internationally connected platform for experimentation, critical dialogue and regional leadership.

The digital archive and exhibition will both open as part of:

PUNQ + Exhibitions launch
6pm Wednesday 23 September 2026
Please note: Umbrella will be closed for install from Monday 7 September until the launch event.

Produced by Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts in partnership with James Cook University, this project was made possible through the Beyond the Studio: 40 Years of Umbrella fundraising campaign, supported by Bamford Community Care, Mitsubishi Electric through Capricorn Air Conditioning, the Creative Australia Plus1 Program, and the generosity of individual donors who helped begin digitising one of regional Australia's most significant contemporary art archives. | Umbrella gratefully acknowledges Johanna Wiggers, Lead Researcher, whose scholarship and dedication made this archive possible and the Townsville Citylibraries for their support.

Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts is a leading independent platform for contemporary and experimental arts practice operating on Wulgurukaba Country (Gurambilbarra / Townsville, North Queensland). 

With a four-decade legacy of bringing art and audiences together, Umbrella amplifies critical and creative voices, supports communities, incubates creativity and collaboration, and advocates for new models and investment in the arts. 

Umbrella believes in the power of commune, bringing together diverse voices and perspectives of North Queensland and beyond. In dialogue, through creative arts practices, Umbrella challenges traditional place-based hierarchies of centre and periphery and nourishes curiosity, exploration, and more profound experiences with the region and all its peoples. Acknowledging the beauty of the in-between spaces, Umbrella invites partnership and collaboration to create encounters and meaning in a complex world. 

Umbrella runs an annual program of onsite and touring exhibitions, public programs, arts residencies, studio access, professional development programs, special events and a contemporary art festival, Pop Up North Queensland (PUNQ). Umbrella is integral to North Queensland's thriving culture and creative economy.