Strand Park to be cleared as Uncontained decommissioned
Date published: 17 July 2018
Townsville’s biggest ever public art installation, Uncontained, will be decommissioned later this month with some containers sold off to help fund future arts and cultural events.
Uncontained was Townsville City Council’s centerpiece of Festival 2018 and more than 65,000 people flocked to Strand Park to see dozens of containers piled up and covered in street art.
Council will host a VIP function at Strand Park – Festival 2018 the Final Act – to toast the success of Uncontained and Festival 2018. Volunteers and members of the city’s arts and cultural community will be invited to attend the cocktail function under the stars on Thursday July 26. Business leaders will also be invited to the fundraising event and be invited to bid for the containers up for auction.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said the event will be a great send off for Uncontained and recognise those involved with making Festival 2018 such as huge success.
“Festival 2018 was like no other event Townsville has ever seen before and its centerpiece was undoubtedly the Uncontained art installation,” Cr Hill said.
“The volunteers and members of our arts and cultural community played a huge role in making Festival 2018 the amazing event that it was.
“I’d like to thank everyone that was involved in Festival 2018 and that’s why we are holding Festival 2018 the Final Act to thank those people personally.
“A range of local artists are set to perform and there will be a big screen with highlights of Festival 2018 to relive some of those amazing moments.”
Cr Hill said almost 100,000 people attended Festival 2018 and it provided a major boost for local businesses.
“There was a real party atmosphere around the city during Festival 2018 and people were out spending money whether at food trucks in Queens Gardens or restaurants along The Strand,” Cr Hill said.
“Festival 2018 was another major event organised by Council to help bring in people to our city and provide a boost for local businesses and create jobs.
“Whether it’s the Supercars or Strand Ephemera, we have something to entice anyone to Townsville.”
Council’s Commonwealth Games Working Group Chair Cr Kurt Rehbein said people or businesses will have the chance to snap up a piece of Festival 2018 history by bidding for a container from Uncontained.
“Festival 2018 was a smash hit and I’m sure there will be a lot of interest in the Uncontained auction,” Cr Rehbein said.
“The auction will also help fund arts and cultural events such as Festival 2018 into the future.
“The Commonwealth Games wanted to ensure a legacy for event cities such as Townsville and there’s no doubt Uncontained has left its mark in our city forever.”
Local Councillor Ann-Maree Greaney said Strand Park will undergo restoration once the containers are cleared to make room for other festivals and events.
“The restoration of Strand Park will allow events like the Strand Markets and the upcoming Triathlon Festival to be held without any inconvenience,” Cr Greaney said.
“Although a lot of people may be sad to see Uncontained leave Strand Park it’s time for these amazing pieces of art to come down and the area be restored for all the other community events that use the space.”
The containers will start being removed shortly after Festival 2018 the Final Act is over.
