Sand, Sea, SOUNDS & sights! TOWNSVILLE COMES TO LIFE WITH
By Tracey Lee Gordon
With the annual calendar of events returning to the region in 2021, Townsville is set to re-ignite the senses, and the economy, as the celebration of talent in our region goes live once again.
2020 saw the revitalisation of the Townsville CBD come to a grinding halt across many sectors, as the impact of COVID closed retail and venue doors and all but annihilated our multi-million-dollar annual calendar of events - a critical economic injection into the region.
While innovative products, government funding and intrastate travelers somewhat supported a crippled tourism industry; North Queensland’s hospitality sector was barely able to limp. With the tough stance taken by State and Federal Government to manage the pandemic in Australia, 2021 now sees Townsville events resume - and a return of visitors to the region for highly anticipated key events such as the V8 Supercars, Magnetic Island Race Week and of course to watch our beloved North Queensland Toyota Cowboys play on their home turf.
The excitement generated by the opening of Queensland Country Bank Stadium and anticipated traffic from tourists and visitors was quickly extinguished; and across the board, many watertight commercial forecasts came undone.
And in celebration of the arts, we welcome back a contemporary and cultural feast of events with the North Australian Festival of Arts (NAFA) - presented by Townsville City Council; and partner events Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM) and Pop Up North Queensland (2021 PUNQ).
The efforts of organisations such as James Cook University, Townsville Enterprise, Townsville City Council and Townsville Chamber of Commerce, in putting our city on the map as an international academic and tourist destination, were put on hold – or online, as local, national and international borders closed, reopened and closed again.
So whether its sand, sea, sound or sights that tantalise your taste buds, this is a sensational time of year to get out and intoxicate the senses, enjoying the amazing talent offered up by the local, national and international sporting, cultural, arts and performing arts communities.
Australian Festival of Chamber Music Newly appointed Executive Director of Australian Chamber of Festival Music, Ricardo Peach, brings an international and innovative energy to the fore, with a fresh perspective on the abundant opportunity available to the region for the Arts and affiliated industries.
While his focus is very much on ensuring success for the 2021 AFCM which commences in July, Ricardo sees enormous future opportunity to link in with broader national and international networks and initiatives that can assist in growing Townsville’s creative footprint. Traditionally, the Festival injects approximately $3.7million into the local economy with around 13,000 visitor room bookings and there is much potential to significantly increase those numbers. “Having recently arrived from South Africa, it’s been fascinating getting prepared for the upcoming calendar of events, for both the AFCM and adjacent cultural and arts events.” says Ricardo. “I’ve been visiting creative peers such as Umbrella
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Studio, Dancenorth and schools in the area and I must say, resources are truly phenomenal against those available to the arts community in South Africa.” he says. With festivals such as NAFA, The Fringe, Strand Ephemera and PUNQ, Ricardo says it’s extremely heartening to see the enormous creative engines in the region. COVID drove an expanding digital market for ACFM, with several events going online in 2020 and as a result, appetites have changed and the audience has expanded. In continuing to feature AFCM events digitally as well as physically, Townsville becomes highly accessible to an international audience; and in time to come a destination for many more national and international visitors. “Futuristically, it would be fantastic to develop ACFM further with the local creative industries; and that’s a question of ‘what do they want to see happening?’” Ricardo says. “So it’s an open invitation from ACFM to work
23 JULY-01 AUGUST afcm.com.au with the local creatives, in particular first nation communities, to further develop the creative arts platform in the region.” Ricardo suggests that some paths are bigger collaboratively than alone, but without a dedicated Concert or Cultural facility, the unmet demand and growth potential for ACFM cannot be achieved. “I do think that the broader creative industry strategy should be to continue to build on collaboration across all tiers of Government and local organisations.” he says. “We cannot grow with the current infrastructure available to the arts, so if we can collectively put energy into funding a dedicated venue or Cultural Centre that meets everyone’s needs, we have phenomenal opportunity for growth and world class artists will flock here.” Ticket sales are looking good for the 2021 Festival but AFCM always welcomes more audience members and participants. Visit the AFCM website for more details.
