Ephemera brings more than 180,000 visitors to The Strand
Date published: 24 August 2021
The Ephemera: Seaside Sculptures 20th anniversary attracted more than 180,000 visitors during its nine days at The Strand last month.
The incredible turn-out has proven just how popular Ephemera is when it takes over Townsville’s premier waterfront location biennially.
Community and Cultural Development Committee chairperson Ann-Maree Greaney said Townsville City Council was proud to bring world-class events like Ephemera to the city.
“July was an outstanding month of events for Townsville. We are so proud to have welcomed a huge 182,911 visitors to Ephemera to celebrate the outdoor exhibition’s 20th anniversary,” Cr Greaney said.
“This is an incredible outcome and just goes to show how valuable public art is to Townsville.
“The artists who created the 20 competitive sculptures, as well as the artists involved in the schools projects, projection art pieces, chalk art and invited artists should be so proud of this result – it’s their art that has captured the imagination of Townsville locals and visitors to the city.”
Cr Greaney said this was just one element of the month-long celebration of arts and culture across Townsville last month.
“We were lucky enough to be able to go ahead with the North Australian Festival of Arts in July, as well as the Northern Fringe Festival, so locals and visitors were spoiled for choice during those four weeks,” she said.
“This goes to show that Townsville is the events capital of Northern Australia as we continue to create and attract high-calibre events in our city.”
Member for Townsville Scott Stewart said the success of Ephemera this year proved how valuable the Palaszczuk Government’s support of the event was.
“Ephemera has not only drawn in a large crowd this year, but it’s also helped foster the artistic talent that we have in Townsville and across the country,” Mr Stewart said.
“It was great to see local schools exhibit their collaborative pieces alongside established artists in this nationally-recognised exhibition.
“Hosting such an illustrious outdoor art exhibition here in Townsville not only boosts our reputation as the centre of events, arts and culture in Northern Australia, but also gives an important boost to local businesses in the area.”
Christopher Trotter won the first-ever Ephemera acquisitive prize, sponsored by the Queensland Department of Tourism, for Foreigner. The winner of the $10,000 Ephemera Award for Artist Excellence for 2021 was Torin Francis for his kinetic artwork Way.
Visit the Ephemera web page to see the artworks and learn more about the outdoor exhibition.
