Tuesday 19 August 2025
Open 9:00am - 5:00pm

Curatorial Statement

Curatorial Statement

Pop Up North Queensland (PUNQ) is Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts’ premier festival which celebrates the most exciting visual and performance artists of North Queensland (NQ). It also welcomes renowned First Nations and Australian collaborations to engage audiences with exhibitions, installations, performances and workshops.

PUNQ 2021 celebrates the distinct landscapes of NQ to inspire cultural exchange and reimagine expectations, transform perceptions and provide unique creative experiences for locals and visitors alike.

This year’s festival expands across the region, from its roots on Wulgurukaba and Bindal Country (Townsville) to include Yunbenun (Magnetic Island), Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country (Hinchinbrook) and Gudjal Country (Charters Towers). Umbrella has partnered with arts and cultural organisations to showcase artists and creatives across these four locations.

New in 2021 is a series of site specific artworks comissioned for the festival. We have invited 11 local and interstate artists and organisations to respond to the histories, present, and futures of North Queensland spaces and places. The result is a unique offering of new work, including David Rowe’s crop circles installation in the sugar cane fields in Ingham Site #272, and performative art engaging with the land by Jill Chism on the Pallarenda beach Preserve/Conserve. This new program is sure to engage, entertain and challenge all audiences. Both Ways is a First Nations Billboard exhibition commission that connects our program on the mainland from Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country (Hinchinbrook) to Gudjal Country (Charters Towers) whilst illuminating often unheard stories of the Traditional Owners of Australia. On Yunbenun (Magnetic Island), Jenny Mulcahy invites you to explore the early quarantine history of the island in her immersive multimedia installation The Mark, while Jan Hynes’ Drop Bears offers a playful journey to spot the mythological drop bears on the Forts Walk. In Townsville Dancenorth are asking festival goers to step into the unknown in their mysterious new site-specific performance World Interior. You can find out more about these spectacular projects in the online program.

The mainstay of pop-up spaces and experiences returns this year with local artists presenting a stellar combination of exhibitions, performances and contemporary artisan workshops.

You can explore our program by Indigenous Country and schedule. We also have some suggested itineraries for you. Resonating across the PUNQ 2021 program is the notion of ‘place’. First Nations’ Arts and Culture are at the heart of this place we gather on. We are very pleased to be launching the festival at Big Eye Arts & Culture Centre, where we will reveal their major new mural commission and celebrate the work of emerging artist Stephen Oliver, who draws on his Waanyi, Kuku Yalanji, and Erub heritage in his new exhibition.

Please enjoy exploring all that PUNQ 2021 has to offer. We can’t wait to share North Queensland with you!

The PUNQ & Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts Team

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Open Hours

Tues - Fri: 9am-5pm

Sat - Sun: 9am-1pm

Gallery closed Mondays, public holidays and during exhibition install weeks.

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Contact

(07) 4772 7109

408 Flinders Street,
Gurambilbarra (Townsville),
Qld, 4810 Australia

PO Box 2394,
Gurambilbarra (Townsville),
Qld, 4810 Australia

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Acknowledgement of Country

Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region - Bindal, Gugu Badhan, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal - as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.

Umbrella is a Member & Signatory of the Indigenous Art Code. This means we are committed to fair and ethical trade with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, and transparency in the promotion and sale of artwork. As a Dealer Member and signatory to the Code we must act fairly, honestly, professionally and in good conscience in all direct or indirect dealings with artists.

Help Us Elevate Regional Artists

We champion artists, amplifying their distinctive and authentic voices. We are an inclusive platform for independent, experimental, contemporary arts practice in local, national, and international arts landscapes. We have a 39 year history of connecting artists and audiences and we couldn't do it without your support.

Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts is registered as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) with the Australian Taxation Office. Donations to Umbrella are tax deductible for amounts of $2 or more. Click here to donate.


Acknowledgements

Umbrella is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments. | Umbrella is supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund. | Townsville City Council is a funding partner of Umbrella's program.