Sir Les Patterson would be pleased to see Townsville’s artistic and cultural life booming. You may recall that the dishevelled and foul-mouthed Barry Humphries’ character was Cultural Attaché to the Court of St James (supposedly), an occasional visitor to the North Queensland city and a champion of what he referred to as “the Yartz”.
Sir Les’s alter ego Barry Humphries was fond of the city and painted it lovingly (he was a fine artist as well as a brilliant comedian). He, too, would be pleased to see the burgeoning arts festival scene there.
Admittedly, the loss of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music to Cairns this year was a blow. The good news is that the North Australian Festival of Arts (NAFA) is on the make and filling the gap, as is the burgeoning Pop Up North Queensland (PUNQ), a contemporary art event across the region that is working hand-in-hand with NAFA.
PUNQ is an initiative of Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, which has been a bastion of the arts in the city for decades.
NAFA’s artistic director Kyle Page has come across from Dancenorth Australia, which is also Townsville-base and has charted a national reputation from its North Queensland base. As Page points out, Townsville is a hotbed of sport with the North Queensland Cowboys and the Queensland Country Bank Stadium making the city an events capital.
“Sports is great but this community also loves arts and culture and NAFA is here to ensure people have artistic experiences as well,” Page says. “And we are doing things that can’t be done elsewhere and honouring the place itself.”
Underwater drawing classes on the Great Barrier Reef are an example of that, along with the use of locations such as Magnetic Island, just offshore from Townsville. The Strand and locations around the city will also feature this year.
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Page and his wife Amber Haines have been the driving force behind Dancenorth for many years as co-artistic directors, but they are transitioning away from the company as Page concentrates on NAFA with, he tells me, invaluable advice and inspiration from Haines, his creative partner.
NAFA’s 2026 program offers 17 days of arts and cultural experiences that could only happen in North Queensland. Running from September 25 to October 11, the festival brings together internationally acclaimed artists, celebrated Australian productions and outstanding North Queensland creatives in a vibrant program inspired by the region’s landscapes, communities and unique sense of place.
From sunrise gatherings and spectacular waterfront performances to world-class cabaret, immersive art experiences and family favourites, NAFA celebrates the creativity, connection and possibility that define the tropical north.
The program spans music, theatre, cabaret, visual arts and family experiences, featuring acclaimed productions including cabaret acts La Ronde and national sell-out hit Swamplesque, alongside internationally renowned tattoo artist Juniper and a special performance by Grammy Award-winning soul icon Macy Gray.
Festival favourite Drift returns to transform the iconic Tobruk waterfront into a vibrant beachfront celebration headlined by Australian electronic music pioneers Hermitude.
There are family events too. The festival opens with Yabu Gugay, a powerful sunrise gathering featuring Arnhem Land artist Ngulmiya Nundhirribala, bringing audiences together through culture, music and storytelling as the first light breaks across the Coral Sea.
NAFA also continues its commitment to championing local artists and creative development, showcasing works including NIMBUS (an arts and music party), the Great Barrier Reef Orchestra and a range of regional productions and collaborations that celebrate the talent and stories of North Queensland.
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Townsville Mayor Nick Dametto says NAFA continues to strengthen Townsville’s reputation as one of Australia’s leading regional arts destinations.
“Townsville is the events capital of northern Australia and NAFA is one of our signature events, attracting visitors, supporting local businesses and showcasing our city to new audiences”, says Dametto. “The festival celebrates our incredible outdoor spaces, our creative community and the unique experiences that make Townsville such a special place to visit and live.”
North Queensland’s place-based contemporary arts festival PUNQ is also on from September 23 to October 11 and runs alongside NAFA, presenting an ambitious program of local and national multidisciplinary artists, bringing bold new perspectives to the region’s distinctive spaces, stories, histories and futures.
This biennial festival unfolds in immersive journeys across natural and built environments in Townsville/Gurambilbarra, Magnetic Island/Yunbenun, Hinchinbrook/Nywaigi, Warrgamay and Bandjin Country, and Charters Towers/Gudjal Country.
PUNQ invites audiences to see North Queensland through a different lens, using contemporary art to spark cultural exchange, challenge expectations and create new connections between people and place. The program features a diverse mix of free and ticketed experiences, including ambitious new works, immersive installations, live events, thought-provoking performances and unexpected encounters across the region.
Audiences can explore major new commissions, such as Jarrowia, Butchulla and Gunggari artist Zane Saunders’ Preface, combining live performance, sculpture, sound and video, in partnership with leading contemporary dance company Dancenorth Australia and supported by the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
Other commissions include The House of Floating Flowers (Ukibana no ie) by Mari Hirata, developed in partnership with Artisan, at the Japanese House in Ingham, which invites introspection under a delicate paper-cut sugarcane installation.
There are a range of other events and across the region public billboards will elevate work from six North Queensland artists, creating an expansive and accessible open-air gallery.
PUNQ also holds particular significance as Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts marks 40 years of championing artists and the arts in North Queensland, including producing the biennial festival.
PUNQ artistic director and Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts director Kate O’Hara says this year’s festival is more ambitious than ever, offering an onsite opportunity for artists and audiences to see North Queensland differently.
“PUNQ provides a way to bring people to look at our region differently,” O’Hara says. “The majority of our program is free and we are piloting a partnership with NAFA where we can complement each other’s programs. PUNQ celebrates the rich and complex creative practice of regional Queensland and the important contribution these artists, stories and perspectives make to Australia’s broader cultural landscape.”
NAFA runs from September 25 to October 11: nafa-tsv.com.au
PUNQ runs from September 23 to October 11: umbrella.org.au/punq
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